Before you join any affiliate program, do some research about the program and ask any questions you have. This will be the deciding point of what you will be achieving later on.
Does it cost anything to join? It is free of charge to join most affiliate programs around, so don’t join any programs that need you to pay to join.
When will I receive my checks? Every program issues the commission checks to you differently. Some issue their checks once a month, every quarter, etc. Select the one that is suited to your payment time choice. Do check the minimum earned amount for you to receive the checks, and choose the one suited you.
What is the hit per sale ration? This the average number of hits link that takes to generate a sale base on all affiliate statistics. This is important because this will tell how much traffic you must generate before you can earn a commission from the sale.
How referrals from an affiliate’s site tracked and how long do they remain in the system? You need to choose the program that give you confident and trust 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. 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? The affiliate program should be capable of offering detailed stats. The stats should be available online anytime whenever you want to check stats. Constantly checking your 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.
Does the affiliate program also pay for the hits and impressions besides the commissions on sales? It is important that impressions and hits are also paid, as this will add to the earnings you get from the sales commission. This is especially important if the program you are in offers low sales to be able to hit ratio.
Who is the online retailer? You need to know whom you are doing business with and know the products they are selling and the average amount they are achieving. The more you know about the online retailer, the easier for you to know if the 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 sales you yourself have made. A two tier program pays you for the sale, 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.
What is the amount of commission paid? This all depend on the programs. Some pay as high as 50 - 75% commission, but 5% - 20% is the commission paid by most programs. 0.01% - 0.05% 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.
Use these questions as a guide for you to choose an affiliate program. Be familiar with the many important aspects that your chosen program before joining the program. Try to ask your affiliate program choices that questions. These can help you select the right program for you.