The first, and possibly most difficult step in this process, is selecting which affiliate program is right for your site. There are a number of resource sites that can assist you with this, from YNOTMasters to http://www.affiliateworld.com. Other sites, such as http://www.cj.com (Commission Junction) act as warehouses for these types of programs, allowing you to select programs and receive your checks from one location.

When picking out an affiliate program for your site, make sure to select something that corresponds to the audience for your web site. This is a bit trickier than you might think. If you run an adult site it stands to reason that placing ads for other adult sites would draw traffic to your partner. However, if you’ve done your job well and have a good site, why would visitors go through a banner to another site? If you are catering to the adult crowd and you find this is the case, you might want to look at affiliate programs with adult themes such as software, toys or classifieds. If your web site is mainstream and specializes perhaps in translations of ancient texts, you might want to link to Barnes & Noble for example.

The entire affiliate program, from prerequisites to payouts, revolves around some agreement between your site and the partner company. During the sign-up process you will have a chance to read this agreement (usually called Terms and Conditions). Do so carefully. A few things you need to pay special attention to:

Exclusivity clauses

This is any clause placing limitations on what you may or may not sell. This may be a paragraph barring you from selling competing products or selling any other products at all. This can end up being a very bad thing if you get stuck promoting a product or service that you don’t like, or worse, your customers don’t like. Keep an eye out for the word exclusive. It’s rarely good in this instance.

Payment limits based on minimum amount or geographic limitations

You will encounter minimum payout amounts in nearly every affiliate program, and for good reason. Your partner company doesn’t want to waste time mailing out $25 checks. However, be sure that the minimum amount is reasonable. Geographic limitations can turn into quagmires that prevent you from receiving payment if you find out that your partner company only mails checks out to Hoboken, NJ and you live in London.

Disappearing act

Something that was a large problem in the boom years of the dot com era, but can still cause problems now, is the possibility of the partner company vanishing on you before the tab is settled. Make sure that whatever group you decide to work with is reputable. Reputable is, of course, in the eye of the beholder, but at the very least go in with a company that has been around for more than a few months. Also, if your site is associated through an affiliate program with a company that your customers recognize, this will increase the odds of a purchase.

Avoiding the shave

Possibly the most important aspect though, is to understand how the company you are working with tracks the sales generated from traffic received from your site. Getting to know the technical aspect of this can be very boring, but it will pay for itself in the end. Do you receive commissions on the sales generated by your traffic on the first pass, or does the partner company track return visitors? Do you receive a one-time fee or a recurring commission? Take the time to look at the different alternatives and see which one would suit your site best, and then monitor it closely.

These tips are merely a starting point. As with most things, getting involved in the Webmaster community with sites like YNOTMasters will yield the best, most consistent information. It is my experience that good and bad affiliate programs build reputations very quickly, so be sure to ask around and learn from other Webmasters.

Matthew McLean has been the director of marketing for Webroot Software since 1998. Webroot Software publishes security, privacy, and Internet enhancement software designed for the home or office user. He is currently working on expanding Webroot’s affiliate program. To learn more, please write mmclean@webroot.com.