In this article I am going to tell you how to create a referral system in PHP, also known as an affiliate program. Let's say you want to somehow reward those users who bring you new ones. And I will try to tell you how such a referral system is made in PHP, and I’ll immediately inform you that there will be no ready-made code here. Ready-made code is on other sites, but here I’m talking about the solution algorithm, but you should be able to write it.
First of all, you need to understand how to track who the user came from. Everything here is quite transparent, and you just need to generate a link for each partner. For example, in this form: http://mysite.ru/?ref=abc, or http://mysite.ru/page.php?n=5&ref=abc. That is, the main thing is that there is a GET parameter ref , and the value of this parameter is the login of the user who brought this visitor.
Next, you need to save information from this new visitor about who brought him. This should be saved in a cookie. And then we need to see whether this new user will perform the target action. For example, if he buys something, then add money to the partner’s account, and also assign the e-mail of this client to the partner. Then if the client buys something else, the partner will again receive a commission.
If the target action is, for example, registration, then you must add the “ref” field to the table with users, in which you indicate the partner id.
Now regarding multi-level affiliate programs. In this case, you need to make the same field “ref” in the table with partners and write there the id-partner who brought this new partner. If he himself came, then put “0”.
Let me summarize how to make a referral system in PHP:
As you can see, everything is quite real, but I’ll say right away if you don’t know PHP and MySQL, then you don’t have to try to create an affiliate program in PHP. For those who are familiar with them, there should be no difficulties.
In order to immerse yourself in the world of easy money and find out what a referral link is, read the article.
Any registration on services intended for online earning of money is accompanied by a message to the user of his referral or affiliate link. The latter are a kind of “invitation card” for other users: the main purpose of referral links is to attract new people to the service. However, what is a referral link for a person who registers on the site? What advantage does it give directly to him, and why should he be interested in placing a referral link on the network? Let's try to figure it out!
Where to find and how to make a referral linkSites whose main function is aimed at making money offer people who are already using the online resource to invite new users. The only way to recognize who the “guest” came to the service from is a referral, or so-called identification link, which, in addition to the page address, contains a unique set of numbers and letters - your identifier. It is this that allows the site to understand who influenced the registration of a new user.
Such a link acquired the name referral because a person who follows or registers on the site using someone else’s link is a referral. A referral is the one who posted the link. A referrer is a person, a certain percentage of whose earnings will go to the referral’s account.
How to find a referral link? Since the computer is responsible for generating it, the user does not need to create it himself. In most cases, the referral link is indicated in the email during registration. It can also often be found in your profile in a section, for example, called “Affiliate Program” on the website.
Interestingly, remuneration is not necessarily made in monetary units. An incentive to attract new users can be virtual points or glasses, which in any case seem attractive to the user of the resource.
What is a referral link and how does it work?So, you posted a referral link on the Internet - it doesn’t matter under what conditions, but the person followed it to the service. As soon as a visitor performs a certain action on the site, for example, earns a certain amount, a reward will be accrued to you.
Interestingly, since the browser tends to save information about links in the cookies section, even if the user does not perform any actions on the service for the first time, when visiting the site again, the browser will redirect him to the online resource using the referral link, and its effect will still be valid. strength!
If the word “referral”, which is translated from English. refer means to link and is not familiar to everyone, but the phrase “affiliate link” is clear to everyone. Because a referral is a partner who allows you to earn an extra penny. Moreover, it doesn’t always cost a pretty penny! Some Internet users use this type of activity as their main way of earning money.
Affiliate reward levelsOf course, the work of referral links varies depending on the service, but the two-level affiliate reward system has gained the most popularity. The main difference between the levels is the calculation scheme for the interest paid.
Level I. Net earnings, in which the reward for the action of the referral is awarded exclusively to you, as the person who posted the affiliate link. This level has the highest percentage of deductions.
Level II. "Referral tree". By inviting other users, you at the same time give them the opportunity to post their referral link. So, let’s say, person A followed your link. Person A registered on the service and posted his identification link, which was followed by person B. Person B registered and performed certain actions on the site: interest for the work of this user will go not only to person A, but and you! The only negative is that they are very small.
