Which affiliate programs are best and how do you choose which to join?

Here are some criteria we use to determine which we like. Of course, we're assuming first and foremost that the affiliate product is something that your customers will be interested in and that it fits with your website's theme.

1. Excellent product or service -- Of course you can't send your visitors to buy a product that isn't top notch.

2. Good conversion rate -- This means that the visitors you send will be likely to buy. (Remember, a good conversion is 3% which means that about 3 of 100 will buy the product. It can by higher or lower, depending on the relevance and how much you warm up your visitor.)

3. Good commission

• For an online product, an affiliate program with at least 25% commission (although we give preference to those that have higher!)
• For an offline product, an affiliate program with at least 10% commission.
• .01% - .05% is the amount paid for each hit.
• If you find a program that also pays for impressions, the amount paid is not much at all.

As you can see from the figures, you will now understand why the average sales amount and hit to sale ratio is important.

4. Long cookies - This is how long after you send a visitor to the site, they can buy and you'll still get credit.

5. Promotional Tools - We like affiliate programs that provide their affiliates with banners, buttons, articles, ebooks, and more ways to convert those visitors to customers.

6. Recurring commission - These are programs where you get paid month after month (or for sales made after the original sale.

7. Good stats - It's best to choose a program that offers stats that you can check. Without them, you won't know how well the program is converting for you.

And some more questions to ask before joining an Affiliate Program:

Will it cost you anything to join? Most affiliate programs being offered today are absolutely free of charge. So why settle for those that charge you some dollars before joining.

When do they issue the commission checks? Every program is different. Some issue their checks once a month, every quarter, etc. Select the one that is suited to your payment time choice. Many affiliate programs are setting a minimum earned commission amount that an affiliate must meet or exceed in order for their checks to be issued.

What is the hit per sale ratio? This is the average number of hits to a banner or text link it takes to generate a sale based on all affiliate statistics. This factor is extremely important because this will tell you how much traffic you must generate before you can earn a commission from the sale.

How are referrals from an affiliate’s site tracked and for how long do they remain in the system? You need to be confident on the program enough to track those people you refer from your site. This is the only way that you can credit for a sale. The period of time that those people stay in the system is also important. This is because some visitors do not buy initially but may want to return later to make the purchase. Know if you will still get credit for the sale if it is done some months from a certain day.

What are the kinds of affiliate stats available? Your choice of affiliate program should be capable of offering detailed stats. They should be available online anytime you decide to check them out. Constantly checking your individual stats is important to know how many impressions, hits and sales are already generated from your site. Impressions are the number of times the banner or text link was viewed by a visitor of your site. A hit is the one clicking on the banner or text links.

Who is the online retailer? Find out whom you are doing business with to know if it is really a solid company. Know the products they are selling and the average amount they are achieving. The more you know about the retailer offering you the affiliate program, the easier it will be for you to know if that program is really for you and your site.

Is the affiliate a one tier or two tier program? A single tier program pays you only for the business you yourself have generated. A two tier program pays you for the business, plus it also pays you a commission on the on the sales generated by any affiliate you sponsor in your program. Some two-tier programs are even paying small fees on each new affiliate you sponsor. More like a recruitment fee.

These are just some of the questions that needed answering first before you enter into an affiliate program. You should be familiar with the many important aspects that your chosen program should have before incorporating them into your website. Try to ask your affiliate program choices these questions. These can help you select the right program for you site from among the many available.