Hosting Marketers News

By Chuck McCullough

Its hard to have a discussion about affiliate programs without mentioning Amazon.com. They are considered to be the pioneers of affiliate programs. And with over 300,000 affiliates, its hard to argue that point.

But affiliate programs are changing. Many, many companies are realizing that the best way to sell products and services on the Internet is to recruit affiliates. Along with this comes a form of competition. Affiliate program managers want you to sell their products, not the products of their competitors. How do they make sure that you stick with them and not defect to the other side? They do their best to make their program more attractive to you.

There are many ways to make a program more attractive to potential affiliates. They can offer a higher percentage of the profits, and/or they can offer more benefits. Benefits can come in many forms, but the topic of this discussion will be the benefits that come from the way sales and visitors are tracked.

Let’s bring Amazon.com back into the limelight for a minute. They are huge…everyone knows about them…everyone knows that you can create a site, add some good content, bring in a highly targeted audience, and sell them books! Simple enough…create a site with a good topic, drive traffic to it, send them to Amazon, and get rich. But…its been tried before…and guess what…not that many of those 300,000 affiliates even earn enough to get the minimum $25 check in the mail every quarter.

Why? Is it because you have 299,999 competitors out there selling Amazon.com books just like you are? I’m sure that plays a part, but the real reason is the way you are credited for a sale. You work hard to create a website full of content, and work even harder to promote it and bring visitors to your site. Then, what do you do with that coveted visitor? You wisk them off to Amazon to become their life-long customer, and never to return to your site again!

That may not seem fair to you, but can you complain? They give you a whopping 5% of the sale, maybe even 15% on some of the books if you are lucky. Or, worse yet, they bookmark Amazon.com, and go back to buy the books tomorrow and you don’t even get the 5%. Either way they are gone. That precious visitor that could have been a life-long customer of yours is now off to Amazon.com. They will buy a book or two to test out the process. Then after their books arrive, they will merrily open up their browser and type in http://www.amazon.com and spend their entire paycheck buying books.

How much do you get from this return visit? Well, it WAS your visitor after all, right? Unfortunately every penny of that visitor’s paycheck will fall into Amazon’s pocket. Of course you have to feel sorry for Amazon, though. They aren’t making any money after all (violin music playing in the background).

What happened? The same that happens with many affiliate programs. You get paid per click, per lead, or per sale. From that point on, they own that customer.

But I’m happy to report that times are changing! Companies are starting to look for better ways to compensate their affiliates for referring customers to them.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not condemning affiliate programs…my entire site is dedicated to the topic. I just want you to know that some companies are starting to look at new methods of rewarding you for sending them customers. After all, you are a salesman for them. How many brick-and-mortar companies do you know of that will have a salesperson make a sale, pay them their commission, and then never pay them another cent for future business from that same customer?

Why should the Internet be any different? It shouldn’t…and program administrators are finally figuring that out.

There are many companies that will track the visitor that came from your site, and credit you for the sale even if they don’t purchase something until the next day, or week, or month. Others will make that visitor your lifetime customer. If they come back two years later and buy something, you will get a commission for that.

A good example of this is Ken Evoy’s 5 Pillar Affiliate Program. If you sell one of your visitors a copy of his book: “Make Your Site Sell!”( http://www.sitesell.com/helpmakemy.html ), you will not only get a commission for that sale, you will also get a percentage of all future sales from that customer, no matter what product or service they purchase.

A new idea being offered by companies such as TTA Superstores ( http://affiliatematch.com/ttasuperstores ), is to allow your visitors to buy products without ever leaving your site. This means that the visitor has the time to spend on YOUR site, and get to know what excellent content you have to offer, and to hopefully return to YOUR site for future purchases.

This concept allows you to sell products such as magazines, gifts, luggage, hats, cooking accessories from your site, without having to give up the customer that you worked so hard to get.

