So Many Affiliate Programs!
Which One Do I
Choose?
By James Williams
Ask questions first before you
join an affiliate program. Do a
little research about the choices of
program that you intend to join
into. Get some answers because they
will be the deciding point of what
you will be achieving later on.
Will it cost you anything to
join? Most affiliate programs being
offered today are absolutely free of
charge. So why settle for those that
charge you some dollars before
joining.
When do they issue
the commission checks? Every program
is different. Some issue their
checks once a month, every quarter,
etc. Select the one that is suited
to your payment time choice.
Many affiliate programs are setting
a minimum earned commission amount
that an affiliate must meet or
exceed in order for their checks to
be issued.
What is the hit per sale
ratio? This is the average number of
hits to a banner or text link it
takes to generate a sale based on
all affiliate statistics. This
factor is extremely important
because this will tell you how much
traffic you must generate before you
can earn a commission from the sale.
How are referrals from an
affiliate’s site tracked and for how
long do they remain in the system?
You need to be confident on the
program enough to track those people
you refer from your site. This is
the only way that you can credit for
a sale.
The period of time that those people
stay in the system is also
important. This is because some
visitors do not buy initially but
may want to return later to make the
purchase. Know if you will still get
credit for the sale if it is done
some months from a certain day.
What are the kinds of affiliate
stats available? Your choice of
affiliate program should be capable
of offering detailed stats. They
should be available online anytime
you decide to check them out.
Constantly checking your individual
stats is important to know how many
impressions, hits and sales are
already generated from your site.
Impressions are the number of times
the banner or text link was viewed
by a visitor of your site. A hit is
the one clicking on the banner or
text links.
Does the
affiliate program also pay for the
hits and impressions besides the
commissions on sales? It is
important that impressions and hits
are also paid, as this will add to
the earnings you get from the sales
commission. This is especially
important if the program you are in
offers low sales to be able to hit
ratio.
Who is the online
retailer? Find out whom you are
doing business with to know if it is
really a solid company. Know the
products they are selling and the
average amount they are achieving.
The more you know about the retailer
offering you the affiliate program,
the easier it will be for you to
know if that program is really for
you and your site.
Is the
affiliate a one tier or two tier
program? A single tier program pays
you only for the business you
yourself have generated. A two tier
program pays you for the business,
plus it also pays you a commission
on the on the sales generated by any
affiliate you sponsor in your
program. Some two-tier programs are
even paying small fees on each new
affiliate you sponsor. More like a
recruitment fee.
Lastly, what
is the amount of commission paid? 5%
- 20% is the commission paid by most
programs. .01% - .05% is the amount
paid for each hit. If you find a
program that also pays for
impressions, the amount paid is not
much at all. As you can see from the
figures, you will now understand why
the average sales amount and hit to
sale ratio is important.
These are just some of the questions
that needed answering first before
you enter into an affiliate program.
You should be familiar with the many
important aspects that your chosen
program should have before
incorporating them into your
website.
Try to ask your affiliate program
choices these questions. These can
help you select the right program
for you site from among the many
available.
