Affiliate marketing on the internet seems to be everywhere. There are so many sites that a person can sign up to receive bonuses from referring other people to the site that it seems that everyone is involved. This can lead to a lot of websites having more links to other sites than actual content, just to earn money from their affiliate marketing.

However, the idea of an affiliate is not a new one, and is by no means reserved just for the internet. There have long been associations between two or more people or companies. Quite often, being an affiliate of a prestigious organisation was seen as a benefit, and was often very hard sought after. Dental practitioners would want to be affiliated with the national dental organisation, for example. This affiliating with a recognised governing body would add extra credibility to the practice.

On the other hand, celebrities would often be affiliated with a certain product or service for advertising purposes. It is still the case that many people aspire to own the same items that their favourite movie stars or pop singer use.

The majority of internet affiliates do not have the same status as other affiliates, as there are no special requirements for affiliation. Almost anyone can have hundreds of affiliate links on their site, and most of these are not of any real benefit to the credibility of the site itself. In fact, as they are purely ways to attract visitors to another site, the impact of these affiliate inks can often be negative.

Many people are so used to seeing lots of affiliate links that they are almost immune to them. The time has come for the true nature of the affiliate to be restored and applied to the internet affiliate schemes. Having an affiliation should be a sign that the site performs a valuable service, or has reached recognised standards of quality and service, and not simply a way to earn a few extra cents whenever a person clicks on the link. In reality, the amount of money that a site owner actually earns from these affiliate links is so small compared to the negative impact that having the link on their site has, that it would be in their best interests to remove them.