Choosing affiliate program

Being an affiliate program, it is our prime interest to know what affiliates really want when they join one or another.

Can you name what is most important for you? What is on first place? Commission rate? Payment schedule? Credibility of the program? Conversion rate? Promoted brand?

Best regards, Seopharmacy

The most important to me is:

Credibility of the program. If it hasn't been around that long I'm not even going to sign up because a website can be here today, gone tomorrow. Let say I started earning commissions through AdSense (for example), I display their ads for 3 months and gain some cash in my account. Then all of a sudden I go to visit the AdSense site; there is no website there. Now, I just wasted my time & displayed someone elses ads for no reason.

Another thing is commission rate. I current use AdSense on all my sites. I know they're making a hell of a lot more than me, considering all the work that goes into building a forum and community it's seems like a lot of work for such little return. On the other hand, I'm not trying to get rich off my websites, I just want them to self-sustain.

Payment schedule.. I dislike quota's for instance Goggles $100 is a PITA. I've had adsense on most of my sites since they've started and while they certainly aren't high traffic yet I still haven't gotten a payment from Google according today's stats, I'm still ~$20 away.

In today's day and age of EFT (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_funds_transfer) it costs them the same amount to send $1.00 vs. $100. Why do I have to wait? I fear that should someone devious decide to attack my forums and click ads over and over again to get me banned from AdSense, I can kiss what I've made goodbye. Therefore, I displayed ads for no reason. AdSense TOS states they may withhold payment on banned accounts.

Just my two cents,
Dan

Danny Boy, that has happened to me. I had almost $140 in revenue acquired with AdSense and awaiting the payment date. All of a sudden, a member posted a poll about whether or not people were using it and if they have found it very good. All of a sudden people started clicking on it....THEN I get an email from Google stating that they have banned my account due to an infraction of their TOS. This was their email:


Hello Robert,

It has come to our attention that invalid clicks have been generated on the Google ads on your site(s). We have therefore disabled your Google AdSense account. Please understand that this step was taken in an effort to protect the interest of the AdWords advertisers.

A publisher's site may not have invalid clicks on any ad(s), including but not limited to clicks generated by:

- a publisher on his own web pages
- a publisher encouraging others to click on his ads
- automated clicking programs or any other deceptive software
- a publisher altering any portion of the ad code or changing the layout, behavior, targeting, or delivery of ads for any reason

Practices such as these are in violation of the Google AdSense Terms and Conditions and program polices, which can be viewed at:

https://www.google.com/adsense/localized-terms?hl=en_US
https://www.google.com/adsense/policies?hl=en_US

Publishers disabled for invalid click activity are not allowed further participation in AdSense and do not receive any further payment. The earnings on your account will be properly returned to the affected advertisers.

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense Team

MORE


Hello Robert,

As you know, our specialists recently reviewed your account and they expressed some concern over the poll found at *****.

They felt that the content on this page might draw undue attention to the ads on zendiving.com and kindly ask that you remove the poll if you intend to display Google ads on your site.

Feel free to reply to this email if you have any questions.

After almost 2 weeks and 23 emails, I was reinstated, but now wonder if it was really worth it. If a member gets crazy on some weekend night frenzy and starts clicking on the AdSense again, will this all take place again? If it does, then I will more than likely follow your footsteps and part ways with them.

-Robert

The poll and anything else that has the effect of drawing attention to AdSense ads is a clear violation of the ToS and always has been.

I had a member post a question asking if clicking on my ads would help support the forum. I had that post deleted and a PM off to the member explaining why in about 10 seconds (luckily I was online at the time).

I don't know if you were aware of the poll or not but for all forum owners running AdSense it is important to be vigilant.

I wasn't aware of it but became aware of it from Google. I have sense posted about NOT bringing deliberate attention to AdSense...it is there for them IF they need or want it...not for their amusement or abuse.

Thanks for the reply Zendiver. Sadly, your story isn't all that unique. The problem is Google has most webmaster's over the barrel, and they know it. Never before has it been so easy to put targeted advertisments on your website. Yahoo is working on something but is still beta + requries verifaction. I've tired to get YPN (Yahoo Publisher Network) on two of my sites but have been denied due to content.. I'd guess YPN doesn't have ads targeted for my websites yet.

You'd think as large and smart as "Google" is, they'd be able to impletment an IP ban on a per site basis. Say I come to Zen diver and click 5 ads in 10 seconds. Google should IP ban me from clicking ads on your site for say 24 hours.

In my opinion it isn't that Google cannot do it, they won't do; because they rip off to many webmasters by closing their account for invalid clicks after they've already accumlated money in their account.

In the end Google should pay attenion to us "little guys" because together we all make up a large percentage of their revenues.

I wasn't aware of it but became aware of it from Google. I have sense posted about NOT bringing deliberate attention to AdSense...it is there for them IF they need or want it...not for their amusement or abuse.

I just may do this as well, since I have adsense on both my vbI website and my vbI forum.



[EDITED] guess not, after reading minstrel's advice below

I don't see this as an example of Google not paying attention to the little guys. There WAS click abuse and Google, protecting its AdWords customers, rightly suspended the account. Once the problem was resolved, the account was reactivated.

To me, this is an example of the system working exactly the way it should.

I wasn't aware of it but became aware of it from Google. I have sense posted about NOT bringing deliberate attention to AdSense...it is there for them IF they need or want it...not for their amusement or abuse.
This may backfire on you too, since it could be interpreted as "reverse psychology". Perhaps that's paranoia on my part but I'd recommend you remove that post and any other posts that make any reference whatsoever to the AdSense ads.

If you feel a need to warn your forum members, do it via mass email or mass PM, not in open forum.

It reminds me of when I was 10 visiting my cousin in England and my aunt told us as we were going out the door not to eat any green crab apples or we'd get a stomach ache. Until then, it hadn't even occurred to us to eat those apples but once she told us NOT to, what do you think we did, almost immediately? (And yes - I did get a stomach ache.)

It's kind of like a "Wet Paint" sign - you know you have to check it with a finger tip.

I don't see this as an example of Google not paying attention to the little guys. There WAS click abuse and Google, protecting its AdWords customers, rightly suspended the account. Once the problem was resolved, the account was reactivated.

To me, this is an example of the system working exactly the way it should.

I can see your point here. Maybe I should rephrase; Google should do more to help the little guys.

Personally I think it would be very nice of Google if they decected fraud to send us an email before banning the account. It seems as if they declare the webmasters guilty by default. Is that fair? No.. As Google well knows (look @ all the problems they're having with black hat SEO techniques) We have no control over whom visits our site and clicks ads. Why does Google assume we sent/told/hired someone to click on our ads?

Just my thoughts,
Dan

I think Google thinks that's what they are doing.

Step 1: disable account to prevent further click fraud

Step 2: notify site owner of above

Step 3: wait and see if they appeal (since most click fraud is intentional, my guess is most do not bother to appeal it)

Step 4: if appealed, investigate and reinstate if appropriate

We have no control over whom visits our site and clicks ads. Why does Google assume we sent/told/hired someone to click on our ads?

It's the old principle of "follow the money trail". Who benefits from click fraud? The account holder. So who is the prime suspect when it occurs? The account holder.

If I owned and were running the program, that is exactly how I would proceed.

I am not saying that there is no injustice in the system, by the way. What I am saying is that most cases of injustice are, on appeal, reinstated.

Doc when you're right your right. :) If you haven't noticed I'm a bit cynical when it comes to big business.

PS: Do you mind being called doc?

:) Not at all.

Thanks for replying, everyone!