5 Factors That Will Help You Find The Top Affiliate Programs
Author: ©Jeff Schuman

When you want to make good money online promoting other people's products you need to be sure that you find the top affiliate programs to promote. These are the ones that will help you make the most money possible because people will want to buy what you are promoting.

There are some important factors that you need to look for in affiliate programs to help you determine if they are a top program or not. The following are the factors that are the most important to look for in any program you are interested in promoting.

One: Product or service needs to be in demand - If you are going to make money then the product or service needs to be something that people want and are willing to hand their money over for. The best types of programs are the ones that can substantiate the claims that the product creators are making. With this you will easily be able to sell the program because people will really need it and want it.

Two: Commissions that are good for you - You want to make sure that the commissions you will earn are worth your time. Some affiliate programs will only pay out 5-10% commissions. These are the programs to avoid.

The top programs are the ones that will pay between 50% to 75% commissions. This allows you the chance to make really good money and not waste your time promoting it.

Three: Image is professional - The programs website should be written in an engaging and convincing way. The top programs will hire professionals to write their website copy and other things so that they achieve the professional image that they are going for.

Four: Great support - You can't make money online with any program without great support. There will be many times that support is needed and the best programs understand this and provide it in more than one way.

Five: Company is trustworthy - You have to be sure that the company behind the affiliate program is trustworthy. One way to tell this is if they offer a money back guarantee. A company that can't be trusted will never offer this because they know they will have to give the money back when people find out they were ripped off.

If you take time to find these factors in each of the affiliate programs that you look at then you will easily be able to know when you have found the top affiliate programs. These programs are definitely the best ones to promote for anyone that is serious about making money online because the top programs are also the good quality products that will sell easily.

These factors will all help you ensure that you are choosing only the top affiliate programs to promote. If you don't find these factors in the program then it may be a good idea to steer clear of that one and find the ones that have all of these factors. That way you will know you can make good money with it from the start.

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10 Steps To Getting The Click
Author: ©Sharon Housley

There are a number of steps a webmaster can take to encourage visitors to "click" on a link or graphic located on their website. The following steps will help "get the click"...

1. Colors
Use contrasting colors for links. This makes the links easier to discern from other text on a web page. Also, avoid placing links against a patterned background, as it will make it much more difficult to read the link text. Bottom line, the link color should stand out from the rest of the web page, and be easy to locate.

2. Link Traits
Underlining is still the universal indication of a link. Using the "underline" for links will send a clear message to website visitors about which text on the webpage is just text, and which text is actually a hyper-link. And along this line of thought, you should avoid using underlining for text that is not a link, just to avoid confusion.

3. Visible
Make all the links visible. Do not hide the links or navigation on a web page. Avoid using scripting to display links, as these links will not be visible to website visitors who have turned scripting off in their browser for security reasons.

4. Textual
Text links have a higher rate of clicks than linked images. The one exception is typically a "Buy Now" button, which tends to be more effective than text-only "Buy Now" links. Keep this in mind when creating a linking scheme for your website.

5. Consistent
The location of links should be consistent as the visitor moves from page to page through your website. Do not move links around as the content of the web page changes.

6. Position
Place important links in a location that is easy for the website visitor to see without having to scroll. Position important links "above the fold" on the website.

7. Font Style & Size
In order to make links easy for the visitor to see, be sure to use a font style and size that can be easily read.

8. Graphic Links
If you use image links, the clickable graphics should be vibrant and should stand out from the other content on the page. Use bright or bold contrasting colors for the graphic. Be sure to include appropriate ALT text for each linked image, so the visitor will have an indication of the material being linked to as they move their mouse over the graphic.

9. Split-Test
Conduct split-testing by changing colors and moving links around, and then monitor and track which options and locations result in the highest number of clicks. What may seem intuitive is not always as obvious as you might think.

10. Fresh Eyes
Ask a friend or family member to navigate your website. It may surprise you to learn what they see and where they click. A fresh set of eyes will give a good indication of how others will perceive your website and the clickable content.