Programme Setup
Part of Affiliate programme terms and publisher rules
Defining permitted traffic sources for affiliates
Create affiliate traffic rules for declared properties, paid search, email, social promotion and written exceptions.
Define affiliate traffic permission by method, property and conditions. “Social allowed” does not say whether a publisher may buy ads, use the brand name or send traffic through another account.
Give each partner a clear default and a written way to request an exception before promotion starts.
Build a permission matrix
List the methods publishers actually propose. For each, record whether it is permitted, prohibited or subject to approval.
Identify the property carrying the promotion and the destination customers will reach. The questions below help an advertiser make its own decisions; they are not universal channel rules.
| Method | Decision to record |
|---|---|
| Editorial site or creator channel | Which declared properties and formats are covered? |
| Organic social or video | Are posts, profiles and live formats included? |
| Paid search | How are brand terms, misspellings, generic terms and direct linking treated? |
| Paid social or display | Which creative, audience and landing destination need approval? |
| Email or messaging | Who controls the list and who sends the message? |
| Voucher or cashback page | Which offers and codes may appear? |
| Browser tools, redirects or subpublishers | Are these methods allowed, and who is accountable for them? |
Awin's programme terms cover matters such as commission and search engine promotion. A partner category in an interface does not, on its own, explain every permitted behaviour; the programme terms must do that work.
Make conditions specific
For paid search, say whether a publisher may bid on the brand or its variations, use the brand in ad copy, link directly to the advertiser or route visitors through its own page. Identify any campaign-specific permission and its effective dates. Avoid relying on a broad “no trademark bidding” rule when the intended boundary is more detailed.
For commercial emails or messages, specify who is responsible for consent, accurate sender identification and an effective unsubscribe route. The ACMA publishes guidance on avoiding spam, which is relevant here.
A publisher sending its own communications may have its own obligations; permission under affiliate terms is not recipient consent.
For editorial and social placements, require accurate product claims and a commercial disclosure where the audience might otherwise mistake promotion for an independent recommendation. A switch from an approved review placement to paid traffic needs a new method decision.
Record exceptions and indirect sources
Ask a publisher using a subpublisher, browser extension or redirect to explain where the promotion appears and who controls it. Hold approval while a material source is unknown. This is a permission decision, not a finding of abuse.
Record an exception against the publisher, property, method, campaign, landing destination, dates and approver. Keep the response with the accepted terms. If permission changes, tell affected partners when the new rule begins and which existing placements it affects.
A publisher should be able to answer one question before spending money or publishing: “May I use this method on this property for this offer?”
