This page researched and written by Tom Irish, owner, webkewl design
There are as many banner affiliate programs on the web as there are ideas for them. We found everything from the Dry Wash n' Guard affiliate program for the National Corvette Museum to KwikMed - The Online Source for Viagra. Why might a banner affiliate or exchange program interest you? One word: income. :-) Some of these programs can really can add a bonus to your bottom line.
To illustrate the use of an affiliate program, let's look at a hypothetical author. The author has a website to promote his/her works. Great! The increased exposure should help sell more books thus making the author more money and everyone is happy. However, were the author to include a banner link to a bookseller that paid a commission for each buyer that linked from the authors website, the author stands to make even more, and for little more effort than was expended to create the website.
There are so many of affiliate programs that attempting to showcase them is difficult. Payment plans vary and time did not permit a thorough testing of these programs. As with most things in life, "your mileage may vary" and "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". You will want to thoroughly read the terms and conditions of each.
My recommendations on these? Keep it simple. Don't go off and join so many
affiliate programs that your site becomes a virtual billboard. We used the author
example for a reason. Choose affiliates that will complement your site and vice-versa.
SEARCH! The field is simply too wide to give more than an introduction here.
Chances are you can find an affiliate program that will "fit" with
your site. If not, maybe you need to become the program provider which would
go beyond the scope of our "free" theme. The following are examples
of some names you might (or might not) recognize that offer affiliate programs.
Programs with the "red apple" had what I percieved to be among the
more generous commissions available.
 Adguide
|
Adguide's College Recruiter Employment Site pays 33% of a sale and .05¢ click through.This is the most generous commission structure I found while researching this category. |
| Blue Squirrel |
Here is a cross-platform software developer with a free affiliate program and a generous 20% commission structure. Upon joining they will also submit your site to 150 search engines. |
| Seattle's Finest
|
Seattle's Finest Gourmet Coffee offers up to 20% commission with its affiliate program, if you are approved. |
| Network Solutions | Get someone to register a web address with Network Solutions and get a piece of the action. Special program for internet/web service providers. This one should be a no brainer if you are a designer in the habit of pointing people to domain name registration. |
| CDNow | CDNow offers separate programs for individuals and businesses both offering up to 15% commission. The link is near the bottom of the left navigation at the main page. |
| Amazon | Become an affiliate for one of the most recognized names on the net. Amazon pays between 5% and 15% with its associate program. |
| Barnes and Noble | Payment is 7% on books, CDs, and magazines, 5% on software and made when an account reaches $100. Barnes and Noble also has a new E-mail based affiliate program which was covered on CNBC 7/15/99. |
Banner Exchanges come in almost as many shapes and sizes as affiliate programs. Maybe even more. While most of these offer a "2:1"exchange on banner impressions among a wide variety of sites, some may incorporate a type of affiliate program. With many you can determine the content types of sites that your banner will appear on as well as what types of companies may be represented on yours. The benefit here is visibility. The simple trade for space elsewhere gets your site exposure that it otherwise would not have.
Once again, the shopper needs to beware even if the content is free. Most businesses or individuals that have spent time and money developing a website that reflects their vision or corporate identity do not wish to soil it with every "scam on a banner" that can surface up from the net. Also (once again), with a little research you should be able to find a banner exchange program that will help drive more visitors to your site as you help drive some of your visitors elsewhere.
I have included some of the more high profile banner exchange programs on the web. Any major search engine can help you find the kind of program that will work best with your individual interest(s). I gave the "red apple" to those exchanges offering a 1:1 exchange ratio.
| MacPromote
Xchange |
World Without Borders offers a 1:1 ratio in its banner exchange program for Macintosh sites. While not to be used for commercial purposes, shareware authors may participate. | |
| LookSmart Clicks |
BeSeen claims to offer the only free 1 to 1 banner exchange and includes targeted advertising and stats. | |
| Money Clicks | Money clicks has a 2:1 program with a twist. It offers members as a whole 50% of Net Advertising Revenue. Individual payments are made in a quarter when an amount greater than $100 accrues. | |
| Link Trader | Link Trader seeks to improve upon the odds by offering a 10:7 ratio . | |
| Smart Clicks | Smart Clicks offers a 2:1 ratio while boasting a free banner creator and graphics optimizer. | |
| Banner Network | MSN's Link Exchange hosts this free banner exchange offering a 2:1 ratio, targeted advertising and stats. |
A final word of caution: Remember that time did not permit testing of these programs. They are offered as what appear to be the best examples of the "genre" based on a review of the site, plan offered, and terms and conditions. Inclusion here does not equal endorsement by any of the conference speakers or sponsors.
