Affiliate programs offer merchants the opportunity to employ vast armies of people. It is because they only have to pay their affiliates for the results they achieve. On the other hand, the rewards for affiliates are also high. Skilled affiliate marketer can earn vast amount of money. This win-win situation has led to an explosion in the number of affiliate programs that are available to the would-be marketer. With this proliferation of opportunities has come the question: what qualities should you look for in a top affiliate program that will give you a good chance to make sustainable income?

Below are some tips that will help you to evaluate merchants and their programs to help you to avoid wasting time and money.

1. Does it have high commission rate?

It is very important that you know how much you can expect to earn from a sale. There is no point in spending time and money promoting a product that does not pay well. You could end up spending more on marketing than you are likely to make on sales.

It is probably best to stick with marketing products with a high commission value. Only if you have found a niche market where you can sell vast quantities of product, and make substantial commissions on your volume of sales that you can settled with less commission value products.

2. Does the program have high traffic?

Find out the amount of traffic the merchant's website is already receiving. Alexa.com could be a useful tool for doing this research. If the website is ranked in the top 100,000, the merchant is getting a good volume of traffic, and there may already be too many affiliates. If it is below 500.000, it is either no good or it could just be a great opportunity to make some good income.

It is always wise to do some more research on the program if their website has a low traffic ranking. Forums are a good place to find out if there are any adverse comments about the program. If you can afford the product, it will be a good idea to buy it yourself.

3. What are the terms to get commission from the program?

Some merchants pay commissions every week; some once a month, others only pay every quarter. It is important that you know how often you can expect a pay check if you are going to have financial control over your business. Do you have the financial resources to continue to market a product if you have to wait a long time before you are paid? Beware that some programs require minimum commission you have to earn before you get the commission.

4. Does it have tracking cookies?

Many times customers do not buy on their first visit to a merchant's website. It is important that the merchant uses cookies on their site, so that you get credit if the customer returns and buys later. Check out how long the cookies last. The longer the cookie lasts; the better the chance of being paid!

5. Does the program pay on subsequent sales?

Some merchants will only pay commission on sales that come through customers visiting their site via a direct link from your site. They will not pay you for any subsequent purchases that the customer makes if they visit the merchants site directly. You want a program that will pay you no matter what route the customer is coming from.

6. Does it have promotional resources?

If they have, examine the type and quality of the promotional material they provide. Do they provide articles or content that you can use to promote them on your site or free guides, special offers or samples? If the promotional resources are good, it is likely that the merchant will provide good support for their affiliates.

Finding a top affiliate program to promote can be a tricky business. The best advice is to do your own research. Use the above questions as guidance to find a program that enables you to reach your financial goals.