This post is a follow up to the one I
wrote last November about discount code sites that "forced" users to click on a link to see if there is a discount code available for a specific retailer. Thus forcing a click to the merchant and setting a cookie on the users PC.
At the time the general consensus of opinion was mixed, but many people weren't comfortable with it. So I basically left my
discount code site as it was and I clearly display any discount codes for everyone to see. However it's 5 months or so since my original blog post and I thought I would do a quick scout of the top 10 results for the term "
discount codes" on Google to see what the state of play was.
Here are my findings, please note I am not being critical of any of these sites, merely reporting the facts. If I've got anything wrong then please leave a comment or
get in touch and I will amend my post accordingly.
1. Discountcodes.co.uk - Uses a "Use Discount" button which loads the merchants site up in a new window with a frame above the header that details the actual discount code.
Example here.
2. Myvouchercodes.co.uk - Uses a "Reveal all discounts, deals and visit sites" button. This displays the codes when clicked as well as opening the merchant site in a new window.
Example here.
3. Discountcodes.tv - This site uses a mixture of both. Take
this page for example, on the left hand side of the page it clearly displays the discount code. However, on the right hand side of the page there is a link that says "Show codes and reveal site". A quick look through the
other pages of the site show that some pages have a "Show codes and reveal site" link and some don't.
4. Vouchercodes.com - Uses a "Show current discount codes and site" button which opens a new window with the merchants site in it.
Example here.
5. Freeinuk.co.uk - displays the voucher code clearly on the page without asking the user to click anything.
Example here.
6. Latestdiscountvouchers.co.uk - displays the voucher code clearly on the page without asking the user to click anything.
Example here.
7. UKOffer.com (my site) - displays the voucher code clearly on the page without asking the user to click anything.
Example here.
8. Ukfrenzy.co.uk - a bit of a mix here,
some pages use a "click for promotional code" and some clearly display the code without having the user click a link.
9. Voucherstar.co.uk - uses a "Show voucher code and site" button which reveals the discount code and then opens the merchants site in a new window.
Example here.
10. Loquax - displays the voucher code clearly on the page without asking the user to click anything.
Example here.
So, as you can see from the Top 10 examples above, its commonly accepted that having some sort of mechanism that asks the user to "click here to reveal the code" is the way to go.
So have I been missing a trick by not employing this method of promoting discount codes?
Yes, most probably.
I think that I will shortly change the structure of my site so that I ask users to click a link to display the discount code, which at the same time opens a new window with the merchants site displayed.
I think that this method will be ethical if I follow my own 3 self imposed guidelines.
1. Only use this method for discount codes. As well as featuring discount codes, my site also displays selected special offers from merchants. I.e. the "
Sun Bingo - £5 free offer". I won't use a "click here to reveal offer" type of link for these type of promotions.
2. I will only ever display discount codes that exist. Some discount code sites have a "click here for discount codes and site" link for merchants even when there is no discount code available. I have never done this and never will.
3. I will always display the expiry date (if supplied) of the discount code above the "click here for code" link. That way the user can clearly see if the expiry date has been reached for the merchant and then decide if they want to go ahead and click the link anyway. As I mentioned
before, I never remove old discount codes.
Hopefully, by abiding by these 3 basic principles I will continue to run an ethical discount code site whilst hopefully managing to increase click through's and therefore sales by encouraging users to click my affiliate links.
My thoughts are twofold, one - everybody else is doing it so why shouldn't I? It's obviously a widely accepted practice for discount code sites to operate in this manner so why miss out? And two, I don't think I can be accused of forcing a click. If a user comes to my site then they obviously have an interest in discount codes and the retailers they search for so intent is definately there.
What does everyone else think?
What I'm listening to right now: Mariah Carey feat T Pain – "Migrate"
about me
Welcome to my blog. My name is Kieron Donoghue and I am the founder of ShareMyPlaylists.com, ContentNow.co.uk and some other stuff. I have no idea why I'm blue on this photo though but I like it!
Going to click/reveal is something I’ve been toying with and you’ve beat me by a few days re: blogging about it. My first step was to get code traffic, that’s happening now but conversion isn’t that good – and I do wonder if it’s because the code is open?
One concern I have about the framed options is does the cookie set? We did some stuff at Christmas for another project and had all sorts of issues with sites unable to open or set cookies within the frame.
Jason
Agree with you 100% Kieron. This is the strategy I’ve adopted for my discount code site. I don’t see why I should miss out on all those referral clicks when other sites get away with it. Like you, I display the expiry date and don’t suggest there are codes when there aren’t. The other thing I’ve added is a tickbox at the top of the page to disable opening the site when the code is revealed. That way people can opt out and there’s no question of “forcing” a click on the affiliate link.