As noted above, there are various schemes for accruing affiliate funds on the services. Nevertheless, the pattern is the same everywhere: the more levels, the lower the percentage you receive.
In any case, marketers recognize the referral link system as one of the most effective ways to increase the popularity of an online resource.
Referral earnings: fiction or realityMarketers recognize the referral link system as one of the most effective ways to increase the popularity of an online resource. If advertising always looks intrusive and unattractive, then not only referrals, but also referees are interested in the opportunity to make money on referral links. Because, as stated earlier, if the latter places an individual affiliate link and someone else uses it, then he too can earn money.
The main thing is to attract the maximum number of people to actively use the service. A lot of information is devoted to the question of how to make money from referral links. We bring to your attention the main secrets of the correct use of affiliate links.
We publish the link: how and whereFirst, you need to figure out where to place your referral link so that it is effective. There are several options:
Your personal website or blog should be the first platform where you place your affiliate link.
Of course, you can distribute the link among your acquaintances and friends, offering them to earn money. For example, send in private messages or send to email addresses, post on social networks, on forums, in communities and groups, chats.
Remember: most people are aware of what a referral link is and how it works. Unfortunately, Internet users try to avoid affiliate links, preferring to access the service exclusively at the direct address. Therefore, the issue of placing a referral link should be approached thoroughly: leave it in relevant topics, and do not forget to properly disguise it.
Masking referral linksOften, in order to hide the fact that the link is a referral one (and this, as is known, repels Internet users), one has to resort to various methods of disguising affiliate links. So, this is done through plugins, modules and extensions that allow you to hide the link.
Thus, the most popular plugin on the WordPress platform is WP-Affiliate. It does a good job of disguising the referral link: it makes it seem like the person is going to an internal page, when in reality the browser is redirecting them to a partner site.
Social networks actively use services designed to encrypt links: they shorten the length of the address, which is why the user cannot always understand whether he is following a direct link or an affiliate link. Goo.gl, bit.ly and vk.cc are rightfully considered the leaders in link encryption services.
Original design is the key to successAlso, don’t forget about interesting text or illustration material: an originally designed link provokes people to use it. At the very least, it is recommended to accompany the link with additional media information if it is aimed not only at acquaintances, but also at strangers on the Internet.
For example, the original encryption option is a QR code. Most users trust them on a subconscious level, not considering them as a way to advertise something - this is such a cunning marketing ploy.
ConclusionThe desire to earn money easily leads people to perform many actions. Nevertheless, the development of your own “partner tree” allows you to reap good material fruits in the future. The main thing is to never forget to post your referral link once again.
The opportunity to make passive money on the Internet attracts people all over the world. At the same time, many understand that it is impossible to do without attracting partners who would register using yours on a certain resource. Therefore, the question of how to attract referrals will remain relevant.
It is clear that attracting referrals can only bring profit if the site or service assumes the presence of a system that allows you to expand the number of participants in the system. All you have to do is simply post your referral link on the Internet using any available means.
Promotion of referrals can be done in two ways - free of charge and with the involvement of a certain amount of money.
How to get referrals for free?Before you learn how to get referrals for free, it is worth understanding that some methods of free attraction do not always bring results. However, you should not neglect them, because any of them can be quite effective.
Your own website is the most successful tool. On its pages you can invite referrals not to one, but to several projects. In addition, your website allows you to advertise your projects well. By compiling a series of benefits, you can motivate and increase the effectiveness of referrals.
It’s not difficult to attract referrals for free using a link through your own website, but it involves investing a certain amount of money on promotion, design and design, purchasing a domain, etc. That’s why you should first register your website on free hosting. Perhaps the best option is Ucoz, Wix or wen.ru, with their help you can create a resource quite quickly.
It is worth remembering that these platforms will place their advertising unit on the site you create. But there are a few more nuances. Some hosting sites have introduced bans on the creation of sites advertising various HYIPs and pyramid schemes, there are restrictions on the language of pages, etc.
Free notice boardsThe essence of the method is quite simple: you write an ad in the “Job” or “Vacancies” categories, where you place your referral link in the message. The difficulty is that such message boards are moderated, so there is a high probability that your ad will simply be deleted. And the number of registrations from such resources is small.
