3.I don’t read fine print, do you?- What size banners do you use? DO NOT waste your time placing small banners on your site (unless they are for banner exchange partners)! Small banners are a waste of space, first of all, how much information can seller fit into such a small area? How noticeable will it be to your site visitor? If you’re trying to sell something, then SELL IT! Ad size should be 468 x 60 or larger, and centered on page, this ad WILL NOT be missed by roving eye of your potential buyer. Although they may have not elected to click on it, odds are they certainly did not miss it, because it was big enough to at least catch they’re eye.

Finding right advertiser, who pays right commission, and who is offering right product for a particular page on your site, will require a bit more work than standard “snatch and add” type of banner farming, but rewards will be much greater and prove to be well worth it in long run. Remember this, “anything worth having, is worth working for, and money is worth having”

Traffic and Sales Reporting

A practice so common as to be considered standard, affiliate tracking companies allow affiliates to log on and review traffic and sales that they have generated over certain date periods. Some companies allow affiliates to create campaigns by which they can track effectiveness of different marketing methods. The type of reporting available tends to be consistent across all affiliate programs a company tracks.

Payment Frequency

The industry standard is to send commission payments on a monthly basis when an affiliate’s earnings reach a certain minimum balance. Some programs send checks more or less frequently. On rare occasions a company will not send checks automatically, instead requiring that affiliates log on and request a payment. This is often a sign of an untrustworthy company trying to avoid paying all commissions due. Anything other than automatic payment is uncommon.

Network of Programs

Some tracking companies cater to affiliates who wish to participate in multiple programs. An affiliate who is part of their network can examine and join other programs they track, pending approval of each program manager.

Training

Any program that leaves training of affiliates solely in hands of their tracking company is doing their affiliates a great disservice, but tracking company can help. Kowabunga, for example, provides affiliates with a database of affiliate marketing articles, FAQs, and a quick start guide. A tracking company can’t provide training for a specific product or service, but they can educate affiliates on general aspects of industry.