I dont claim to know everything about using affiliates but what I do know might help. This article is written for that one reason. Hopefully you can find something of use.
Let me start off with some things not to do from experience:
1. Do not place mass quantities of banners on the main page of your site. For the most part surfers do not pay attention to banner ads.
2. Do not sign up with affiliate programs that have nothing to do with the content or scope of your website.
3. Do not put all your faith in one affiliate program, you should have a few backups just in case. Having around 10 programs is a good start.
4. If you do place a banner or two on your main page don't pick the super flashy banner that makes your eyes hurt. People will be less likely to pay attention to anoying banners.
5. Don't create a mass link farm of your affiliates on your main page. You want to entice your visitor to hang around your page and find somthing they want or need.
Here are a few things you might want to to do:
1. Pick affiliate programs that are well recognized by the general public. There are huge networks that are dedicated to compiling affiliate programs for webmasters to find easily.
2. If you must place a banner or two on your main page try and locate a banner that matches the color scheme and layout of your site. You want to integrate your affiliate programs into your website as seamlessly as you possibly can.
3. Use text links in the main content of your site (instead of banners) to funnel your visitors to your chosen affiliate programs. Surfers respond much better from simple text links found in the content of your webpage then they do by big ugly looking banners.
4. Pick affiliates that match your content fairly close, but try to avoid affiliates that would create competition for your site. If you are selling sports shoes on your site, try to choose an affiliate program that sells other sports related clothing such as jackets.
5. If you are showcasing multiple affiliate programs make sure you make navigation to your affiliates fairly easy for your visitors. You don't want to confuse your visitors with a page full of links. Try to separate and group your affiliates according to what the program offers. Steer clear of having video game affiliates lumped in the same page as clothing affiliates.
Like I mentioned before I dont claim to know it all when it comes to using affiliates. All I wanted to do is give a bit of information that I have aquired through trial and error in hopes that what I know can be used. Please feel free to republish this article in its entirety. Visit http://www.compositiondepot.com for more articles like this one. For webmaster resources, webmaster forums and other information visit http://www.supremeaffiliates.com
Author: Krash
Author Bio:
I am the webmaster of this free article directory www.compositiondepot.com so feel free to drop me an article!