You need the ability to write short, catchy phrases that would encourage people to click on your link. Do not overdo it with promises, otherwise the user will be disappointed and you will not receive an active referral.
Your friendsUsually everyone starts with this method, but I deliberately put it in third position, since this is not the best way. Firstly, a good referral is an interested person, and if you have to convince your friend, nothing good will come of it. Secondly, if the project is risky or, even worse, sinking, there is a risk of losing the relationship. If you care about a person, do not become a guarantor for him in financial matters. And thirdly, if everything goes well with the project, but your friend is disappointed for other reasons, your reputation has a chance to be damaged.
Think twice before referring friends or relatives as referrals. But if you have already decided, then talk about real income and do not promise mountains of gold. Think about who might be interested in this and don’t offer it to everyone.
From the forumsYou can get referrals using forums. Moreover, this is where the largest number of people are looking for partners. The main advantage is free registration on the forum, so the referrer does not need to spend his precious funds on this.
It is very important to read the rules of the resource here, because if you neglect this, your message will be banned. Some forums allow you to create topics of the same type, while others strictly combat such spam. Therefore, before creating a topic, look for similar ones through the forum search.
There are several forums where getting referrals for free is really effective:
This is not a complete list of forums where you can recruit referrals. Just write the query “forum about making money” in the search bar, and at least a hundred different options will be presented to your attention. Moreover, there are types of forums where you can create topics without directly registering as a user.
Another important advantage of posting on forums is the ability to create your own signature, which will be displayed under each message you write. The advantage is that here you can indicate your affiliate link, and using Photoshop, make a small banner that is perceived by users better than regular text.
Attracting referrals from Ucoz forumsThere are also Ucoz forums where you can also post messages about attracting referrals. Ucoz is a special platform where various forums, websites and other resources are created.
Finding partners on forums turns out to be very effective, but you need to understand that this is constant work. You will have to write messages on various resources as often as possible, trying to highlight them from the general row, supplement them with pictures, banners, etc. The work is dreary, but you can’t do without it.
Social mediaSocial networks have long been a place where a huge number of users gather, so they have become full-fledged advertising platforms where companies and individuals look for potential clients. The same can be said about finding referrals. There are many social networks, from Odnoklassniki to Facebook, but the most popular network in our country is VKontakte.
Attracting referrals for free using this social network can be done in several ways:
You can create a whole bomb by combining all these methods. Create your own group and direct the entire flow to it through comments, invitations and even spam.
For this purpose, you will need another, new VKontakte page, otherwise you will suddenly go too far and get blocked.
Now let’s take a closer look at each individual way to attract referrals through social networks.
Comments on websites via the VKontakte widgetReferrals from sites where the VKontakte network widget is present. The essence of the action is quite simple: you post your messages with a referral link on those sites where there is a VKontakte widget. People comment and their messages are broadcast to the social network. The owners of these sites are quite loyal to such messages, but remember that they should look natural and not like spam from a bot.
Search for people in groupsSearch for people in VKontakte groups. This method is almost identical to the previous one, but the work is already carried out directly on the social network itself, and not on third-party sites. You need to find groups that match the theme of the project to which you invite people. Finding them is easy because the site has a convenient search for people, groups, etc.
Spam via messagesThe next method is outright spam. The idea is to send a mass message to your friends, which will contain. For such actions, the VKontakte administration quite often blocks users, so get yourself a second page “for work”, from which you can send out such information.
The effectiveness of this method can be high only if the fake page is sufficiently promoted, i.e. it has a lot of photos, posts on abstract topics, a large number of friends and subscribers.
Some people also use special programs for VKontakte spam, or, as it is also called, “a program for attracting referrals,” but be prepared for the fact that your page will be blocked after a while. And if your link is blocked by a social network even when you send it, you can read it like another social network.
Create your own groupPerhaps the most effective method is to create your own group or community for a specific project to which you want to invite people. Of course, promoting a group will cost not only your efforts, but also certain financial investments, but it’s worth it.
