Reference links are any hyperlink that directs readers to the source of information or further reading, watching or buying. A majority of the time reference links are used by ppl making no money.
However these reference links are used in affiliate marketing (via affiliate links, which look the same) and can track who brought in a customer which in turn can get that person a cut of sales they bring in. This means if you see a post anywhere on the web, with a product reviewed, and a link to where to buy it posted could get them a cut of the money you spend. Essentially if you see something with a link on where to buy something, there’s a higher than normal chance you are looking at an ad in disguise.
Don’t burn anyone at the stake for using a reference link to a product. But keep this in mind just in case. If you want to discourage this marketing tactic, buy any products you want, wherever you want, just not via a given link.
There are some other ways people can be financially incentivized to promote a product but this one is easy to discourage. If you want to help out the comunity with this keep an eye out for these on the forum as well as elsewhere.
If you want to see an example, on any browser look up "top 10" of a product or service and you will likely get a bunch of bs articles, each with a link to stuff to buy.
