companies (like as Google and Facebook, the two most well known examples) make money not only by the total number of clicks you pay for, but also because they demand a high impression count so that they continue to make money. How does this concern you as a business owner going after free traffic? First, there are free introductory PPC deals you can look into. Why, even some web hosts are now giving away $50-100 of free text ads. There are also true-blue free PPC sites out there, such as seen at Squidoo (a popular directory that lets you create individual web pages). Of course, “free PPC” is only a few steps away from “affiliate linking” opportunity (our next topic to discuss), since both methods involve trading clicks and impressions from one company to another. Of course, with affiliate networks, you also have the option of making money or paying money.
Affiliate Programs and Joint Venture Campaigns Affiliate programs, in this context, do not exclusively refer to an affiliate sales program such as the one offered by Amazon.com; though some programs are interconnected through a single network. Rather, it means that you can associate yourself with a network and benefit from their traffic boosts—while also earning money for your traffic or paying money to receive more traffic. In essence, it is a glorified version of a link exchange, with some pivotal differences. An affiliate program acts as an intermediary between web publishers (known as the affiliates) and retailers who want to sell their products. You may choose either role if you sign up with an affiliate…though you will only be able to work within the network. You must also abide by the terms of the network as far as content goes, though you can negotiate various issues such as banner sizes and placements, text ads, anchor text ads and various other options. You can benefit from the popularity of other websites within the network and enjoy a blog-like community dynamic when you sign up for an affiliate program. The only thing