Video hostingThe most popular video hosting in the world is Youtube, so we will consider this particular resource as a means of attracting referrals. There are also several ways to get referrals quickly and, most importantly, for free.
The first way is to post comments on various videos with the content of your referral link. It is important that the topic of the video and channel coincide with the topic of the resource or project you are advertising, but this rule is considered common for many methods of attraction.
For obvious reasons, Google will not reveal the secrets of how the spam filter works on Youtube, but from observations it is clear that by following these recommendations, the chances are much greater.
The second way to attract partners is to create your own channel on YouTube, where you can advertise the project in which you are participating. This is not to say that this method is simple, because you will not only have to create the channel itself, but also upload your own videos on relevant topics, in which you talk about certain advantages of participating in the project, etc. In addition, the channel should not be “ dead”, you need to post videos on a regular basis - at least two to three times a month.
The promotion of the channel is the main key to the success of this method. This may take more than one month. But if you pay more attention to the process, you can achieve results faster. There have been cases when some videos on a well-promoted channel were explosive with millions of views. It's worth a try.
Leave your comments on blogsAnother way to get referrals is by commenting on various blogs on the Internet that correspond to the topic of the project. The method is not much different from similar commenting on forums and YouTube channels, so we will not focus on it.
It is important here that your message does not look like outright spam, so you need to approach posting with a certain amount of creativity, correctly constructing sentences. Users should get the impression that they are actually being communicated with by a person who has experienced all the delights of participating in the advertised resource or project.
Attracting referrals in a paid wayIf you have already tried free methods, but the question of how to attract referrals to the project remains, you should definitely turn your attention to paid methods of this process. Below are effective techniques that have shown their effectiveness in practice.
Attracting referrals through tasksThere are many sites on the Internet where you can post paid tasks for users (Seosprint, Wmmail, Socpublic, etc.). Such cooperation turns out to be beneficial for all parties, because the person receives an agreed amount for registering using your link, the service receives its commission, and you receive a referral. But here you need to correctly display the essence of the task so as not to work at a loss.
Or here is an example of a motivating task, when a performer can, having passed a certain threshold of activity, receive payment again and again.
On sites with tasks, it is also possible to add users who are already registered but do not have a referrer. For example, on Seosprint there is a special category of tasks, which is called “Invitation to Seosprint referrals”.
Purchasing advertising space on websites and blogsIf you don't want to spend time creating your website, you can purchase advertising space on a third-party resource. Naturally, you must study its popularity, daily traffic levels, so that your investment brings you profit.
It is more effective to buy places closer to the top (header) of the site, although they are, however, more expensive.
Enter a query close to your topic into a search engine and open site after site. In each, you should find the “Advertising” section in the menu and find out how you can order it there. To save money, it would be a good idea to create a table of the ratio of traffic to price and choose the optimal value.
Getting referrals online can be done by sending emails to users' email addresses. It is not always possible to collect them yourself, so many resort to the help of third-party services - standartsend.ru or sendpulse.com, which provide their own database of addresses. Naturally, not for free.
contextual advertisingMany people ask the question - how to quickly attract referrals? In this case, you can use contextual advertising from Yandex-Direct. However, this method is only relevant if the advertised project requires investment from the person registered using your link, because the cost of advertising from Yandex is quite high. Such projects include binary options, Forex, PAMM accounts, etc.
However, some affiliate programs prohibit the use of this method of attracting partners, so you should carefully study all the terms and conditions of the affiliate program.
The undisputed leader is Nolix.ru. You can see this line on many sites; it is usually located at the very top of the page.
The rental process has been simplified to the basics. You can order a line directly on the site where you saw it, or you can select others from the list by clicking on “Selection of advertising platforms.” And then, using two filters, select a suitable site for advertising.
Order a bannerAnswering the question of how to get referrals, we can highlight one of the forms of advertising on the Internet - banners. Here are several services that place this type of advertising:
Please note that if you are attracting referrals for a long-existing project, there is a possibility that standard banners have already become an eyesore for Internet users and do not attract attention. Then you should work hard and draw your own simple banner with catchy text.
