Affiliate programs are a way to make money with your website without actually selling anything.

Affiliate programs enable the webmaster (publisher) to display advertisements and be paid for doing so.

Types of Affiliate Programs

There are three types of affiliate programs:

  • Pay Per Impression (PPI)
  • Pay Per Click (PPC)
  • Commission

Pay Per Impression (PPI) Affiliate Programs

Pay Per Impression (PPI) affiliate programs pay the webmaster (publisher) a very small amount of money each time a user sees an advertisement.

Pay Per Impression (PPI) programs have become significantly less popular with advertisers due to a high potential for fraud and a historical record of abuse.

Pay Per Click (PPC) Affiliate Programs

Pay Per Click (PPC) affiliate programs pay the webmaster (publisher) a larger amount of money each time a user clicks on an advertisement.

Commission Affiliate Programs

Commission affiliate programs pay the webmaster (publisher) a each time a user clicks on an advertisement to go to the advertisers web site and actually purchases something or signs up for some service.

Commission affiliate programs are very popular with advertisers because they entail no risk to the advertiser. If the advertiser doesn’t make money, his affiliates don’t make any money.

Commission affiiate programs are not very popular with webmasters, due to the potential for abuse by advertisers.

Choosing an Affiliate Program

The best affiliate program for your site depends on what site you run.

It is best to pick affiliate programs that sell products and services which the users of your web site are interested in purchasing.

If you see a web site with products or services which you believe your users would be interested in, do a search for that web site + affiliate program.

Affiliate Networks

Many Internet advertisers belong to an affiliate network. Affiliate networks act as middle-men between advertisers and publishers (webmasters).

Affiliate networks enable you to do business more easily with multiple advertisers. They take a lot of the headache out of making money from Internet advertising — for a percentage.

Here are a few of the top affiliate networks: