Pro affiliates and merchants have already learned their lessons about leaky affiliate programs. However I'm amazed at the number of merchants that just don't get it. So I wanted to do a little piece to educate newer affiliates about leaks and hopefully educate some clueless merchants in the process.
Affiliate marketing is a business, not a hobby. Affiliates don't do it for the fun of it (although it can be fun) they do it to earn income. So any traffic affiliates send to a merchant site needs to have a chance of earning income. Merchants that have links out to other affiliate programs on their site earn the merchant income, but won't earn a dime for the affiliates that send traffic. Adsense on the merchant site syphons off traffic that won't earn the referring affiliate a penny. Big 800 numbers also are a leak, if phone orders aren't tracked back to the affiliate. So affiliates before you join a program, check for leaks and ask about phone tracking for affiliates. Look for affiliate-friendly programs that offer the best chance of conversions without leaks.
Merchants check for leaks on your site. If your site is leaky your affiliate channel could dry up!
Affiliate marketing is a business, not a hobby. Affiliates don't do it for the fun of it (although it can be fun) they do it to earn income. So any traffic affiliates send to a merchant site needs to have a chance of earning income. Merchants that have links out to other affiliate programs on their site earn the merchant income, but won't earn a dime for the affiliates that send traffic. Adsense on the merchant site syphons off traffic that won't earn the referring affiliate a penny. Big 800 numbers also are a leak, if phone orders aren't tracked back to the affiliate. So affiliates before you join a program, check for leaks and ask about phone tracking for affiliates. Look for affiliate-friendly programs that offer the best chance of conversions without leaks.
Merchants check for leaks on your site. If your site is leaky your affiliate channel could dry up!