How it works: You, as a publisher, place links on your website to other sites (known as advertisers). These other sites agree to pay you for the performance of the traffic you have generated for them. Sometimes they pay-per-lead where the person that clicks-thru simply fills out a form and you get credited with a commission. The other type of commission is based on a sale, either a percentage of the total or a flat amount or a combination of the two.

To maximize revenue, you will link to websites that will appeal to your visitors. In other words try to send targeted traffic to your advertising partner so that you have the best possible chance of earning your reward. If you sell auto parts, you may want to link over to advertising partners who sell auto insurance, or someone who sells parts you don't carry, etc. Obviously you don't want to link over to a direct competitor of yours, so the object is finding a good match without jeopardizing your own sales.

Now, how do we track the leads and sales so you know how much you are owed? There is a third party in this arrangement, known as Commission Junction Their website is the medium that enables you to search for and find advertisers that match your specific criteria. Commission Junction tracks the number of click-thrus from your site as well as the leads, sales, and earnings. Advertisers' pay-outs for the entire network are published so that you know which advertisers are worthy of your partnership. You can have any number of advertising partners and your earnings from all of them will be combined into a single check paid out monthly by Commission Junction.

Sounds great, right? I have a number of affiliate advertising partners for my auction website and have earned thousands of dollars this past year, thereby making my "free" site a profitable one. I strongly recommend using Commission Junction in conjunction with your own sales or offerings to improve your bottom line.

Plug into the Commission Junction network now!