Lots of affiliate programs! Which one should I choose?

Ask questions first before joining an affiliate program. Do a little research on the choices of the program you intend to join. Get some answers because it will be the deciding point for what you will achieve later.

Will it cost you anything to join? Most of the affiliate programs offered today are completely free. So why settle for those who charge you a few bucks before joining.

When do they issue commission checks? Every program is different. Some issue their checks once a month, every three months, etc. Choose checks that fit your choice of payment time. Many affiliate programs specify a minimum amount of commission earned that the affiliate must meet or exceed in order for their checks to be issued.

What is the success rate for each sale? This is the average number of visits to a banner or text link required to generate a sale based on all affiliate statistics. This factor is very important because it will tell you how much traffic you have to generate before you can earn a commission from the sale.

How are referrals from the affiliate website tracked and how long do they stay in the system? You should be confident in the software enough to track the people you refer from your site. This is the only way you can get credit for the sale. The period of time these people remain in the system is also important. This is because some visitors do not purchase initially but may want to come back later to make a purchase. Find out if you'll still get credit for the sale if it's made a few months after a certain day.

What types of affiliate statistics are available? Your choice of affiliate program should be able to provide detailed statistics. It should be available online anytime you decide to check it. It's important to constantly check your individual statistics to see how many impressions, visits, and sales have already been generated from your site. Impressions are the number of times a visitor to your site viewed your banner or text link. A hit is a click on the banner or text links.

Does the affiliate program also pay for visits and impressions along with sales commissions? It is important that impressions and visits are paid as well, as this will add to the earnings you get from sales commission. This is especially important if the program you are signing up for offers low sales for you to make the cut.

Who is an online retailer? Find out who you're dealing with to know if it's a really strong company. Find out what products they sell and the average amount they make. The more you know about the retailer offering you the affiliate program, the easier it will be for you to know if this program is really right for you and your site.

Is the follower a one-tier or two-tier program? The one-tier program only pays you for work you create yourself. The two-tier program pays you for the work, plus it also pays you a commission on sales generated by any affiliates you sponsor in your program. Some two-tier programs even pay a small fee for each new affiliate they sponsor. More like a recruitment fee.

Finally, what is the amount of commission paid? 5% - 20% is the commission that most programs pay. .01% - 0.05% is the amount paid for each result. If you find a software that also pays for impressions, the amount paid is not much at all. As you can see from the numbers, you will now understand why average sales volume and reach-to-sale ratio are so important.

These are just some of the questions that need to be answered first before entering into an affiliate program. You should be aware of several important aspects that your chosen software must have before integrating it into your website. Try asking these questions for your affiliate program choices. These can help you choose the right software for your site from among the many available.