How Not To Run An Affiliate Program

I found a site that I thought offered a really useful product this week. It was unusual enough for me to seek out their affiliate program and request details.

I got accepted and took another look over the site to see how well I thought it would convert my visitors into sales.

That was when I realsised that something was seriously wrong.

The site was full of Google Adsense advertisements.

Why would a successful company that wants to attract good quality affiliates and presumably sell their own products, cram their web site with ads designed to tempt their visitors away.

From my perspective (and I hope any other affiliate worth their salt), it's simply a ludricrous idea to promote their program.

I for one, work very hard to ensure that my visitors are only sent to sites that are useful and relevant to whatever site of mine they happen to be visiting.

If I am going to join a program on a pay per sale basis, then I expect that the company does it's very best to convert my visitor into a sale that I earn a commission on.

Why would I want to send a visitor that is more likely to click on another ad just to earn that webmaster money?

It makes no sense at all.

So, being me, I contacted the affiliate site with this email:

I am considering joining your affiliate program, but your site seems more geared towards earning Google Adsense revenue. Why would an affiliate spend time generating visitors to a site that is trying to get those visitors to click links that he doesn't get paid for? Yours looks like a useful program to promote, but with those Google ads? It's totally unprofessional. Please let me know when they are gone and I will happily promote your program, but I don't think I want to promote your Adsense ads!

They sent me a reply today. Here it is:

I appreciate your interest in our affiliate program. While we do serve adsense ads amongst many others,affiliates are paid on a free account sign up. Driving traffic to our free joine can be quite lucrative. Thanks again for your interest in (name removed to save embarrassment)

I think that says it all.

Don't think this company is alone. There are many companies who think they can screw their affiliates in this way. That's why I am reluctant to join affiliate programs and instead work with people I know and trust.

Affiliate program managers need to wake up to the real value of the traffic that a motivated affiliate can send, instead of treating them like mindless idiots.