Your own website to attract referralsIf you still don’t know where to get referrals, then creating your own website will certainly help you with this. Moreover, this method is much more effective than others. In terms of effectiveness, it can be safely put in first place.
Of course, success depends on the popularity of the site, so you will need to work hard on it, but the result exceeds all expectations. If you have your own resource, you can simultaneously attract partners to several projects, which will significantly increase your profit.
Take the time to write more or less detailed reviews of sites where you want to attract referrals on the pages of your website. Firstly, this will increase the activity of your referrals, since they will already have instructions for action (your article), and, as a result, your earnings from referrals will increase. Secondly, as practice shows, it is from such articles that the most referrals are registered for the project.
You can also combine several ways to attract referrals using your website. For example, order a newsletter not for a specific referral project, but for your website where you offer several referral links. In this case, there is a chance that in one shot you will receive a referral for each of the projects.
Buy referrals on the exchangeYou can buy referrals on specialized services - Wmmail, Wmzona and others. The price tag here is very different - from 10 - 30 rubles to 1 thousand. and more for one referral. The disadvantage of this method is that there is a high probability of a decrease in the activity of the purchased referral, which, of course, will affect your earnings.
Renting referralsThere are sites on the Internet, mostly axle boxes, that rent referrals. This method cannot be called automatic, as it requires constant intervention, otherwise you will waste your money. A striking example is the foreign book Neobux. The point is that you rent several referrals for a certain period of time; if they become inactive, they can be replaced. And if they are active, you will be in the black.
In conclusion, I would like to highlight a few basic rules of attraction that will be effective regardless of the method of attraction. So to speak, a short repetition of the main points:
As we see, there are a lot of ways to attract partners for any project. This is not surprising, because attracting active referrals allows you to make money online in the most effective way. And although it is considered passive, it is important to understand that working on the Internet is not much different from regular work for which people leave in the morning and return in the evening. Therefore, efforts - monetary and mental - are expended in full.
Hello, dear readers! This review is for those who want to make a profit not only from their own work, but also from the work of other users whom you invite to the affiliate program. We will talk about referral projects.
The referral system is one of the fairly common marketing techniques today for quickly promoting services of various types and contents. Its essence is to attract as many new active users as possible to the sponsorship project. People who engage such users and receive money for it are called referrs. Next, we will consider in detail the features of this type of earnings. But first, let's find out: what is a referral link?
What is a referral link?A referral is a link, the click of users on which brings profit to its creator, that is, the referrer. The reference contains an element that identifies the person to whom it is assigned. When users follow a hyperlink, perform certain procedures there (create their accounts, download something, buy something), they automatically become referrals and their activity brings a fixed income to the referrer.
There are two types of referrals:
If you spend a long time and actively distributing and promoting your referrals, then after a while you will be able to create a network of participants from direct and indirect referrals. This network can be a good source of your constant passive income. But for users to be active, they need to be stimulated and supported in every possible way.
Examples of referral linksAn ordinary user is unlikely to be able to distinguish a referral link from a simple one. If only he knows what a referral link is and monitors his Internet surfing very carefully, then he will be able to identify it. 
Each reference contains an identifier of the user to whom it is assigned. It is thanks to a special code that the program calculates the number of transactions for each specific address and calculates the profit for the referrer. What is a referral code? This is a combination of numbers and letters, individual for each new account, which is used to identify the person creating his own referral network.
Examples of links with codes assigned by the system:
https://www.tinkoff.ru/sl/2fGaXeTi08y
http://hideme.ru/vpn/#57b0465342091
The code may include the referrer's personal login. For example: https://www.okpay.com/?rbp=guideinvestor.
The component that distinguishes this “named” link from ordinary ones is located after the question mark. It is there, in the parameters line, that the identifier is written.
Referral code, or invite code, allows you to receive and accumulate cash and bonuses. A referral code is a variable, the value of which is transmitted using a special program to calculate profits. The size of the specified value directly depends on the number of transitions.
What are referral links for?They are used as a component of the affiliate program on various sites and services. The main purpose of using referrals is to attract participants to the project. This is exactly what the activities of companies with referral and affiliate earnings programs are aimed at. A list of services that usually use an affiliate program with such a system is presented below.
