Go60Guy - 2:15 pm on Aug 18, 2002 (gmt 0)

Among many other things, the primary consideration for me is whether affiliate marketing appears to be an integral part of the merchant's business plan. I seek out merchants who view the affiliate as a true partner in their marketing strategy.

All too often you'll find that a well known bricks and mortar name has an affiliate program mainly as a vehicle for advertising. Mysteriously, despite a good click through rate, few, if any, conversions seem to take place. Tracking is highly questionable.

I look for:

1. An affiliate manager.
2. A cookie. This indicates a positive attitude toward affiliates.
3. Monthly payments (or better), made on time.
4. 800 number is not prominently displayed.
5. Linking is available to individual product pages (deep linking).
6. Real time (or at least daily) reporting.
7. Attractive commission rate.
8. Prompt notification of changes in links & promotions, etc.
9. Brand name products.
10. A website that's easily navigable & well designed to convert.

After you've been doing this for a while you begin to get a sense as to whether a given merchant is worth a go. Obvioulsy, I go for sales as opposed to leads, etc. which are highly prone to fraud.