Get some answers to your questions before you join a program. Do some research about the options of programs that you intend to join. You will be able to determine what you are going to achieve later on based on the answers you receive.
Why settle for affiliate programs that charge you money before you join? Most affiliate programs being offered today are free.
Depending on your payment time choice, some programs issue commission checks once a month, once a quarter, etc. Choose the program that best suits your needs. Affiliate programs often set a minimum amount of earned commissions that affiliates must meet or exceed before being issued a check.
In affiliate marketing, a hit per sale ratio is the average number of hits to a banner or text link for a sale based on all affiliate statistics. You need to know how much traffic you need to generate before you can earn a commission from the sale, which is extremely important.
What is the process of tracking affiliate referrals and how long do they remain in the system? It is important that you are confident enough about the program that you can track the people you refer to your site. This is the only way you will be credited for a sale. The length of time those people stay in the system is also important. Some people may not purchase at first, but later wish to do so. Know if you will still get credit for the sale if it is done some months from a certain day.
What kinds of affiliate stats are available? Your affiliate program should be able to provide detailed stats, and they should be accessible online at any time you choose. Keeping track of your site’s individual stats is crucial in order to know how many impressions, hits, and sales it has already generated. Impressions are the number of times a banner or text link has been viewed on your site. Hits are the number of times the banner or text link has been clicked.
In addition to commissions on sales, does the affiliate program also pay for hits and impressions? It is important that impressions and hits are also paid since these will add to the earnings you get from the sales commission. To hit the ratio, this is especially important if the program you are in offers low sales.
Learn who the online retailer is to know if it is a trustworthy company. Find out what products they are selling and what the average sales are. It will be easier to decide if the affiliate program is right for you and your site if you know more about the retailer offering it.
You get paid only for the business you generate yourself if the affiliate program is a single tier program. A two tier program pays you for the business you generate, plus a commission on the sales generated by any affiliate you sponsor in your program. Some two-tier programs even pay you a small fee for each new affiliate you sponsor. It’s more like a recruitment fee.
Lastly, what is the amount of commission paid? Most programs pay 5% – 20% commission on each hit. The amount paid for each impression is .01% – .05%. If a program also pays for impressions, the amount paid is not much. Having read the figures above, you now understand why the average sales amount and hit to sale ratio are so important.
Prior to joining an affiliate program, you should be familiar with the many important characteristics your chosen program should have before incorporating them into your website. These are just a few of the questions you need to answer first. Among the many affiliate programs available, ask these questions to help you select the right program for your site.
