For some this may be old news, but on August 1, 2007 my PayPal Affiliate account in CJ.com was terminated. I hadn’t been using that affiliate much but noticed it today as I was trying to resolve a dispute with HostGator.com.

With further research, I found that PayPal has decided to do their own affiliate program.

Each time a new merchant signs up for a PayPal Business or Premier account via the link or banner that you provide, you’ll be eligible for a Merchant Referral Bonus. Your referral bonus is tied to the amount the merchant receives via PayPal’s Website Payment Tools or Send Money.

You’ll immediately start earning 0.5% of the new merchant’s revenue — up to $1,000.00 USD — for the first 12 months that the merchant has his PayPal account.

Note: The Merchant Referral Bonus program is designed to reward referrals of non-eBay merchants. As a result, payments received for eBay items will not contribute toward the Merchant Referral Bonus.

Does anyone know why they decided to go this route?

Here are some of my thoughts:

1) Cost Effectiveness: I know it costs a pretty good chunk of change to be an advertiser with CJ.com.
2) More Direct Control: As PayPal uses their own code and own resources, they have more control over what happens with their accounts.
3) Increased Bottom Line & Link Building: I’ve been reading a lot lately about affiliate programs and why they can be a great resource for your own eCommerce business. Not only are you motivating others to sell your product, but you are also building direct links to your site on other quality sites. It’s called “link love”!

So, although i may be a day late and a dollar short on this discovery, I thought readers would like to know that PayPal has their own affiliate program now.

Comments welcome!