Legitimate Adware Application Launch

[NeilDurrant]

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Hi All,

I wanted to pre-empt any concerns over our new software launch and just take a moment to assure everyone that GreasyPalm's new software application will NOT over-write your affiliate links!

There's a fine line between 'spyware' and legitimate 'adware' applications.

I consider our new software application, Rebate Catcher, to be a legitimate adware product - although no doubt some will still simply lump us in the spyware category anyway!

So what does Rebate Catcher do?

The software is designed to notify our *members* when a cashback reward is available from a participating retailer, merchandise any special offers and encourage our members to complete their transaction.

This has been done before by other applications except in many cases these simply haven't respected other affiliate links or have proved unreliable in doing so!

We are not in business to divert revenue from other website publishers and as such Rebate Catcher has been built from the ground up with the core functionality to have the ability to recognise other affiliate links and not take any action.

If one of our members should visit your site and clicks one of your affiliate links then Rebate Catcher will take no action and NOT overwrite your link.

Rebate Catcher is only available to GreasyPalm members.

The software is installed with express permission of the user.

The software is easy to uninstall.

During development we have consulted with a number of other affiliate publishers, merchants and networks, Rebate Catcher also complies with the 'US-led' Code of Conduct enforced by a number of overseas affiliate networks including Commission Junction here in the UK.

Please feel free to test Rebate Catcher for yourself - to install the application you will need to open a new GreasyPalm account and opt to install the software. Once installed check your existing affiliate links for non-interference! (We have tested this on mulitpile systems using various methods of masking affiliate links and haven't yet managed to 'catch out' the software - if however you do find anything unusual drop me an email and I will have it addressed immediately).

Sorry for the long post but I know such applications are an emotive topic and I really wanted the chance to show you all what Rebate Catcher is doing.

If you have any concerns whether you're a merchant or affiliate then please do get in touch and I'll be happy to talk these through with you in more detail.

All the best,

Neil Durrant
GreasyPalm.co.uk

neil@greasypalm.co.uk

[Chris Clarkson]

Hi Neil,
Looks like another brilliant idea, will you be offering this software to current members (by newsletter or whatever)?

Cheers

Chris

[999gi]

I love it
It must have taken some negotiating with the merchants
Its an auto commisssion enabler ensuring that there is no way that a merchant doesnt pay commission on all sales for life, rather than for a one time cookie period.

[John]

Sounds great to me, and as someone who's been testing the software for the last few weeks, I can confirm that it does indeed work, and has not interfered with a single affiliate link.

According to Neil's newsletter earlier today, the software will be promoted to all existing GP members via a competition incentive next week.

[Ben K.]

Hi Neil,

You're welcome to promote GoToMyPC through RebateCatcher. We have lots of links available through CJ, but can also provide custom links.

It looks like your site would deliver a good quality customer and I woulc be happy to see your users receive a GoToMyPC Rebate. Please feel free to contact me directly.

[999gi]

One thing though
If it allows affiliate links then wont your members complain that it doesnt work some of the time and ask you for one where they get the cashback all the time

[NeilDurrant]

If it allows affiliate links then wont your members complain that it doesnt work some of the time and ask you for one where they get the cashback all the time

I won't provide them an application that overwrites affiliate links. I'd be outcast from the forum. Lynched at the next Get2Gether. Kicked out of the affiliate networks and generally abused from every angle

However my business model does revolve around retaining my members loyalty and makes it my task in educating my members to use the GP members interface at all times before shopping - Rebate Catcher is designed to serve as a reminder to those that forget to log-in in the first instance!

[Azam.net]

Good 'un Neil. You have clearly put a lot of work into the Rebate Catcher to ensure that us affiliates are not taken for a right.

So refreshing to see somebody who is whiter-than-white in this industry. I have about as much respect for some companies running affiliate programs as I have for al-Qaeda.

[Chris]

Hi Neil,

I have to play devil's advocate here, because as a rule on programs we run we reject any kind of download / install application.....

Suppose a customer clicks on an afifliate link on Site A and they go to the merchants site, your software will then alert the member if there is a rebate available for that merchant correct?

When and how does the notification take place, with a pop up? On the home page, the shopping basket product page, all?

How will your pop up know if the user initially came from an affiliate site or a non affiliate site before allowing for the user to click a link that will put tracking in place?

If a merchant is paying CPC on Overture/Google etc, with no coupon promoted and then that user comes to their site, will your software activate and then cause a triple cost to the merchant in terms of CPC, Coupon and Commission?

For merchants the definition of parasitic doesn't stop at "overwrites affiliate links" , it goes into overwriting other tracking and inserting costs where none previously existed.

Cheers

Chris

[Rich]

Chris, take my answers with a pinch of salt if you wish as I'm not part of GP, but I did take part in the testing of the application. I just thought I'd post my unbiased experiences based on testing (and an ickle hacking )

If a visitor gets to a merchant via an affiliate link then there will be no interference by the app; no popup will show and the click will not be redirected in any way. This was the part I focused on testing and however the affiliate link was instigated I couldn't get the app to 'activate' when it shouldn't.

