Redirect Laravel Route Externally Including Query Parameters

By Mark Guleno
PHP
Redirect Laravel Route Externally Including Query Parameters
Byte:
By combining environment variables, redirection, optional segments, and the `where` clause, we can generate affiliate links programmatically.

Introduction

We use affiliate marketing as a source of revenue on this website. In order to earn a commission, we need to include our affiliate tag in every affiliate link. If we hardcode the link or the affiliate tag and either of those changes, we would have to go back and update them on every page. A better solution is to reference a programmatically generated link.

Generating Affiliate Links Programmatically

Goals

Here were our design goals:

  • Easy to use

  • Easy to update if the URL or affiliate tag changes

  • Ability to link directly to products or searches on the affiliate website

  • Reusable for other affiliate programs in the future

Implementation

From /routes/web.php  </> 
// Redirect "/go/amazon*" to Amazon and include the Amazon Associates tag
Route::get('/go/amazon{segments?}',
   function (Request $request, String $segments = null) {

   // Get the Amazon environment variables
   $amazonUrl = env('AMAZON_URL');
   $amazonTag = env('AMAZON_TAG');

   // Construct the Amazon Associates tag parameter
   $amazonParam = ['tag' => $amazonTag];

   // Construct the base url from the Amazon URL and segments passed
   $baseUrl = $amazonUrl . $segments;

   // Get the query parameters
   $query = $request->query();

   // Merge any existing query parameters with the Amazon Associates tag parameter
   $newQuery = array_merge($query, $amazonParam);

   // Construct the new URL
   $newUrl = $baseUrl . '?' . http_build_query($newQuery);

   // Redirect to the new URL
   return Redirect::away($newUrl);

   // Include all the segments
})->where('segments', '.*');
</>  From /routes/web.php

Here are the corresponding environment variables stored in .env:

From .env  </> 
AMAZON_URL=https://www.amazon.com
AMAZON_TAG=bitesizebyt0c-20
</>  From .env

Design Notes

  • By using environment variables AMAZON_URL and AMAZON_TAG, we can update them if necessary.

  • By using redirects:

    • The redirect can be generated programmatically.

    • The browser will make 2 requests – one request to the current website and then another request to the affiliate website.

  • By combining the optional segments ({segments?})and the where('segments', '.*') clause, the code handles linking to items on the affiliate website.

  • By combining the existing query parameters with the affiliate tag, the code handles searches on the affiliate website.

  • This code could be modified for use with other affiliate programs by matching the second segment.

Conclusion

By combining environment variables, redirection, optional segments, and the where clause, we were able to meet our design goals.

Software Versions

  • PHP 8.1.8

  • Laravel 8.19.0

Tags: Laravel Amazon Associates

References:

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