Affiliate Marketing Must Add Value

There is no point in using an affiliate if the affiliate adds no value. This is an obvious statement, but there have been many instances where affiliates have served only to reduce, rather than add, value.

An example of this is where an affiliate bids for the brand name keyword of the merchant in a paid search marketing campaign and the client gets directed immediately to the merchant's website. This had added no value as, by using the brand name, it is apparent that the potential customer was already interested in the merchant's products. In fact this has reduced value for the merchant by bidding up the price of the keyword. Many large merchants have now outlawed the practice of allowing merchants to bid for the brand name. Furthermore they are now refusing to pay fees to the merchant unless the client initially visits the affiliate's website.

It is only by visiting the website of the affiliate that there is any chance of adding value. It is necessary for the affiliate to participate actively in the sale by providing additional information, reviews or other information in support of the ultimate sale. This means that an affiliate will need to produce a web page for every item that they represent.

Managing affiliate programmes can be a tough task, as affiliates are not necessarily the friends of the merchants for which they work. There are some affiliates who don't play by the rules, and treat the merchants as cash cows rather than working in the confines of a fair business relationship. Fortunately there is some affiliate management software available that can monitor this sort of behaviour. An example of this that comes highly recommended is Market Defender.

Market Defender will simplify affiliate management considerably, and will help the merchant keep an eye on any rogue activities in which its merchants might engage. The software checks on affiliates' activities every hour and can record anything that they do with a time stamp. It can even be accessed for free for a limited time, and this is the idea way to ensure that your affiliates really do add value.


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