There is a lot of competition in the market for Internet goods and services. Therefore, site owners are willing to pay those who will provide them with new clients. So why not make money from it?
What do you need to participate in the referral program?It’s very easy to start earning money this way. First of all, you need to select. Next, you should register in the affiliate program, create your personal account and delve into the system of the site. Among the sections of your account, you need to find the item “Advertising materials” (it can also be called “Partners”, “Agents”). 
At this point you need to copy the referral link that the system will generate for you. After that, all you have to do is publish it on sites that are promising for making money and get your money. The list of sites on which you can place a referral is given in this article.
The more people use your referral link, the more profit you can make. You need to actively share your link wherever possible. For example, social networks can be a great platform for this. Thus, this article will be useful to those who are interested, or on the pages of other popular communication sites.
How to make your referral work for free?Having a referral does not guarantee you a big income. For it to work and bring in money, the address must be placed on the Internet pages you view and actively advertise it. This can be done without spending additional money. Where is the best place to place a referral link for free?
Where to publish a referral link to attract more referrals?Your work will be much more productive if you use paid specialized sites to promote referrals. Ordering advertising involves cooperation with projects in which references are distributed by sending letters and tasks. Pay attention to the following programs: VipIp, Socpublic and Wmmail.
The main place where you need to advertise referral (affiliate) products is social networks. To increase traffic and subscription base, you need to create and promote, for example, your public VKontakte, Instagram profile, YouTube channel. Below I will indicate services with which you can promote your site and attract potential referrals.
For beginners at the start, it is best to use cheap services for increasing the subscription base or attracting attention to your posts using likes and reposts on VK, Instagram or videos shot on the YouTube channel, the so-called SAR. List of advertising exchanges for working on social networks from the cheapest to the most expensive and high-quality:
For a detailed review of the last service on the list and how to work with it, read.
The next step is to do manual and free promotion of your page or profile on Instagram. Recruit an interested audience using a program (software) to increase subscribers. We create 5-10 accounts, design them nicely, put cool avatars, make 3-5 posts on the topic of the advertised product and with useful information about it. We collect a target audience from VK public pages of interest using the VKParser or pepper.ninja services.
Affiliates with referral systemsAffiliate programs involve the active cooperation of a large group of people to increase the profits of a particular project. The following companies actively use the referral system:
The concept of attracting new participants to the system for a fee has long gone beyond online business. Today, many offline businesses are using this type of affiliate scheme to expand.
Software for getting subscribersThe top option at the moment is BroBOT. Detailed review with examples and instructions -. In addition, be sure to read mine.
After you have promoted your VK page to 200-500 friends or increased the number of subscribers to 2000-5000, it’s time to attract organic and interested traffic to the site or page through advertising in other communities. To do this you need to use advertising exchanges. The two best, not related to the more expensive official VK exchange, are Sociate and Plibber.
Advertising platforms, teaser bannersAnother one of the oldest methods for quickly promoting referrals is still alive. Working with services that provide advertising platforms and teaser banners, you can designate the desired ad format and the region of its distribution. The best services of this type:
This option for expanding your referral network is quite expensive and is often not effective for beginners. You can place a couple of test ads, and if they recoup your advertising budget and make a profit, you can increase your bids. Some services offer discount systems. Therefore, I advise you to always carefully study the terms of cooperation.
Why is it not necessary to remove the referrer link?If you start working on a specific project, then you will need time to get into it. The referee will help you navigate the details, suggest options for increasing productivity, and answer any questions you may have. You can consider the referee as a kind of curator in the project. 
Of course, you will want to get as much money from the project as possible. The referrer is also interested in your active work and high income. That is why he will try to help you earn more.
Many projects have a pleasant tradition: referrers reward users assigned to them for their active work. Referrals are often given contests and competitions, for winning which they also receive a cash prize.
It is not recommended to remove the referral link, if only because by leaving it you are thanking your referrer for their help in adapting to the conditions of the project. Besides, someday you will have to think. Believe me, then you will be very pleased to see that no one deletes your links.
How to protect your referral?There are several ways to protect your referral:
