How to Choose a Reliable and Profitable Affiliate Program

There are literally thousands of affiliate programs on the Net. Here are eight important points that every affiliate webmaster should take into account when choosing a reliable and profitable affiliate program. How to choose a reliable and profitable affiliate program

With literally thousands of different online affiliate programs, ranging across hundreds of different categories, it's not difficult to see how one may become discouraged when it comes to choosing the best and most profitable affiliate programs out there. After all, since one is going to be investing a considerable amount of time, money and resources to design, build and promote the site, then one would naturally want to ensure its success by joining and promoting the most reliable and profitable affiliate programs available.

When it comes to choosing a reliable and profitable affiliate program, keep in mind the following points:

(1) How long has the business been operating?

If the business/site has been operating for a considerable amount of time, then it's likely that it is fairly stable and profitable, otherwise it would not be in business. Be careful of sites and affiliate programs that spring up overnight. It is always a good idea to monitor such affiliate programs for a while before joining them, just incase they disappear as fast as they have appeared.

(2) Who else is promoting the affiliate program?

Try to find out who else is promoting the affiliate program. Visit the websites of your competition and see if they are promoting the affiliate program that you are thinking of joining. If you find a super affiliate promoting the affiliate program, then chances are that it is a profitable program to join, otherwise a super affiliate would not be promoting it at all.

(3) How much traffic is the website receiving?

Popular, successful and profitable websites receive a considerable amount of traffic. If the site you are thinking of promoting is not very popular, successful or profitable, then chances are that it will have low traffic and therefore may not be worth promoting. Check the alexa.com traffic rank of the site.

(4) What is the commission structure?

Does the program offer the affiliate webmaster a percentage of the sale, or a fixed amount per sale? Is the commission payment recurring? Is it a one tier or multi tier program? The most profitable programs offer a revenue share income. This means that the affiliate webmaster will receive a percentage of the money which the customer spends. For example, if the affiliate program offers a 50% revenue share commission, and the affiliate webmaster sells a product for $50, then the affiliate webmaster's payment should be $25. Profitable programs also offer recurring payments for the life of the customer's membership. In other words, if the customer continues to pay $50 per month for his/her membership, then the affiliate webmaster who referred that customer should receive $25 per week until the customer cancels his/her membership. Finally, a multi-tiered affiliate program is usually more profitable than a single tiered affiliate program because it enables an affiliate webmaster to generate income from the efforts of another webmaster whom he/she referred to the affiliate program.

(5) Read reviews about it.

Try to find as many reviews about the affiliate program as you can. The affiliate program may look and sound very attractive until you find a string of negative reviews from its former affiliates warning others not to join it for one reason or another.

(6) What is the support department like?

Do the support staff answer queries promptly? Are they fast, friendly and helpful? Test the affiliate program's support staff by asking them a few questions about the program.

(7) Do the statistical reports work?

Be weary of statistical reports that do not update. Find out how often the statistical reports are updated. Test your links by clicking on them yourself and seeing if they register in the statistical report.

(8) Minimum commission payment

Some affiliate programs require an affiliate webmaster to generate a minimum commission amount before receiving payment. This is fair enough since it would not make much sense to send an affiliate webmaster a check for a few cents when it would cost more to write, send and process the check. However, find out what the minimum commission payment is before you join.

There are a number of other things that one can look for when searching for the most reliable and profitable affiliate programs available, however, these are the main and most important points that every affiliate webmaster needs to pay attention to.

Adel Awwad is the webmaster of Free Casino Cash Guide

Copyright © 2005 http://www.casinoguide.ws - Free Casino Cash Guide, All Rights Reserved. This document may be freely redistributed in its unedited form and on the condition that all copyright references are kept intact along with the hyperlinked URLs.

---

Why Start An Affiliate Program?

As any business owner knows advertising can be a very... Read More

How To Build Website - Seven Steps For Building Optimized Websites For Affiliate Programs

The web has developed in such a mass marketing arena,... Read More

Is Earning Money With Affiliate Marketing A Myth?

Day 1 - What Are Affiliate Programs?Welcome to the wide... Read More

Expanding Your Business With Affiliate Programs

Many people think that they can only get involved in... Read More

Affiliate Program Marketing: 10 Significant Sharp Ways To Increase Your Affiliate Commissions

Millions of people sign up for affiliate programs, but have... Read More

Choosing a Niche Market to Promote ? Affiliate Marketing

I think it truly goes without saying that there are... Read More

Why Do Many People Fail in Affiliate Marketing!

Affiliate marketing has been around on the Web for quite... Read More

Choosing the Best Affiliate Program - What You Absolutely Must Know

Choosing the best affiliate program means that you are aware... Read More

5 Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing an Affiliate Program

When people decide to join an affiliate program to make... Read More

23 Ways To Use An Ad Tracker

The ad tracker was originally developed to provide a record... Read More

The Prosperous Affiliate Merry-Go-Round

In the affiliate world, just as in the rest of... Read More

Will the Online Quiz Make the Old Fashioned Printed Quiz Obsolete?

Q. Can you tell me the benefits of publishing an... Read More

Common Mistakes Made by Unsuccessful Affiliates

A vast majority of successful online entrepreneurs are affiliates of... Read More

How to Grow an Affiliate Marketing Business

The biggest failure in affiliate marketing is not collecting prospects'... Read More

Choosing An Affiliate Marketing Program

If you are new to affiliate marketing, you are probably... Read More

Free traffic vs. Extra Revenue - Earning From PPC Search Engines

What are the Search Engines?A Search Engine is special database-driven... Read More

Affiliate Programs: Why They Work and Why They Don?t!

Here it is in Black and White:Don't make the same... Read More

Affiliate Marketing Step... Set Yourself Apart from the Rest.

I'm sure you've heard the expression, "This is where you... Read More

Affiliate Income Optimization

In my time researching the search engines, I've noticed something... Read More

How Affiliates Can Have Their Own Radio Show...

Before we start, I want to ask you one simple... Read More

How To Increase Your Affiliate Commissions!

So you've joined an affiliate program, but really haven't figured... Read More

One Little-Known Secret to Wealth the Gurus Never Told You About!

When I started my internet marketing career, I knew that... Read More

Affiliate Marketing Opportunity

Every Affiliate Marketing Opportunity At Your FingertipsMaking the decision to... Read More

Why a Newbie Online Marketer Should Start As an Affiliate

Navigating the intricate often tangled network of the worldwide web... Read More

Why Top-earning Affiliates Have Their Own Domains And Websites

Many affiliate programs usually provide special web pages for their... Read More

Making Money Online

If you are a webmaster, you will see this everyday... Read More

Join in on the Success of the 2nd Wave of Affiliate Marketing

What do I mean by '2nd Wave'? ... let me... Read More

5 Ways to Promote Affiliate Programs

After having chosen several programs to join, you probably realize... Read More

Understanding Affiliate Programs

Affiliate programs are commonly misunderstood, in order to understand affiliate... Read More

Who Says Affiliates Cant Use Joint Ventures To Make Money?

This is a technique I teach almost every day. Yet... Read More

8 Basic Rules for Choosing The Right Affiliate Program

Joining an Affiliate Program is a great way to start... Read More

Affiliate Marketing Pros and Cons

Want an online business with a win-win opportunity for both... Read More

The Key to a Successful Affiliate Program

Two Christmases ago I tugged on one of those paper... Read More