I’ve just been watching corrie while floating about online and a relatively new affiliate popped up on messenger asking for a few mins. Never got enough time for someone asking for a bit of advise, his particular query being related to voucher sites.
Now throughout this whenever I say BBQ sauce think to yourself – how does this site add value and/or be of service to the end user.
This guy asks me how voucher sites do it, he goes on to question the man hours involved, how do they contact thousands of merchants to get voucher codes off each and keep every single code maintained – and how do you get enough traffic for merchants to even look twice at giving you a code. He shows me the voucher sites he been looking at which states something like over 800 merchants.
I take a look, chuckle to myself. The site has got about 800 merchants listed, alpharooms are one of them… we don’t even have a voucher code system…
BBQ sauce
I point this out, and hes not quite sure what to make of it, between us we come up with the fact that you just make the pages – whatever, voucher, no voucher, code, no code and get people to click your link.
BBQ sauce
Do these sites add much? Personally id be tempted to just say no, they try to rank for ‘merchant name vouchers’ and they try to catch the user just before they make a purchase, potentially overwriting another affiliates cookie. How do these sites site with the OFT’s misleading adverts guidelines?
Under the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations (CMARs), we can take action in the courts to prevent publication.
The CMARs prohibit adverts that:
- contain a false statement of fact
- conceal or leave out important facts
- promise to do something – but there is no intention of carrying it out
- create a false impression – even if everything stated in the ad may be literally true.
Source: http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/small_businesses/advertising/advertising2
Now im no legal eagle but if a voucher site advertising a merchant that has no voucher code system, or no voucher available has a button saying “show discount code” “show code + site” “reveal voucher code” then would they not fall under point one for containing a false statement, also number three for promising to reveal a discount code and not doing so, also number four – as I was under the impression I was going to get a discount code!
Give it some time and one of these sites will take it a step too far, cookie dropping or firing off pop ups, a big brand will get annoyed and pull their programme, and before you know it affiliate marketing will have a bit more bad press and we slowly start to move backwards.
Now do I think vouchers have their place? Yes I most certainly do! But that’s tomorrows post 
