[Linda Buquet]

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!