If you find that a large part of your visitors are using the same operating system, then would it make sense to offer them an affiliate program that can not support their needs? For example, lets say that you have an affiliate program that offers a free downloadable game to your visitors. Lets further say that the requirements for this game are Windows XP. If your tracking information tells you that the bulk of your visitors are using Windows 2000, then does it really make sense to offer this program to them? This is just another example of what thoughtless work can do to your dreams of making money from the internet. This concept is the same for browsers, screen resolutions, and the other information that can be provided by tracking information.

What are my visitor's interests?

If they are techno geeks ( like me :0) ) then they might enjoy offers for software, computer peripherals, trial offers for educational books, etc. What need does your site fulfill for a potential visitor? Think about what kind of people you designed the site for, and how that relates to the information you gather on your actual visitors. You can get even more specific information on visitors through free services that allow you to offer opinion polls on your site. The more you know about your visitors the better you can fit their needs with programs they will click on.

Affiliate Program Choices

When choosing an affiliate program, there are more questions to be answered than just how well it fits with your visitors needs. You also need to take into account how well it fits with your needs. Do they have restrictions that apply because of geographical locations or site requirements? Do they limit your ability to promote them by not allowing promotion through newsletters or mass e-mail? What kind of reputation does the company have? Do they restrict you to certain sized banner advertisements or text links? How well do they know which of their own banners or text links produce the best results?

Company reputation?

Truth is, you can offer anything through your site that you want, but if you are not careful what you offer, then the affiliate could also hurt your reputation and cost you in the long run. Put yourself in the visitor's shoes. If you went to a site and clicked on a link that promised you something but didn't deliver, would you be so quick to click on the site again when you didn't trust the links? How many times have you visited a site that promised something through a link and didn't deliver? Did you go back to the site? If you did, then did you click on other links, or just look over the information on the site? How does the company stack up in customer support areas or quality of products/services?

These questions apply to the company's ability to provide to customers, but what about their ability to deliver to the webmasters and website designers that promote them? Have they been accused of "shaving hits"? Do they pay commissions on time? How often do they pay? Do you know of any other webmasters or designers that are successful with their products/services? What does the Better Business Bureau say about the company? Does the company have a long history of treating their promoters fairly and paying them on time? Is their payscale in line with industry standards for that type of program?

How well does the company know its own marketing materials?

Do they know which of their marketing tools provide the best return? Do they even track that kind of information? I love companies that know this information, especially those that have incorporated rotational programs in their code to rotate their best producing banners on your page. The larger the site, the more of a pain it is to go in and manually change affiliate program links. Working with a company that tracks this information greatly reduces the amount of time and energy needed to promote them.

A company that has no clue to this kind of information is a liability. If they do not know this kind of information, then how can they give their affiliates the tools needed to generate sales, make them successful, and provide them with the income stream they seek? Even worse, how long do you think that this kind of a company can remain afloat without knowing what works? Any good company worth its weight has a marketing team that knows what works. It is the ability to reproduce what works in more advertisement areas to generate more sales. Stay away from companies that do not know this information. They will only take addspace away from you that could have been used on other companies that produce.

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About the Author

James R. Sanders is the owner of Sanders Consultation Group Plus. He has been a webmaster and website designer since 1997. He has also been involved in self employment ventures since 1992. He is presently a contributing author of NewbieHangout. His writing is targeted to webmasters, would be webmasters, website designers, would be website designers, self employed, or those researching information looking for solutions to questions associated with design, business operations, and promotion today. His goal is to provide practical information based upon his years of experience to help webmasters, website designers, and self employed people achieve their goals in today's competitive global market. You can subscribe to his free newsletters at SCGP - Newsletter.