New Affiliate Marketing Information

While some of this article might not be completely new affiliate marketing information, the tips below still stand true if you want to succeed with making significant affiliate commissions. Affiliate marketing is still one of the best ways to earn a living on the Internet. However, it can be quite overwhelming. If you are new to this money making method, then you have a huge learning curve before you will ever earn your first commission.

To complicate things further, most beginners, unfortunately, are their own worst enemy. By not understanding some vital "affiliate marketing tips" you can lose at this amazing cash generating system, without even realizing it.

Below you will find some affiliate marketing tips, for new and novice alike that are often over looked or unknown altogether.

1. Test URL's - Never assume you have put your URL's in your ads correctly. I have been advertising affiliate programs for years and still make mistakes with this. Always copy the URL from your ad and paste it in a browser and hit enter to make sure the URL goes to the site you intended for it to. <strong>Important additional note on URL testing...</strong> Prior to any affiliate promotion, always login to your affiliate back office and double check that the affiliate program owner has not changed the affiliate links. This happens way more than you realize and if you don't check, you are advertising a, no commissions to you, URL.  Just because your old link might go to the right page, does not mean that the coding to capture your commissionable sale is present. It is vital that you don't over look this very important task.

2. URL's Capitalized - if you are using a URL and typing it out such as this: http://YourAffiliateProgram.com instead of this http://youraffiliateprogram.com then you need to know that some browsers will not parse this correctly from an email ad or even a web page link, I.E. included. As an advertising agent for many customers over 10+ years, I have seen this happen over and over. Don't risk it. Always use lower case letters.

There is one exception to this and that is if a file name has been named with upper case letters or you have signed up with a username with upper case letters in it. Examples such as: youraffiliateprogram.com/FileName.html, .php, .asp etc. or youraffiliateprogram.com/?YourAffiliateUsername or ID then it must be used just as named and cannot be altered. This warning is pertaining to the main domain name part only.

3. Using Direct Affiliate Links or URL's - using direct affiliate links in your advertising can mean fewer clicks to your affiliate web site, because of a possible block on the link. There are many major ISP's that keep up with URL's that have complaints on them. If there are so many complaints then this URL will quickly go on a email black list. Then what happens is when you use this straight affiliate URL in your advertising as the advertisers send your ad out, many bounces come back with the warning that this message could not be sent due to a URL in the message being on a black list. It is always best to use your own web site to either forward to your affiliate URL or a quality tracking or cloaking system of some type. Again I highly recommend setting this up on your own site as well with something like Covert Affiliate Links or Protrack Manager.

Another important side note for tracking and/or cloaking software. Avoid having to use a ‘?' in the tracking URL. This is a major problem with many free advertising sites and numerous other reasons I don't have room to list here. A URL without a ‘?' in it is always better.

4. Cloaking - also be aware that cloaking your URL can keep your affiliate id from being passed to the visitor. Cloaking is different then simply tracking a URL. Cloaking usually sets up a frame set itself making the site it lands on look as if it is from your own web site or the site of the cloaking software. Test any cloaking or tracking system you use before advertising with the URL. Because if the cloaking software itself or the web sites you are advertising on is using frames it can prevent your affiliate ID from passing on to the visitors that land on your site.

Check this by clearing your cookies and temporary Internet files, then use a URL frame breaker tester such as you find on many traffic exchanges and safe list sites. While your affiliate site is in the frame, go to the join page and make sure you are the referrer being credited. This will let you know if your cloaking software is doing more harm then good.

A good rule of thumb on the above is not to use the cloaking option on a URL that will be used in any framed environment, such as a traffic exchange or a credit based safe list. Ask any one you are paying to place ads for you, about this, if you are unsure. Any good tracking software will give you the option to cloak or not cloak a URL.

Follow this old and new affiliate marketing information avidly and soon you can be a pro affiliate marketer who is earning regular, hefty commissions.