To Google, affiliate links such as qksrv.net, bfast.com and myaffiliateprogram.com - on page or in redirects - "strongly suggest" that site is a thin affiliate.

Are you using an affiliate datafeed? To Google, that's another warning sign.

However, if you offer a comparison of prices between different online merchants, you're OK, you're not a thin affiliate.

Google provides an incredibly tough guideline, which hundreds of thousands of affiliate sites fail to meet.

Google says:

"Do not call a page affiliate spam when an affiliation is only incidental to message and purpose of a website. To determine whether participation in affiliate programs is central or incidental to site's existence, ask yourself this question: Would this site remain a coherent whole if pages leading to affiliate (merchant) were taken away?"

That probably counts out most affiliate sites.

In summary, if you want to be friends with Google, make sure you provide extra value or content.

I've quoted only parts of report. Any serious affiliate will want to study whole thing carefully.

You can read full report on Henk's blog here...

http://www.searchbistro.com/spamguide.doc

Note: A Google employee broke a non-disclosure agreement by revealing this report. I don't know how long it will stay online. You may want to do what I did - save a copy of it on your hard drive.

Now we know what Google really thinks of affiliates. You've been warned.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Seek Out Income Streams

If it cost you $1 dollar in advertising to gain one paying customer which would you choose:

1.A one time sale customer that you will have to continually promote other similar products to on a month to month basis so they spend additional money to increase your profits. -or- 2.A customer that pays a reoccurring membership fee every month that you automatically receive a percentage from.

You don't even have to bother answering question for me. I already know your answer. If at all possible you want to focus your promotional efforts on programs that are going to offer you highest return (your commissions) for lowest investment (your advertising dollars).

Some businesses that offer multiple products will offer their affiliates life-time commissions. So if you were first affiliate to get a customer to buy a product from them you will receive commissions on every product they buy in future from them no matter how they ended up being referred back to site. These are also very nice programs to put your efforts into.

Start Your Own Mini-Affiliate Program

Some affiliate programs setup what is called a “Two-Tier” commission schedule. With these programs you not only receive commissions on sales that you have referred to program but you can recruit other affiliates to program and receive commissions on their referred sales as well.

The bottom-line is more of these principles an affiliate program follows more deserving of your time and effort they are.