Definition
Referral code
A referral code identifies an affiliate inside a program. It is what appears in every shared link and, often, in the matching coupon.
It is the “marie” in ?via=marie. A readable code beats a random string: it can be said out loud in a video, typed into an Instagram bio, and remembered. Something like aff-k3m7p2q9 works technically, but nobody can dictate it over the phone.
The most common trap is letter case. A link shared as ?via=Marie and a code stored as “marie” never meet if the comparison is strict: the click is lost, the affiliate is not credited, and nothing shows up anywhere. This is the kind of fault you discover months later, on noticing that a productive affiliate has no conversions at all.
A code is unique within a program, not across a platform. A merchant running two campaigns can therefore have the same code pointing at two different people — rare, but it should be refused rather than guessed: crediting the wrong affiliate is silent and irreversible.
At earnwithaffiliate
Codes are stored lowercase and normalised on every external read, whatever the case of the shared link. Affiliates can pick their own at sign-up.
Related terms
Affiliate link
An affiliate link is a URL that identifies the affiliate who shared it, usually through a parameter such as ?via= or ?ref=.
Tracked coupon
A tracked coupon is a discount code tied to an affiliate: any sale using it is attributed to them, even if nobody ever clicked their link.
Self-referral
Self-referral is placing your own order through your own affiliate link to give yourself a discount. It is the most common fraud in an affiliate program.