Comments on: Affiliate Program Agreement (Terms & Conditions) – Facts & Template

By: Geno

Geno — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:08:36 +0000

While 8.2 really does bundle DTM (direct-to-merchant) PPC ad linking with TM bidding, they are by no means one and the same (or even interconnected). Trademark violation is one thing. DTM ad linking is a completely different subject. If you Google “affiliate direct linking”, “DTM bidding” and such, you should find a lot of material on the subject. Much will depend on what you yourself (i.e. as a merchant) are doing on the PPC front.

By: Mai Williams

Mai Williams — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:53:39 +0000

Thanks – I forgot to mention that I did make adjustments (a) and gotcha on (b). Another question – what is your opinion on direct linking to a merchant’s website rather than re-direct from an affiliate’s website? From the TOS template (8.2) it would be a trademark violation so I’d appreciate a clarification.

By: Geno

Geno — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:07:27 +0000

You’re most welcome, Mai. Just remember (a) that not all of these points will fit your situation verbatim (so, do adjust it to fit your context), and (b) do not treat this as any sort of legal advice.

By: Mai Williams

Mai Williams — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:03:13 +0000

Hi Geno,
You’re great! Reading this article and getting the how-to for a TOS saves me TIME and MONEY!!! Thank you so much for being a leader in Affiliate Marketing and a mentor to so many!

By: Geno

Geno — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 21:12:19 +0000

Luke, first of all thank you for your kind words about the work I’m doing through my blog. I meant to create a “valuable resource”, and I’m glad you’re finding it to be such. Thank you.

Re your question: with affiliates, it will be the same way as with any other marketing channel you may employ in the process. Say, in addition to (a) your PPC campaign and (b) your affiliate program, you also (c) have a display advertising campaign paying according to a CPM model, (d) pay a placement fee to have a banner up on a niche content site, and (e) pay a comparison shopping engine to feature your products. In an event when the end consumer uses all 5 of the above-quoted channels, and buys, you’ll pay all 5.

Will limiting the cookie life help? It may, but not much; and neither do I recommend it (your competitor will most likely offer longer cookie life). See this post: Cookie Retention Study Reveals Important Data.

Why not let affiliates do the PPC instead?

By: Luke

Luke — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 19:04:24 +0000

Geno,

Huge fan of your blog–you’ve really created an incredibly valuable resource. Thank you!

I have a question about how an affiliate programs can affect the ROI of a pay-per click campaign:

What happens if a customer clicks on an affiliate link decides not to buy at that time, but now has the affiliate cookie, then later buys by clicking on one of your pay per click ads.

Have you ever found that having to pay both affiliate commissions and pay per click costs on some sales at all effecting the ROI of pay per click? Does increased cookie life raise the cost of pay per click at all or is the effect too small to be worth considering.

i.e. Say I convert 1% of pay per click traffic and my cost per keyword is $1 and my profit on the sale is $150. My cost per sale through pay per click is $100–therefore I make $50 on those customers.

Say I extend my cookie life to attract affiliates and now I find that 1/2 of those sales also have affiliate cookies on them. I pay a $100 commission to affiliates.

Now instead of a $50 profit I am paying out on average a $100 for PPC and $50 to affiliates—leaving my profit at 0. Is PPC now no longer profitable?

(This could also apply to other marketing methods–such as offline– a customer buys by responding to a direct mail piece and also was referred–I pay a referral fee and the cost of the direct mailing.)

Or am I missing something obvious?

Thank you so much for sharing your vast knowledge–it is highly appreciated!

—Luke