Here is an example of the power of this idea: I have a site that gives tips and hints for those hoping to become Microsoft Certified. An excellent product for me to sell from that site is books. Everyone studying for this certification will need books at some point or another to help them pass the exams. They come to my site for information, and I sell them a couple of books while they are there. Does pretty well for me, but can I quit my day job? Not exactly. I get a great deal of traffic…highly targeted traffic at that.

I should be rich! I’m not. Problem is, they visit my site, I do my best to sell them on the idea that they will need books to help them study for the exams, then I send them off to Amazon, and they’re gone. If I’m lucky, they might remember my site when they get ready for their next exam. But chances are that they will still have the Amazon shipping box sitting on their desk, and will go directly to them to purchase the additional books.

So what can you do about it? Look for programs that will compensate you for future sales, or give you credit for the sale the next day, or month after they first visited them from your site. Or, look for programs that allow you to sell products directly from your site, without the visitor ever having to leave.

Chuck McCullough is the owner of http://AffiliateMatch.com offering FREE articles, tips, hints, and real-world advice on how to make money with your website. Visit his site or join his FREE newsletter, The AffiliateMatch Informer by sending a blank email to mailto:newsletter@affiliatematch.com.

Shared cheap web hosting is most commonly offered in UNIX and Windows NT operating systems. When you go to retain a cheap web hosting provider, you will have to choose which platform your site will run on. Here are some things to consider when making your decision:

Windows NT servers are configured to be compatible with Microsoft applications, such as FrontPage, Access and MS SQL. NT servers also offer programming environments such as Active Server Pages (ASP), Visual Basic Scripts, MS Index Server and Cold Fusion.

NT allows those with little or no experience in web development to get advanced features working very quickly. By using software such as Microsoft’s FrontPage, you can have a fully functional site up in a short amount of time.

However, along with Microsoft’s powerful features and user-friendly environment, comes a cost much larger than similar features compatible with UNIX. Microsoft’s NT operating system has another drawback. It’s very hard on web servers and may require additional resources if stability is to be maintained. Even with additional hardware implemented, NT servers will have to be rebooted regularly. So it is very important that the support staff for an NT host be knowledgeable and reliable.

Given that NT servers provide excellent levels of support and integration for Microsoft products, you should select NT if you will be using a Microsoft-based service with your hosted server.

UNIX is the other common operating system. It is extremely vigorous and designed to handle heavy Web traffic and server load. Most UNIX systems with heavy traffic can provide a 99 percent uptime guarantee. This is because UNIX has been around for much longer than NT, and is now very developed and stable.

Many web server applications available on the Internet are intended for use with the Unix OS. So UNIX has come to be a very flexible platform in regards to programming/application compatibility. Most hosting plans include a wide amount of features such as, Perl, JAVA, PHP, Miva, Shell Access (remote access to your server through any online connection), and much more.

For the downside, there are some types of server applications, mostly those offered by Microsoft, which will not be supported. These include Microsoft’s Active Server Pages (ASP) and Microsoft’s SQL database software. However, several companies have already developed software that will allow these applications to run on UNIX. So these issues may not be around much longer.

Overall, it is safe to say that if you know what sort of programming and applications you will use to run your web site, and they are compatible with a UNIX platform, then you should go with a UNIX plan.

Consumers can find an excellent shared hosting provider by using Web hosting directories or by directly soliciting hosts for comments on their service packages.
Using hosting directories is a highly recommended strategy, because such sites aggregate a tremendous amount of information about the hosting industry and its participants. By leveraging a host directory, regular consumers can contrast and compare the different features of several Web hosting firms.

The most credible hosting directories have catalogues that allow you to search for hosts that match specified criteria, whether it is based on cost, technology or geography. Most of the more sophisticated hosting directories also include an “advanced search” option that allows consumers to fine tune their hosting requirements.

Users of these resources must be cautious and exercise due diligence however. Some directories only allow paid advertisers in their catalogues, making the directory non-meritorious in composition. Consumers should be aware of how the list is compiled, updated and what criteria are used to add companies - especially if the site offers a top ten or twenty ranking.

