Affiliates Terms of Use
Our Affiliates Program offers eligible affiliates, including blogs and other third party websites (“Affiliates”), the opportunity to earn commissions on qualifying sales and vendor signup that originate from links to SME Marketplace’s websites on an Affiliate’s site or social media channel. This Affiliates Policy explains your rights and responsibilities when participating in Our Affiliates Program.
This policy is a part of our Terms of Service. By participating in SME Marketplace NG Affiliates Program, you’re agreeing to this policy and our Terms of Service. This Policy may change over time, by continuing to use SME Marketplace NG services you agree to those changes.
1. Eligibility and Enrollment in SME Marketplace NG Affiliates Program
Prospective affiliates must apply and be approved by us in order to gain access to the Affiliates Program.
Prospective affiliates are evaluated based on criteria such as type of site, site quality, site content, variety of site content and items promoted, brand identity, and alignment with Our values. During the application process, prospective affiliates may be asked to share additional information about any of the listed criteria.
Marketplace vendors are eligible for the Affiliates Program but are not eligible to earn commission on sales from their own shops or from closely related shops. Closely related shops are shops in which a Marketplace vendor has a financial interest or that have a material connection, such as a shared bank account or credit card, with the vendor’s own shop.
To be eligible for our Affiliates Program, you must:
a. Have a website with a URL – all unique sites and URLs must be approved separately by us;
b. Have an appropriate amount of content on your site;
We may contact Affiliates directly with essential program updates. If you no longer consent to be contacted or wish to leave the program, you must send an email to affiliates@smemarketplace.ng. We reserve the right to remove Affiliates from the Affiliates Program and refuse service to anyone, for any reason, at any time.
Participation in the Affiliates Program may be limited to affiliates located in certain countries and is void where prohibited by law. We reserve the right to approve or reject any application to join the Affiliates Program for any reason.
2. Commission Rates, Qualifying Sales and Payment
As an affiliate, you can receive commissions for qualifying sales. Commission rates are determined on a case by case basis and may vary based on a variety of factors such as type of site and content. For current commission rates, click here.
Qualifying sales are sales made on SME Marketplace Nigeria by users that arrived on the SME Marketplace Nigeria site by clicking an approved link on an Affiliate’s site (an “Affiliate Link”) and pay by credit or debit card, or any other approved payment processor. Affiliate links, including URLs and banners or other creative assets, can be found on the Affiliates Program Dashboard. Affiliates may not alter any of the text links or creative assets made available through the Affiliates Program Dashboard in order to receive payment.
The Affiliates Program platform uses browser cookies to verify qualifying sales. The cookies are valid for thirty (30) days (the “Cookie Period”). Commissions are paid on qualifying sales made during the Cookie Period. This means that an Affiliate can receive a commission for a qualifying sale if the sale was made within thirty days of the user clicking the Affiliate Link, as long as the Affiliate was the last referrer. If a user clicks multiple Affiliate Links, the last Affiliate Link to be clicked prior to a qualifying sale will receive the commission. If the user’s last click prior to making the purchase was a paid channel, such as Google PPC, the purchase will not be a qualifying sale and an Affiliate will not receive a commission.
Commissions are calculated by multiplying the relevant commission rate and the price of the qualifying sales (excluding shipping costs and taxes). Commissions are not paid on sales that are canceled or returned.
Commissions are subject to review and other limitations for fraudulent activity. We reserve the right to withhold commissions if fraudulent activity is found.
3. Program Restrictions
Affiliates that violate any of the following program restrictions may be suspended or removed from the Affiliates Program and may not receive commissions, in our sole discretion:
Social Media and Sharing
Affiliates may only post affiliate links on social media feeds they operate in line with their website URL, such as Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
Use of Voucher Codes
Affiliates may only promote voucher codes that are provided through the Affiliates Program. Any expiration dates should be clearly displayed next to the voucher codes, and codes should be removed or explicitly marked as expired after the expiration dates. Affiliates displaying expired codes without marking them as being expired may be suspended from the Affiliates Program.
Paid Search
We maintain a strict policy on paid search activity. Affiliates must comply with the following conditions on any ad platform, including, but not limited to search engines, content networks, and social networking sites:
a. Affiliates are not permitted to appear on searches that include the term “SME Marketplace NG”;
b. Affiliates are not permitted to bid or appear on misspellings or variations of searches that include the term “SME Marketplace NG”;
c. Affiliates are not permitted to use our trademarks in any paid search activity, including ad text, copy or display URLs;
Responsibility for Your Site
You are solely responsible for your site, including its development, operation, and maintenance, and all materials that appear on or within it. We disclaim all liability for your site, for your social media content, and for any of your users’ claims relating to your site, and you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold SME Marketplace NG harmless from and against all claims relating to your site.
Updated May 1th, 2020
