What to look for in an affiliate program?

Affiliate commissions

An affiliate look at the commission rates that an affiliate merchant provides for joining his affiliate program. High rates are good but are not the only criteria.

Type of commissions

The commissions can be pay per click, pay per sale or two tiered ones. A two tiered commission is better than a single tiered one. One must also go for life time commissions rather than a single commission.

Affiliate products/services

The quality of the affiliate products/services should be high and they should be moderately priced. But most importantly the products should fit into the fast moving online products. In other words the products should have a good online sale value.

Affiliate website

The website of the affiliate merchant should not have unnecessary pop ups, banner ads etc that are likely to distract the customer from making the actual purchase. This is important in a pay per sale program.

Administrator of the program

The network administrator of the program should be checked by the affiliates. In case the company does not use an external administer the affiliate tracking software information must be gathered.

Payout frequency

The frequency in which the affiliate merchant pays out commissions must be noted. Mostly this can be monthly or bimonthly payouts

Minimum amount for payout

The minimum amount that the affiliate merchant has fixed for the payouts should be noted. In most cases minimum amounts are not very high.

Cookie duration

The duration of the cookie should also be known. A longer duration cookie will ensure that the affiliate gets paid for the visitor referred every time the visitor makes a purchase until the cookie expiry.

These are the main things that an affiliate should look for before opting for an affiliate marketing program to ensure he gets the right benefits for his hardwork.