[[help:referral_and_affiliate_link_differences]]
Table of Contents
Referral and Affiliate Link Differences
On OzBargain we are programmatically making distinguishing between 3 types of links our users might post in the posts and in the comments.
| Link | In Deal Link | In Post Content (Deal or Forum) | In Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affiliate Links | Not allowed | Not allowed | Not allowed |
| Referral Links | Not allowed | Not allowed1) | Not allowed |
| Others | Allowed2) | Allowed | Allowed |
What are the differences between referral and affiliate links? In short, this is our definition on OzBargain:
Referral links pay referrers site-credit. Affiliate links pay affiliates real money.Referral Links
- Pays site-credit that cannot be redeemed as real currency to be paid into referrer's bank or PayPal account.
- Don't usually require referrers to have a website or run a business.
- Usually encourage the referrers to share the link via email or social media.
Affiliate Links
- Pays the affiliates real currency, as a form of commission.
- Usually from affiliate networks (DGM, Commission Junction, LinkShare, etc) given to their affiliates, who run websites or marketing related business. Sometimes directly from merchants.
- There are usually rules affiliates need to abide in terms of where they can place the affiliate links, sometimes differ on merchant by merchant level.
Examples
- Referral links via their Refer a Friend program are supported in the OzBargain referral system.
- Affiliate links via affiliate networks (such as DGM) are not allowed/supported.
- Referral links via their Recommend a Friend program are supported in the OzBargain referral system.
- Affiliate links via their Commission Junction affiliate program are not allowed/supported..
1)
See exception in referral link posting rules
2)
Non-affiliate/referral links are still subjected to manual/community spam test
Last edited by hamza23 on 2017/06/13 22:30