Types of affiliate programs In this section you will find more information on the several performance types in affiliate marketing. You decide which type of affiliate programs you want to join. We advise you to read this carefully as the choice of type of program will determine the amount and flow of your web site revenue! As an affiliate you basically have placed links to a merchant’s website. Your site enables the merchant to process visitors, qualified leads or sales. In exchange, you receive a commission for all the actions that you brought to the merchant. There are different types of commissions: pay per click, pay per lead and pay per sale are the most common ones but still there are other ways of earning money. Below you'll find an overview of the possibilities.
Pay Per Click Affiliate Programs
Pay per click programs (also called click-trough programs) are loved with webmasters of smaller sites. Most importantly this is because of the fact that visitors do not have to buy something in order for the publisher to make money. All your visitors need to do is click on the unique affiliate link in order for the publisher to get paid. Because of fraud-sensitiveness, a lot of merchants only accept high quality sites in this commission structure. Pay Per Lead Affiliate ProgramsThe last few years lead programs are getting more and more popular. There are even affiliate networks that only run on pay per lead campaigns.The big advantage with lead programs, just as with the click programs, is that your visitor doesn't have to spend anything in order for the publisher to get paid. Also the variety of available affiliate programs is a big advantage: the publisher can be paid for sending new subscribers to a free ezine or just by giving away free coupons or reports. Pay Per Sale Affiliate Programs Pay per sale affiliate programs are the oldest type of affiliate programs. An affiliate earns commissions when he refers someone to the merchant’s site and the visitor buys something with the merchant. The commission you receive normally is a percentage of the total price but sometimes however, you receive a fixed amount per sale. The main advantage is that the earned commission is substantially higher than the pay per lead or pay per click programs. On the downside of course is the fact that it's much harder to make someone buy something than just sending a visitor.
Two Tier Affiliate Programs
Two-tier programs are affiliate programs with an extra dimension: These type of programs all pay commissions at least two levels deep. This means that if you refer other webmasters to the merchant’s affiliate program, you receive a portion of the referred webmaster’s revenue. Affiliate Programs offering residual incomeResidual Programs are very popular among webmasters. This type of affiliate programs gives the publisher the opportunity to keep making money from one initial sale. For example, suppose a publisher sends a sale to a hosting company. He will be paid an initial commission for bringing the merchant a new sale. However when someone renews his hosting account for a year the publisher will be paid again, provided the affiliate program offers residual income. Once the referred visitor has made a purchase or signed up for a service, you will receive additional commissions as long as they remain customers.
Final words of advice on affiliate programs types
Select the type of programs that you think are suitable for your site. Don't waste your time on affiliate programs that aren't worth of it. Most of the times a mix between pay per clicks, leads and sales is the most profitable one, depending on your site audience.
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