sugarrae - 1:30 am on Dec 10, 2006 (gmt 0)

>>>My question is do the affiliate links offer any RP or backlink benefit

In the current format you showed, no.

>>>is there any way to modify the links so they would contribute to the aforementioned

In theory, a 301 redirect to the main url that transfers the affiliate information to a cookie.

>>>Actually, that was not the question I posed

Actually, what you missed was Woz trying to give you a friendly heads up that affiliates do not like it when a merchant tries to take advantage of their work to boost their own site. They don't think you're taking away sales. They think you're climbing on their back to use their backlinks to propel your own site to the top of the engines, above theirs. Smart affiliates will simply place the links on their own site in a way that circumvents any PR benefit you would gain even with the 301s in place. Spiteful affililiates may shop around for a new affiliate program. Your top affiliates may do either... and believe me, with a screenshot of their sales records with your program, they'll have more than enough to get a better deal somewhere else.

I'm a long time affiliate and I'd can you in a heartbeat for doing it to me and get with your biggest competitor. And if you were the only game in town? I'd simply make sure *I* passed you no value (and continue to look for your competition). What Woz (and later Marcia) were trying to point out was that you stand to lose sales, even though you may increase search engine ranks, by trying to piggyback on the work of your affiliates - your *important* affiliates will know exactly what you're doing and why.

That said, you don't seem very concerned with any potential fallout, as long as you can figure a way to make the links count... all of these companies so anxious to steal link popularity from their affiliates will be the first people to whine if it ever *hurts* them in the engines...

Do unto others...

And welcome to webmasterworld [webmasterworld.com].