Affiliate marketing involves webmasters and internet marketers promoting a product/service in return for commissions. Internet affiliate marketing began around 1995 with Amazon.com, Ebay.com and others. Typically, affiliates display an advertising banner on their website(s) which links to the site offering the product/service. This is just one of various approaches used to attract and drive traffic.

Time has shown that without developing a solid affiliate program the vast majority of websites fail to achieve the level of growth they may have otherwise been capable of.

Broad-based affiliate programs may involve several thousand affiliates promoting a product. Ordinarily 10% of ones affiliates provide 90% of the revenue generated by the affiliate program. These affiliates are known as Super Affiliates and it is every company’s dream to recruit these high caliber affiliates as soon as possible. Many super affiliates make in excess of $100k a month from several different affiliate programs.

Cost effectiveness is a key factor behind many companies decision to expand their internet affiliate programs and downsize other marketing vehicles. Affiliates are paid only out of the profits they have produced for the company! Companies lacking an affiliate program are seriously losing out on additional revenue.

An affiliate program is not merely a nice “add-on” to many websites but indispensable for most. All of the top performing sites on the internet have affiliate marketing programs which are responsible for the lion’s share of their profits.