Adsense is the best, here is why.

[toldan]

I recently tested waters with affiliate programs. So I became an affiliate for my old web hosting provider. I refered 2 people to them and one of the customers quit during 30 days money back guarantee. I disliked the program immediately, because I would have to refer at least 4 customers, wait for their 30 days to pass, and then collect the money (it could take months).

Then, I decided to test affiliate waters with my new web hosting provider. I paid $5 to join their referral program (yes, you heard me well) and referred my mom and my friend to their web hosting package. Their website claim affiliates are paid after their referrals' 30 day money back guarantee passes. Well, 30 days passed, still no payment. So I contacted their manager, and he said the payment will be made after 4 months. Yes, you heard me well - 4 months! Why? Because they want to avoid possibilities of so called "chargebacks" by the banks.

You know what, we often complain how Google pays us late etc. The facts are: Google is the best company when it comes to payments. We all get paid by the end of the month, no waiting 4 months, no office politics, no problems.

That's why I hope I stay with Adsense forever. Affiliate programs make you work like a slave, and there is always a question "will you get paid".

Google is the best. Period.

[greedy player]

True say without adsense I couldn't sleep at night knowing at the end of the 28 days period since the ending month I'll have an EFT succesfuly in my bank account, shame about people creating click fraud paranoia for everyone else, and the value of the clicks going down lately.. apart from that I'm content with adsense and very much lost without it. (VERY LOST WITHOUT ADSENSE).

My best regards to those who legitmently use Adsense and to the team who make Adsense possible and Adsense Advisor here at Webmaster World,
Greedy_Player

[jomaxx]

Not that what you're saying is wrong exactly, but if you have the right site and the right audience and the right program you can do very well with affiliate marketing.

My main site is a mediocre fit for AdSense but a good fit for several affiliate programs. I make about 2X from affiliate programs as from AdSense, and I'm far from the only one here who's in that situation.

[humblebeginnings]

Interesting point. Let's all agree Adsense is absolutely great, no question about that. But I am in the same boat as Toldan; Adsense pays me very well, and the affiliate programs I have tested so far pay me little and very late, if at all.

But as Jomaxx is stating, there are many of us making the big cash with affiliate programs. For them, Adsense is only there to make some change from people who do not order affiliate products. I guess I just didn't work hard enough yet to discover the affiliate gems that fit my sites. But keep reading the forum, cause one day I'll tell you about my great affiliate success;-)

Question to Jomaxx; do you make money as an affiliate or as a merchant?

[jomaxx]

As an affiliate, through a couple of reasonably well-known programs and a couple of lesser-known ones.

[thegreatpretender]

I agree. Affiliate programs are not only hard to set up, but also very hard to find one that will always make you money. Most of the time, you are wasting the traffic you're sending to the merchant. With adsense, just slap the code onto your site and wait for the money to flow into your account, assuming you already have traffic.

[ronburk]

Affiliate programs are not only hard to set up, but also very hard to find one that will always make you money.

That's another reason AdSense is so insidious. By being so easy to set up and get started, it renders micro-publishers even less likely to do the work required to diversify their income. That leaves them more dependent on Google -- and competing with an ever-growing list of new micro-publishers attracted by the same situation.