Before you join an affiliate program, ask yourself some important questions.. Do a little research about the choice of programs that you intend to become involved with. Get some answers because they will be the deciding factor on what you will be achieving later on.

Will it cost you anything to join? Most affiliate programs being offered today are absolutely free of charge. So why settle for those that charge you some dollars before joining. Personally, I would NEVER pay to become a part of any affiliate program!

When do they issue the commission checks? Every program is different. Some issue their checks once a month, every quarter, etc. Select the one that is suited to your needs. Many affiliate programs are setting a minimum earned commission amount that an affiliate must meet or exceed in order for their checks to be issued, so look for that in their terms.

What is the hit per sale ratio? This is the average number of hits to a banner or text link it takes to generate a sale based on all affiliate statistics. This factor is extremely important because this will tell you how much traffic you must generate before you can earn a commission from the 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 on the program enough to track those people you refer from your site. This is the only way that you can credit for a sale. The period of time that those people stay in the system is also important. This is because some visitors do not buy on their first visit, but may want to return later to make the purchase. Find out if you will still get credit for the sale if it is done within a certain time after the first visit.

What are the kinds of affiliate stats available? Your choice of affiliate program should be capable of offering detailed stats. They should be available online anytime you decide to check them out. Constantly checking your individual stats is important to know how many impressions, hits and sales are already generated from your site. Impressions are the number of times the banner or text link was viewed by a visitor of your site. A hit occurs when a potential buyer clicks on the banner or text links.

Who is the online retailer? Find out whom you are doing business with to know if it is really a solid company. Know the products they are selling and the average amount they are achieving. The more you know about the retailer offering you the affiliate program, the easier it will be for you to know if that program is really for you and your site.

Is the affiliate a one tier or two tier program? A single tier program pays you only for the business you yourself have generated. A two tier program pays you for the business, plus it also pays you a commission on the sales generated by any affiliate you sponsor in your program. Some two-tier programs are even paying small fees on each new affiliate you sponsor. More like a recruitment fee.

What is the amount of commission paid? 3% - 20% is the commission paid by most programs for "hard products. A commission of 50%-75% is most common for informational products like those sold at ClickBank.

Finally, what assistance does the program provide in the way of banners, text links and coupon codes? Do they provide email samples and/or pre-built ads to help you sell? Check this out carefully as it will save you tons of time when you don't have to create all your tools from scratch!

These are just some of the questions that you should be asking yourself when considering an affiliate program - or product. Good program research will go a long way towards helping you choose wisely.