Affiliate programs are a really useful online marketing method that can help to increase traffic to your website, which in turn is great for increasing sales and getting the message of your business out there. Some affiliate programs require you to pay signup fees or undergo checks before you can take part: this article looks at what the programs are and why these checks and fees are needed.What is an affiliate program?
An affiliate program is where you link your website – or ‘affiliate’ it – with other,
relevant websites. Those websites then display and promote links to your website, which has the effect of increasing your web traffic. For instance, if you were looking to promote a particular product, you might join an affiliate program where the associated websites would link back to that product, so people who clicked the link would be able to buy it direct. This can be beneficial for your business and also increases your contacts.
Why do you have to pay?
Often, you have to pay to be an affiliate network to recognise the value the program is adding to your business. Most often this works so that you pay according to how many visitors the other websites direct back to your website. It can also work so that you pay according to how many sales of a particular product you make as a result of the affiliate program. Basically, this means that you have an agreement with other affiliate sites to pay them according to how much business they bring you (and vice versa).
As well as being a good way of boosting your sales, it is also ideal for marketing and promoting different products and services, so the money you pay is definitely a good investment.
Why have signup fees?
Signup fees are essentially to ensure that you are serious about making the most of the program and to ensure that no member of the program loses anything by participating. For example, you are more likely to be dedicated to something if you have paid to be a member of it. It also means that if for some reason one party doesn’t deliver on their promise even though other websites have been promoting their links, there is a monetary cushion there to protect the other participants.
Why have checks?
Some affiliate programs like to check websites out before accepting them as new members. This has several purposes. One is that it makes sure your website is of good quality and is genuine. This is good for the integrity of the program and is generally a positive sign as it means the affiliate program has quality standards in place. You might also have to undergo checks to make sure your site complies with the scope of the program; some affiliate programs might only advertise certain products or work with websites from a certain industry, for instance, so they run careful checks to make sure that you comply with their standards and guidelines. This is ultimately good for you as it helps to ensure the integrity of the program and maximises the likelihood of you achieving good results from it.