Comments on: Affiliate Websites – Types and Examples

By: David

David — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:32:15 +0000

Okay, thanks for your information. I am disappointed that the business development manager at CJ was not able to confirm it for me. I always prefer to get a clear acknowledgement and with the merchants that I am dealing with, except for one, I have been able to get a definitive answer from them (i.e. “it is okay to list alongside their competitors”).

By: Geno

Geno — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:39:27 +0000

I have never heard of having to ask a merchant whether it’s okay with them to promote them on a comparison site or not. As long as you have that site listed on your affiliate profile, their approval of your affiliate application is an implied “go ahead”.

By: David

David — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:31:31 +0000

Thanks. I also asked my contact at Commission Junction and was told that some are openly okay with it (like in your example of “my competition has higher prices”) while others were unknown (in which case we had to ask the merchant).

By: Geno

Geno — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:16:10 +0000

That's because (a) they always allow comparison websites to compare their products to those offered by their competitors; but (b) encouraging you: "sure, go ahead, and feature our competition" (especially since in some cases the merchant's prices may end up looking not attractive) makes little sense, doesn't it?

By: David

David — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:36:07 +0000

Do merchants generally allow or disallow affiliates to operate comparison shopping affiliate websites where product offerings are listed alongside competitors? In my case, as the affiliate, I inquire with the merchant advertiser but in once case they did not respond with a yea or nay.

By: Agi

Agi — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 05:48:53 +0000

Hello,
I am a newbie in marketing, but I know a little PHP programming, SQlite & Linux scripting. I develop several automated showcases that relies on merchants’ datafeed through an affiliate network, and I get a good additional income out of it.

A free basic PHP script that is good for a starter can be obtained from http://www.jce-tech.com/shareasale.php. However, it takes some times to develop the looks to suit your liking. Furthermore, if you know about PHP programming, you can turn the script into a shopping cuopon site.

By: Geno

Geno — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:28:04 +0000

Chris, you actually do not need to establish individual “relationships with vendors” as long as you go through affiliate networks, and pull coupon feeds (for the merchants who have accepted you into their affiliate programs) from every network.

Another (centralized) option to look into is ForMeToCoupon.com.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:45:53 +0000

How on Earth do you set up a shopping coupon site? This seems like an astronomical project, way way WAY beyond anything a beginner could (IMO) deal with. This seems to require a substantial business background, because, I assume, you need to establish an entire business infrastructure: relationships with vendors, delivery capabilities. It would also seems to take YEARS to develop momentum. This is hardly a beginner model…

By: Geno

Geno — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:58:54 +0000

These posts may help you here: How To Guide for Affiliates and 10 Free Online Resources for Affiliates.

By: Mohsin Ali

Mohsin Ali — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:59:35 +0000

Thanks for you informative article. Can you tell me how can i build affiliate page for advertising my programs.