So Many Affiliate Programs! Which One Do I Choose?
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.