Can I use merchant's URL as display?

[zpivat]

I think the rules can be different (depending on the merchants), but I am not too sure and hence I want to know: suppose I were to promote a Clickbank affiliate program of merchant www.xyz.com through Google Adwords (for example). Generally, is it okay if I use xyz.com as the display URL? Would that violate trademark?

[LifeinAsia]

If the landing page is on that domain, that's exactly what you're supposed to be doing.

[SanDiego Art]

Whether or not you can use the merchant's URL as the display is usually specified in their affiliate program rules. If the FINAL URL is on merchant's domain, then you use that as your display. If you are creating your own affiliate page for the merchant, then you would use your own (or wherever the page is hosted) as the display URL.

Again, whether or not the merchant allows direct PPC traffic to their website AND/OR the use of their dispaly URL is set in their policies, not the policy of Google/Yahoo/MSN.

[zpivat]

Thanks guys. All the replies made a lot of sense.

In other words, if a merchant prohibits affiliates from showing the URL in the display, then practically I'll just have to create a landing page residing on my own domain right?

[Rehan]

Again, whether or not the merchant allows direct PPC traffic to their website AND/OR the use of their dispaly URL is set in their policies, not the policy of Google/Yahoo/MSN.

Yahoo doesn't allow affiliates to link directly to merchants... So sometimes it can be specified in the search engine's policy as well.

In other words, if a merchant prohibits affiliates from showing the URL in the display, then practically I'll just have to create a landing page residing on my own domain right?

Exactly. And keep in mind that Google says [adwords.google.com] "your site should not mirror (be similar or nearly identical in appearance to) your parent company's or another advertiser's site.".

[edited by: Rehan at 9:58 pm (utc) on Oct. 1, 2007]