Unfortunately - there’s too many who aren’t knowledgable enough to know that this isn’t a good idea. (Thank you for bringing attention to it.)

As far as your complaints about JROX (aka JAM) - I’d have to say this is more than likely the operator rather than JROX itself. JROX is known as an excellent affiliate program service.

To make you sign up three times and for the links to not work - it sounds as though to me that someone did not install it correctly.

To make their affiliates have to change the affiliate links many different times is a huge no-no.

Well - look at what you did - you said adios - and I don’t blame you. How many links did you have to change every time they changed the links?

I will pass on a little tip for you from an affiliate marketer point of view … you always want to set up a redirect.

First of all, unfortunately, sometimes the links do have to be changed. For example, maybe someone’s program had been outgrew because of an influx of affiliates joining. Maybe the affiliate service had some technical difficulties or maybe the affiliate program owner had a hosting crash. There are a multitude of reasons why this could potentially happen.

If you set up a redirect, then you only have to change one link which will in turn change all your links (if you ever need help with this, give me a yell)

Another reason to set up a redirect is it makes for a much “prettier” link. Some of those affiliate links are about the longest - most ugliest links I’ve ever seen, lol.

Another reason is for those not so honest customers who for reasons I’ll never understand, cut off the code part of the link and go directly to the site without giving the affiliate credit (again, something I’ll never understand - I believe in giving credit where credit is due)

One more reason is, it makes the link much easier for the affiliate and the customer to remember.

Let me give you one example here (hope you don’t mind!) I’m a reseller for web hosting and domain names.

My “official link” is this:
http://www.securepaynet.net/gdshop/rhp/default.asp?migrate=%2Fdefault%2Easp&se=%2B&prog_id=mommyshelperonline&pl_id=110387

The link I use is this:
http://www.mommyshelperonline.com/web-hosting.html

As a potential customer, which one are you going to remember?

As an affiliate - let’s say I’m writing a blog post and wanted to include my link to my hosting - it’s so much easier for me to remember the one that I use. Otherwise, I’d have to stop and go digging for my link because it would be impossible to remember the first one.

And if the company I resell for has technical difficulties and needs to change our links - all I have to do is simply change my redirect and that will automatically change probably hundreds of the links I have floating around the net right now.

(Hmm… thanks! I feel an article about the importance of setting up an affiliate link redirect coming on!)

If you’re going to set up an affiliate program and you’re not sure what you’re doing - invest a little bit of money and hire someone who does know. You’re going to get the investment back ten fold because you’re going to have a better affiliate program and happier affiliates. Happier affiliates make more affiliate sales means more money for you.

Unfortunately, everybody and their brother has an affiliate program now but have no clue how to run it properly. Long gone are the days of setting up a program, offering a few link examples and asking some friends to sign up - long gone. It’s so much more these days.

Great discussion! Thanks for stopping by my blog and sharing your thoughts!