You got to open another window Keiron, you will get another mansion up North soon. Bet a bit of quick split testing will make you 50% more revenue.
Doug
With my Coral page having over 250 views on National Day with people actively looking for their £10 bonus code, I wonder if I could have made £1k more commission just for that 1 merchant on that 1 day by employing this method. They all got the code they wanted but I didn’t get the commission the traffic deserved.
What do I think? I think you under-estimate your own influence… people listen to you and if what they heard was you saying “no, this is a distasteful practice and I’m not doing it” then what looks like a gathering stampede in that direction might well be slowed.
Personally I dislike the whole discount code thing, whatever form it’s presented in, and reckon it’s got out of hand. But what do I know?
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It’s a shame the networks and merchants don’t actually set down a bit more about this, or at least take a stand one way or the other. Personally, as a user I find it a real wind up, especially when I click reveal and there’s nothing there.
I don’t see a problem with this strategy/tactic and I think if you’re going to employ it, it should be done properly.
I agree, from a customer’s perspective, I would have to say I want to know 2 things:
1) What the deal is before I click on any links and;
2) The expiry date of the code.
I can imagine , as a customer, I would be annoyed at any voucher code site that simply directs me to a merchant site with no discount code… Or even worse, I get all the way to the checkout only to find the code is invalid or has expired.
… And likely would delete my cookies
I think you’re right, especially if you stick by your guidelines. I don’t see any issue with it. Like Doug says, it may be worth doing some split testing before going 100%. The other thing you passed over is that your site is now number 7, great news.
I’ve now switched to the click/frame method… will be blogging about what goes on shortly.
Don’t know if you have heard but StarBlu issued a code individually recently that even if someone uses it without clicking your link, you still get the commission. If they can do it, why can’t others and put an end to having to do all this window stuff?
funny enough I had this same idea today before reading this post as I was looking for a code as I was buying something online. The only hard part for me is coding something that can make this possible..
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Just to make crystal clear, as this post doesn’t, my site gives information on what the discount is that is being offered, BEFORE you click on any link and BEFORE any merchant page is loaded.
Chris – indeed it does mate. Wasn’t being critical of your site or any of the others. I was just looking to see how many sites displayed the actual discount code itself without asking the user to click.
Appreciate that mate, but we know so many sites that don’t give details of what is on offer, because many times, there is nothing to be had. No offer, no discount, no zippidydoda. Just wanted to make sure that I ain’t banded with them others
I thought about doing something like this when I first started out almost 10 years ago, but soon found out it went against the terms and conditions of the network/programmes. I’m surprised it’s allowed today.
Although I personally don’t like this now, In AM (or any other business) I think you have to do your best to maximise profits whilst not breaking the rules. Do it until they ban it!
It’s nice to see that your even considering an ‘ethical’ approach, something that too many people forget before their implementation….bravo!
Hi Kieron,
I’d also like to make it clear our code site (number three on your list) ONLY displays “Show codes and visit site” link if we have an offer or code – admittedly the site isn’t every 100% up to date but we do remove out of date codes as we add new ones.
We also, as you pointed out, clearly display some codes when they are news items.
We also operate another site where all codes are clearly displayed but if we get around to re-developing it I suspect we’d take the “click to visit site and reveal code” route which I believe is perfectly acceptable.
What is the best discount management system out there. Do you guys know of any good ones? Do people just use customized wordpress installs or joomla..
I was wanting to start one but before I ever start something I always think of the up keep and management issues. Having thousands of codes could be a pain to up keep without a good discount system.
Having just started a discount code site I researched all the various ways of linking into merchants sites and came to a similar conclusion. A pop up/under on page load is to spammy as is an iframe. This way seems to be the best balance between ethics and making money.
Well 2 weeks of using click to reveal was enough, and things are back to reveal code without click. Somehow it just seems better that way.
Jason. I was hoping all my competitors were going to go down the route Kieron wants to pursue. 2 weeks of me doing the exact opposite and I’m laughing all the way to the bank.
Why do you work out how the cookies work and then write them to the potential customers harddrive and still show your discount codes. You could even write all the cookies for your site to their hard drive as your page loads.
Late reply, but still an interesting post.
The IAB guidelines, and Networks, seem to have almost got on top of the “Click to Reveal” standards which is good to see. I still don’t like it, but our site (no. 6 on your list) uses CTR when a code exists and merchants don’t object to using CTR.