Membership Agreements are necessary to become a part of an affiliate program. Affiliate programs extremely popular with online marketers. Almost every store or service provider with an Internet portal or presence (”advertiser”) that offers products (e.g. Netflix, Amazon, and Best Buy for starters) runs an affiliate program. An affiliate is one who promotes another websites products or services and receives a commission from the advertiser every time a user is referred to their site from the affiliate’s marketing efforts. To become an affiliate member, one must register with the advertiser’s program and consent to the terms and conditions of its programs.

The conditions of membership agreements usually address certain issues. For starters, the affiliate must have a website, and must agree not to promote sexually explicit material, violence, illegal activities, or discrimination. The affiliate’s website and its promotional methods must be approved by the advertiser. The agreement should also address how much the affiliate will get paid for each referral, and how often the affiliate receives payment. It is common for advertisers to pay out on Net-15 basis, which means the affiliate gets paid on the 15th of each month.

The agreement should also advise the affiliate as to how the affiliate receives compensation. Most affiliate programs today payout affiliates on a Cost-Per-Action or “CPA” basis, meaning the affiliate only gets paid if the user buys the advertiser’s product, signs up for the advertiser’s service, or takes another action that the advertiser desires the user to take. Some advertiser’s still pay affiliates on a Cost-Per-Click or “CPC” basis, meaning the affiliate will receive a commission for each user who clicks on the advertiser’s banner or text link and is referred to the advertiser’s website, regardless of whether a purchase is made.

Finally, the membership agreement should address the advertiser’s policy on keyword bidding. Some advertisers prohibit affiliates from bidding on keywords without their express written permission. Other advertisers allow bidding on keywords, however, most do not allow affiliates to bid on the advertiser’s trademark or any misspellings of the trademark. Often, the affiliate may not bid on the trademark of the advertiser’s partners either.

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