Affiliate marketing and backlink schemes

Brother in Islam,

There are two issues related to your query, Affiliate marketing and link building.

Affiliate marketing is referred to a type of performance-based marketing in which a company rewards an “affiliate” for each customer they bring to the company by his own marketing efforts. The company does not charge a fee to become an affiliate. Under the Affiliate Marketing scheme,the company pays an affiliate when the customer purchases something from the company through the affiliate’s link.  A person working under this scheme is similar to a broker. Thus, the income earned through affiliate marketing is permissible.[i]

Regarding the usage of link schemes to improve your search engine rankings, we understand that in general, link building does not violate Google’s webmaster guidelines. Rather, Google simply wants that the backlinks are genuine. Google aims at providing authentic and relevant content for those who use their search engine. Backlinks act as editorial votes to show Google that a certain website’s content is valuable and authentic. This in turn increases a website’s rank on the search engine. This assures that the most relevant and authentic content are shown first so that users may benefit from the search engine in the most efficient manner. This can only be achieved if the backlinks between websites are genuine.

In contrast, link schemes disturb this system and simply aim to increase the website’s rank by any means possible, whether the content be authentic or not. For instance, by purchasing backlinks, link exchanges, using automated programs to create back links, etc. As such, a website that may not have the best content would show up at the top of the search engine, solely based on its ranking. Link schemes violate Google’s webmaster guidelines. However,should you choose to use such schemes, the income would be ḥalāl,but disliked due to the element of deception involved in the link scheme. We advise you to consider the following two points.

1) While it is important to earn a ḥalāl income, it is equally as important that the income is received in an honest manner. Honest earning is a means of attaining barakah in our wealth. Consider the following ḥadīth:

عَنْ حَكِيمِ بْنِ حِزَامٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏”‏ الْبَيِّعَانِ بِالْخِيَارِ مَا لَمْ يَتَفَرَّقَا فَإِنْ صَدَقَا وَبَيَّنَا بُورِكَ لَهُمَا فِي بَيْعِهِمَا وَإِنْ كَتَمَا وَكَذَبَا مُحِقَتْ بَرَكَةُ بَيْعِهِمَا (رواه الترمذي: 1246)

Translation:Ḥakīm Ibn Ḥizām Radhiyallahu ’Anhu has related that the Messenger of Allah Sallallahu ’Alayhi Wasallam has said: “Both the buyer and the seller retain the option (of withdrawal) as long as they have not separated. If they spoke the truth and clarified (any defects or conditions), then they would be blessed in their sale, and if they hid something and lied then their sale would be deprived of blessings. (Tirmidhī: 1246)

As you have stated, Google is the means of providing you with free visitors through their search engine. Therefore, it would be unethical for you to violate their terms to boost the visitors on your site.

2) As mentioned in the link provided, a violation of Google’s webmaster guidelines may lead to your site being entirely removed from the Google index. The Prophet Sallallahu ’Alayhi Wasallam has mentioned:

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: “لا ينبغي للمؤمن أن يذل نفسه” قالوا: وكيف يذل نفسه؟ قال: “يتعرض من البلاء لما لا يطيق.

(ترمذي 2254 ابن ماجة 4016)

Translation: Rasulullah (Sallallahu ’Alayhi Wasallam) said: “It is correct for the believer to humiliate himself.” They said: How does he humiliate himself? He (Sallallahu ’Alayhi Wasallam) said: “By taking on a trial which he cannot bear.

You should avoid putting yourself in an embarrassing situation should you be caught violating their terms. This would cause you to lose a great number of visitors to your site which can negatively impact your income.

In the light of the above, we advise you to avoid link schemes to increase your Google ranking. Rather, you should focus your efforts and attention to create authentic and relevant content that will naturally gain popularity. You can also make a genuine effort to gain links such as reaching out to relevant sites who can help you promote your content to interested followings or reaching out to influencers with followings that are interested in your type of product. You could also divide out your products on different pages that target specific interest groups and develop connection with various influencers or blogs, sites that address your target customer group.

A Muslim remains firmon his principles and is not affected by the people around him. While you should be worried about the competitive market, it should not come at the cost of your principles. Remember thatrizq is definite and you will only be allotted that which Allah has decreed. Therefore, you should continue to work ethically and honestly. We have highlighted a few methods to increase your organic ranking in an ethical manner. This is not an exhaustive list. We have tried to highlight the principles you should be mindful of when selecting your methods of work.Experts in the field may be able to outline other effective and ethical strategies. Do your best and keep your trust in Allah