Editing affiliate code?

It says not to, but can you do it?

[2oddSox]

Hi folks,

Please forgive the newbiness of this question, but I was wondering if it's possible to safely edit the descriptive text part of an affiliate text link?

e.g.

<a href=http://www.affiliatessite.com/redir.asp?blah-blah>Change this part of the text to my needs</a>

They say not to, as commissions will be lost if any part of the code is altered, but does this mean the description part of it also?

Many thanks,

2odd...

[ukgimp]

This part of the code should be up to you. You want to taylor your link text to your site copy, not have their, possibly spammy text.

Sounds like you need to find a new affiliate.

[Robber]

Be careful with financial merchants - they often have very strict Ts and Cs and dont like anything to be changed.

[2oddSox]

Thanks guys,

ukgimp, that's exactly what I'd assume would be the case. But short of doing dummy orders, how can one be sure that this is indeed the situation?

Robber, I share your concern about the TOC, but when an affiliate says don't change the code, does that mean all of the code, or just the programming part of it?

Thanks for the responses btw :) Much appreciated.

2odd...

[deejay]

Not that I've got a lot of experience with it.... but I've always taken that statement to mean don't mess with the <a href=http://www.affiliatessite.com/redir.asp?blah-blah> part of the link, which is logical.

If you're going to market effectively you definitely want to be able to alter the link text... bearing in mind any branding/image restrictions the merchant might have.

[2oddSox]

deejay,

Thanks for that - that's what I assumed as well. I suppose the only way to find for sure is to try both methods and send some dummy transactions thru.

Thanks all for the help :)

2odd...

[Woz]

deejay's post is also what I assume. If you are in doubt though it may be worthwhile to drop them a line asking for clarification and then keep their reply as evidence should they complain at a later stage.

Onya
Woz

[Robber]

Most of the time you can customise the text as you like. But you may find the financial ones need to have even the text unchanged for legal reasons - even if your change is very minor and still accurate it is worth getting it approved with these types of merchants. If you are selling things like books, computer games, clothes etc you can usually change whatever you want.

[Drastic]

If this is for CPC (yes a few are still out there), do NOT change anything.

Most of the time, the "don't modify the code" is in there for the assurance that clicks are being tracked. You can usually change things without problems, using good common sense. However, do so at your own risk.

When in doubt, ask the merchant.

[eljefe3]

Definitely ask the merchant. I know of some programs that have "approved text" that can't be changed, while other programs don't want you to change the aff ID code for tracking purposes, so it's always the best thing to contact the merchant and verify what can or can't be changed.

[2oddSox]

Many thanks for the input, folks. Much appreciated.

As a relative newcomer to affiliate programs I'll probably play it safe and not edit the code for the time being (until I get a bit wiser about the ramifications of doing so), and I will definitely contact the merchant and ask their opinion (it actually scares me that the option of contacting the merchant direct didn't even enter my brain - but then again, I did strip down my computer the other night 'cos when connecting to the internet I got a pop-up saying that the modem couldn't detect a dial tone. One hour later, and my computer in bits, I discovered that my phone line had been disconnected 'cos I forgot to pay the bill. Sometimes the most obvious solutions are the hardest to see...)

2odd...