* Does it cost anything to join? Most affiliate programs offered today are absolutely free to join.

* When do they issue commission checks? All programs are different. Some issue once a month, some issue every quarter, etc. Also, many programs set a minimum earned commission amount which an affiliate must meet or exceed prior to a check being issued.

* What is the hit per sale ratio? (The average number of hits to a banner or text link it takes to generate a sale - based on all affiliate statistics.) This is extremely important, as this number will tell you how much traffic you must generate before you can expect to earn a commission from a sale.

* How are referrals from an affiliate's site tracked, and for how long do they remain in the system? You need to be confident in the program's ability to track those people your refer from your site. This is the only way you'll get credit for a sale. Additionally, how long those people stay in the system is also important, as the visitor may not buy initially, but may return later to make a purchase. Will you still get credit for the sale six months from now?

* What kind of affiliate stats is available? Does the program offer detailed stats? Are these online and available in real time? It's important to be able to see your individual stats, so you know how many impressions, hits and sales you have generated from your site. (Impressions are the number of times the program's banner or text link was viewed by a visitor to your site. A hit is simply someone clicking on a banner or text link - taking the visitor from your site to the program site.)

* Does the program pay just commissions on sales, or do they also pay for hits and/or impressions? Getting paid for impressions and/or hits, in addition to commissions on sales, is important. This is especially true if the program has a low sales to hit ratio.

* Who is the online retailer? Find out who you are doing business with. Is this a solid company? How do they fill orders? What types of payments do they accept? How long have they been in business? What are their return policies and how do these affect you? What products do they sell and what is their average sale amount? The more you know about the retailer offering the affiliate program, the easier it will be for you to determine if this is the program for you and your site.

* Is this a one or two tier program? A single tier program pays you only for the business you personally generate. A two tier program pays you for your business, plus it pays you a commission on the sales generated by any affiliate you sponsor into their program. Some two tier programs will also pay you a small fee on each new affiliate you sponsor - a recruitment fee.

* Finally, what is the amount of commission paid? (And fee for impressions/hits - if available.) 5% - 20% is common for commissions paid on sales. $.01 - $.05 is common for the amount paid for each hit (click through). If you find a program that also pays for impressions, don't expect the amount paid to be much at all. From these numbers you can see that the program's average sale amount and hit to sale ratio are extremely important. This is especially true if yours is a low traffic site to begin with.

These are just a few of the main aspects of affiliate programs which you should be familiar with if you plan to incorporate any such program into your web site. I hope this provides the reader with additional insight and helps them in selecting the right program for their site.

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