In this post we will discuss the two types of affiliate agreements;This post is the first of a series to help you kick start your affiliate marketing journey. the Affiliate network agreement, and the Affiliate program agreement. In addition to the key rules and policies to pay attention to.

These agreements define and govern the relationship between the affiliates and merchants and they are legally binding, so it’s very important that you understand and be able to distinguish between the two;There are two types of agreements to be aware of, as well as the key rules and policies to pay attention to. The two types of agreements, you should review are, the Affiliate network agreement, and Affiliate program agreements.

Don't underestimate the importance of these legally binding documents. And make sure you understand them. Both first, in order to comply withabide by them, and second to set your expectations on the proper level.

Type 1 - Affiliate network agreements: Theyse are agreements that govern your relationship with affiliate networks. Among other things, these agreements cover such important provisionss as the Terms terms of network service.  Ppromotional rules, restrictions, and payment terms.

Type 2 - Affiliate program agreements: These agreements define and govern your the relationship . But, in this case, between you and the advertiser. Many advertisers will have additional terms, to those that you will see in affiliate networks agreements, thatagreements which you will have to comply with.

The other ways these agreements may be called Other names for these agreements, are are Terms of use, or terms of services, abbreviated as TOS, Service Agreement, Terms and Conditions, Ts and & Cs, or Policies. It is important to understand remember that you will be bound by both. And it is important to familiarize yourself with them, and comply with both. So try to familiarize yourself with them.

Some of the keywords that you will usually see in the agreements are: locking dates, cookie lifetime, qualified referrals, reversed Transactions, protected search engine marketing bidding keywords, prohibited website domain keywords, prohibited website content, and unacceptable websites, the use of logos and trademarks, and subaffiliates, and they say that coupons may only be used if they are provided exclusively through their affiliate program.As you review affiliate program agreements, there are seven key clauses to pay attention to:

  1. Payment terms; that is, the number of referrals that the merchant is willing to pay you for, the locking dates and the extension possibilities for these locking dates.
  2. Trademark policies, as they relate to paid search, domains, HTML tags, and review trademark plus rules. You may not be allowed to bid on trademarks exclusively. But it may be okay to bid on trademark plus an additional keyword, on search engines, such as, "brand name review".
  3. Coupon and discounts policies; will point out whether you’re allowed to only use affiliate program-specific coupons, or whether it is okay for you to harvest coupons from other sources like social media and email campaigns of that particular merchant and specify which are the non-commissionable sales or products.
  4. Search engine marketing rules: such as keywords, display URLs, ad copy and direct linking.
  5. Domain-related policies: Review them for trademarks and specific keywords.
  6. Content-related policies: pertaining to unacceptable content, use of logos and trademarks and the usage of press releases.
  7. Allowed and prohibited promotional methods: Using prohibited advertising methods may lead to suspending your account, so take close attention to this list. The advertising methods that are usually mentioned are: Display, Contextual advertising, Video, Social, Email, and Loyalty and incentives methods like offering cash back.

To recap, you'll want to clearly distinguish between 2 types of agreements; network, and program agreements. Do not underestimate the importance of these agreements. They are legally binding. And Also keep in mind the , seven specific policieskey clauses, those related to payments, trademarks, coupons, search engine marketing, domains, content and promotional methods mentioned above..

Refer to our other blog post to read more about the seven important sections in any affiliate agreement. [Link to How to read Affiliate agreements]

In our next post we will be explaining to you the types of affiliate marketing.