Affiliate programs, associate programs or performance based on–line marketing programs can bring in significant revenue when well placed relevant ads are used on high traffic websites.

Affiliate and other on–line marketing incentive programs range from the single company plan to the giant affiliate portals. Even GOOGLE Adsense is an "affiliate" program. Good examples of single programs are found with Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.com. Many Web Hosting companies have commission plans an advertiser can join.

Some of the affiliate Portals have advanced tracking software that accommodates multiple media types including; portals, news and information, charity and loyalty contributions, malls, email, newsletters, contests & sweepstakes and personal homepages. It's up to the website owner or webmaster to determine and place relevant links to merchants offering products and services or to offer promotions through e–mail or other on–line methods.

Merchants can dramatically increase sales, revenue and brand recognition by joining a reputable performance based on–line marketing program and utilizing the sales network already in place. Other merchants with strong brand recognition can also choose to run their own associate program. There are plenty of software products with different levels of tracking features. A cost benefit analysis would have to be evaluated on individual cases to determine which route would produce the best ROI (Return On Investment).

Below you will find links and information on a couple successful large portals boasting up to 600 merchants. When visiting their sites you will find that they are well established and have an impressive list of clients and advertisers. You will also find a list of features that you should look for in an affiliate program (courtesy of LinkShare™). A number of merchant and publisher case histories are presented on these sites. Everything you need to create a virtual Shopping Mall:

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Commission Junction — Commission Junction has an impressive list of featured advertisers (hundreds) and an equally impressive list of publishers. You will notice that they completely avoid the terms "affiliate" and "associate" altogether, and justifiably so, because they are much more.

Corporate Profile
Commission Junction, a leader in performance–based online marketing, delivers advanced solutions that facilitate strategic online relationships between advertisers and publishers, driving accountable results for each client. By publishing performance metrics on advertisers, publishers, and ads within its network and leveraging its own expertise in online marketing through service, education and promotion Commission Junction creates an open marketplace of low risk and high reward for its clients. The company serves billions of impressions monthly, ranking it among the largest ad networks in the world.

Business Model
Publishers place ads and links directly in and around their content and earn commissions. Online advertisers extend their reach, build their brand, drive sales and lower customer acquisition costs — all on a pay–for–performance basis. The company earns revenue on a per–transaction and subscription–fee basis.

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LinkShare™ – 600+ Quality well known merchants spanning every common interest. Linkshare claims they run the largest pay for performance affiliate marketing network on the Internet, with over 10 million partnerships.

LinkShare's mission is to drive the growth of electronic commerce by facilitating the creation of all types of profitable business partnerships, in whatever form these partnerships may take. By creating a marketplace in which all e–businesses can simply and easily partner with affiliated web sites willing to market and sell their goods and services, LinkShare is removing the complexity and confusion surrounding online marketing. LinkShare provides the vision and leading–edge technology and services that make this possible.

LinkShare is committed to giving its clients the competitive advantage they require in the rapidly changing world of electronic commerce, today and into the future.

Here are some features an affiliate program should offer you:

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Definitions:

Performance Based On–Line Marketing – Internet marketing systems by which Merchants and Advertisers pay a commission only when members of a large network of professional marketers, publishers, associates or affiliates actually make a sale by referencing a buying customer to the Merchant. The merchant compensates the referral only after a customer makes a purchase.

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OTHER PAGES OF INTEREST:

Income Opportunities – Top Internet revenue generating products offered by internet marketing leaders.

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OTHER USEFUL WEBSITES:

Affiliate Guide – Many Categories and merchants to choose from

Affiliate Programs Guide – Directories and Portals