What NOT to Do With an Affiliate

Affiliate programs are a great way to pick up residual income and to drive traffic to your site. But there is one "no-no" you should never do and that's create a direct link to an affiliate site. Why? Let's explore this a bit in today's post.

You should never openly use the URL that an affiliate program provides for you. Instead, you should link instead to a page on your OWN site which then leads to the affiliate program. Here's why:

Introductions: On the page you link to on your own site you can provide your own introduction to the product or service you are promoting. For example, this may include:

• Additional detail not available in your posting or advertisement
• Your own personal experience with the product or service you are promoting
• A review of the benefits

Related Links: You can provide links to the rest of your site in case your visitor is not interested in that specific affiliate product. If you do a direct link to the affiliate site, you will lose the visitor to the affiliate site and they will likely not return to your URL.

Traffic Statistics: Using your own page link will allow you to track the traffic statistics that will help you to indicate the level of response to your advertisement in addition to any statistics provided for you by the affiliate company. For example, you can also track how many visitors are "lost" between your link and the affiliate's.

Search Engines: Using your own page link will help you when you submit this page to the search engines.

Theft: If you visibly display the direct URL there is a risk that the reader will remove the suffix (agent code) so that you do not get registered as the affiliate agent and potentially there could be income lost or credited to another agent that should have been credited to you.

Changes in Affiliate Site: if an affiliate operations is discontinued or other problems arise, it is much easier to change and divert visitors at your website rather than have them visit a non-existent page. This will also ensure that your customers are happier and more likely to return to your site - nothing is more discouraging to potential customers than broken links.

If you are an affiliate member and are using links to your affiliate site, it is important that you review and plan how you will use the link if you are to attract and retain visitors and potential customers. By following a few simple techniques you will be able to ensure that your standing as an affiliate agent, and the visitors who come to your website will be happy visitors who convert to paying customers.

Copyright M. A. Webb, 2005. All Rights Reserved

Source: http://LearnBizTips.blogspot.com

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