How ViaWeb and ShopSite Pro Incorporate Affiliate Program Software

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ViaWeb 4.1 includes a Link Tracker feature that allows the merchant to set up new affiliates in the Manager section. It generates two URLs: one for the affiliate to use to send referrals, and another on which the associate can monitor sales made through the referral system. The program then automatically prepares an e-mail message to inform the affiliate of the links and welcome the associate to the program. Daily the program updates on a Web page three fields for each associate: number of visitors, number of orders, and amount of sale (sorted either by number of orders or amount of revenue). While Link Tracker makes it easy to sign up affiliates and monitor sales by affiliates, it does not facilitate linking to individual products, nor make it easy to provide detailed reporting to affiliates. For more information see ViaWeb's help screen http://www.viaweb.com/tracklink.html

ICentral ShopSite Pro 3.3 also adds an associates program capability. The set-up feature has fields for an associate's name, e-mail address, commission (flat or percentage), and the URL on the merchant's site to which referrals from this associate should be redirected (the front door to the store, a special product section, or customized page for this referrer's customers). The program generates a referral URL for the associate, and sends the associate an e-mail each time an order is made by his or her referral. At the end of a period, the merchant can download each associate's orders in a tab-delimited file for processing in a spreadsheet or database. Each order includes the sales total before taxes and shipping. While the e-mail to inform affiliates of orders provides instant feedback, the program doesn't provide an online or e-mail summary of commissions earned. While the tab-delimited file of each affiliate's orders allows for detailed processing and reporting, the requirement to individually download order files for each affiliate will be tedious for more than a few affiliates. For more information see the ShopSite help page at http://www.shopsite.com/help/associates.html

Both ViaWeb and ShopSite Pro have made a good start towards facilitating an affiliate program. They'll be great for a small network, but may lose their glamour if many affiliates actually sign up.