A Buyers Guide to Affiliate Marketing - Part 2
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Affiliate programs can make use of these links in different ways:
- A straight forward link to the merchant’s home page.
- A link to a specific product page within the merchant’s website.
- Storefronts enable the affiliate website to expose the visitor to a variety of the merchant’s products on one single page. A merchant can change the products on display to keep them relevant without the affiliate having to change the URL link.
- Co-branding enables the affiliate to maintain their web identity even after the visitor has been redirected. The merchant therefore still handels the sale and postage, but will configure the page to appear as though it is part of the affiliates website.
There are three common types of payment arrangements used for affiliate programs:
- Pay-per-sale, whereby the merchant pays the affiliate when a visitor makes a purchase through the merchant website. Some websites pay a percentage of the amount spent, whilst others pay a set fee per transaction.
- Pay-per-click, whereby the merchant pays the affiliate based on the number of visitors who click on the link to the merchant’s website.
- Pay-per-lead, whereby the merchant pays the affiliate based on the amount of visitors who sign up leads on the merchant website.
The mutual success of an affiliate marketing program works best when affiliates choose products, services and companies which are relevant to their own website content. The affiliate wins because it is able to sell products to its visitors without having to run an e-commerce business, the merchant site wins because the affiliate sends it customers it wouldn't get otherwise, the affiliate network wins because it gets a piece of the profit for setting everything up, and the customers win because the affiliate website directs them to products they would be interested in, which she can then purchase easily.
When becoming involved in affiliate programs, you can decide to either recruit affiliates, become one, or both. To become an affiliate all you need to do is apply to an affiliate network site which seems the most suited to your needs. You will need to provide information regarding your website and agree to a service agreement and payment method. Most affiliate programs are free, and once you have been approved, you will be able to start choosing the most appropriate affiliate programs for your site. Maintaining your own affiliate network is a very complicated task, and usually not something a commercial orientated website is willing to be caught up in. If your aim is to acquire affiliates, your best bet is most likely to join an affiliate network, as they will do all the recruiting for you. You will have to provide information about your business and website, as well as provide certain deposits for membership as well as preliminary payment of affiliates. Some affiliate networks might also charge a yearly fee for their services.
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