The popup/redirect happens as soon as the user enters your domain, not at a later point. That is how it knows how the user got to your site.

If a merchant is paying CPC on Overture/Google etc, with no coupon promoted and then that user comes to their site, will your software activate and then cause a triple cost to the merchant in terms of CPC, Coupon and Commission?

I'm not too sure how this works or whether it is universal, but I tested this with some adwords for Figleaves by Figleaves and the popup didn't show even though there were no affiliate links in the url.

Anyway, thats my view (for what its worth) I'm sure Neil will put it a lot better!

[NeilDurrant]

Hello Chris,

Suppose a customer clicks on an afifliate link on Site A and they go to the merchants site, your software will then alert the member if there is a rebate available for that merchant correct?

No. If a user clicks site A's affiliate link it will recognise that link and in turn not launch *any* messaging windows or interfere in anyway.

It doesn't matter if that link is a direct affiliate link or masked by any kind of redirect.

The ignore instruction is enforced for the rest of that session (including any child windows spawned).

How will your pop up know if the user initially came from an affiliate site or a non affiliate site before allowing for the user to click a link that will put tracking in place?

The application is a Browser Helper Object as such it has direct access to the browsers navigational path. So we use a logic statement that if referring link=affiliate link then take no action.

Since the soft launch two days ago I have noted a couple of issues which we have either resolved or are now working on. If a program has an independent program and a network based program then I need to make special allowances in the BHO ignore file to ensure we don't pop on the indy links. In some cases this can be done. Where the indy tracking can't be isolated then I will simply remove that merchant completely from the app.

Additionally this weeks trials have shown that a server side redirect from the merchant to a sub-domain are confusing the application (theres only a couple of sites doing this but I will have a fix pushed on this one early next week).

If a merchant is paying CPC on Overture/Google etc, with no coupon promoted and then that user comes to their site, will your software activate and then cause a triple cost to the merchant in terms of CPC, Coupon and Commission?

The short answer - yes.

I might review adding the PPC domains to the ignore file.

For merchants the definition of parasitic doesn't stop at "overwrites affiliate links" , it goes into overwriting other tracking and inserting costs where none previously existed.

I understand your point of view.

Merchant and affiliate have somewhat conflicting positions. The merchant desires traffic at the lowest cost with the aim of then transferring loyalty from my property to theirs.

My take on this is that we are not going to play games with mulitiple network accounts etc. If a merchant doesn't want to work us or wants to review the terms of our existing relationship then I'll be open to discuss an *equitable* solution with them on an individual basis.

Our core merchandising activity is from our site and newsletter - thats where most of our sales come from. I see Rebate Catcher designed as an extension of our marketing reach, reminding our users (who have pro-actively joined us and opted to install the app) where rebates are available, keeping *my brand* in the frame and handling the problem we have with users claiming rebates that haven't been reported by the retailer.

The one advantage I have is seeing the behaviour of my members. The active users religiously follow merchants working with us. Personally I'm amazed at the frequency of purchasing patterns by some. But I also receive the requests for rebates when affiliate tracking has failed. This failure could be one of two reasons. Either user error (they forgot to login and click through our affiliate links) or occasional tracking errors from the networks- personally I think its a little bit of both. Whatever reason it's a direct cost to me as I have been reimbursing non-tracked rebates to my members to retain that users loyalty. It's my hope that Rebate Catcher will provide the tool to correct many of these non-tracked issues.

- Neil

[spatny]

Hi,

Can I be sure about this.

If someone has visited my site, and accepted a 30 or 90 day cookie from me via an affiliate link, the 'rebate catcher' will not overide this cookie if he or she decides to purchase in say 10 or 20 days time?

Now I also have an online store, will the 'rebate catcher' catch a potential antivirus software purchase from my store and suggest somewhere else?

Thanks for your time

[SpendaPenny]

Just signed up...

Where the software ?

Am I being an ass ? I can't see it !!

Pip

[NeilDurrant]

Spatny,

Rebate Catcher can identify your direct affiliate link and in this case it will not produce any kind of messaging.

However it's technically impossible for any third party application to read back an aged cookie.

As such if you refer a visitor to a merchant who does not buy in that session and who is a member of GP using Rebate Catcher who revisits the mechant without going via your (or anyone elses affiliate link) again then yes the application will launch.

I do understand this could be a bone of contention.

However, I justify this on the basis that the individual users has bought into the value-add concept of GreasyPalm and made a direct decision to install the software for the benefit of their own interests. That level of user choice is no different to a user making a choice to block cookies by ramping up their settings on IE or enabling ad blocking on Norton firewall.

Now I also have an online store, will the 'rebate catcher' catch a potential antivirus software purchase from my store and suggest somewhere else?

No. The messaging systems do not provide any contextual alerts or re-direction of users buying pattern.

[NeilDurrant]

Where the software ?

Hmm, when you completed the original registration form you would have had a tick box on the bottom of the page to opt in to install.

However this would not appear if your system will not support the software (ie. anything other than IE 5.0+/Win98+).

Maybe your using Netscape or a Mac - in which case you wouldn't have been presented with the option to install?