Many hosting companies only conceive of hosting directories as marketing channels. For this reason, some disreputable hosting companies and executives have developed, purchased or even influenced certain hosting directories to boost their own revenues.

Too often, a directory will actually sell the most popular listings to various hosts who are willing to pay top-dollar for an award or recognition. Consumers should thus make no correlation between an award and quality.

Kudos, awards and recognition are indicators that a host has financial resources to advertising online, but does not indicate whether the host offers credible and reliable service.

Not all awards and recognition are purchased advertisements, however. When recognition is not purchased, you only need to inquire how the host was specifically selected for an award. This can usually be determined from an evaluation formula that is posted on the Web site.

Consumers should also note that many hosting directories not only offer a large list of hosts, but also detailed information about the host’s features, price ranges and provide consumers with the ability to compare hosts again each other.

More sophisticated hosting directories will also include in-depth articles, message forums, evaluation tools and even promotional campaigns that will save you money with the most credible hosting firms. These features are also important because they allow consumers to obtain more in-depth and personalized information about a hosting firm.

Other resources that consumers may want to consult are online bulletin boards. Specialized bulletin boards contain and solicit postings from consumers who provide their opinion and experiences concerning their experiences with a hosting company. These resources provide users with a candid understanding of the inter-workings of hosting companies.

Savvy consumers should also consider searching for online comments concerning a specific host that they are seriously contemplating. Finding comments from dissatisfied consumers is as important as finding complements about the company. Consumers can find comments by conducting a search, using the candidate hosting company’s name, in a search engine.

Another strategy that should be employed is direct correspondence. The concerned consumer should actually send potential hosting companies pre-sales e-mail to determine what features are available. Sending a pre-sales e-mail will also give the consumer an indication of how quickly the host responds to general inquiries. A credible Web host will respond in less than 24 hours. However, consumers must be aware that most hosting outfits will always respond to sales inquiries faster than technical support requests.

When composing a pre-sales e-mail, consumers should ask the following questions (consider simply copying this following list and sending it to a candidate Web host):

Is there a discount if I pre-pay for a number of months in advance?
What payment methods are available?
How many months in advance am I required to pay?
Is there a set-up fee?
Is there a trial period or money-back guarantee?
What is your bandwidth, transfer or hit limit?
May I visit other sites hosted by you?
Will I have my own IP number or is it shared?
Do you offer an unlimited, 24/7 technical support service?
How much space is available with your package?
What is the OS and version of the server my site will be placed on?
What are the hardware specs of the server?
How many sites are currently running on the server?
How many more sites do you think you will put on it before it is full?
How do you decide what constitutes a full server?
Is there any way for us to set up a mailing list for announcements?
Will I have 24-hour FTP and telnet access?
Will I have anonymous FTP?
Will I have an automated control panel to access my site?
Do you provide a full, free CGI directory?
Can I run CGI scripts outside of the CGI directory?
Is there a limit to how many scripts I can install?
Do you provide full shell access?
Can I debug a problematic CGI script on the server?
What version of Perl do you use? Does it contain a full set of modules?
Do you offer a Web statistics package?
Will I also have access to the raw statistical log files?
Does the space used by my logs count against my allotted disk space?
What is your acceptable usage policy?
How long have you been in business?
By employing a strategy of due diligence through the combined use of credible, hosting directories and direct correspondence with hosting firms, smart consumers can find an excellent shared hosting provider.

Virtual or shared Web hosting is the business of housing and serving files for a Web site. Typically, an individual or small to mid-sized business cannot afford to independently obtain an extremely robust connection to the Internet for their Web presence. Virtual or shared Web hosting provides these consumers with the option to outsource their Internet requirements inexpensively.
Using a shared hosting service allows these companies to share the cost of a fast Internet connection for serving files. It is the most basic entry-level, fee-based hosting service a customer can select.

Shared hosting offers clients the ability to host their Web site on a powerful, professionally managed server at a low monthly cost. Shared servers provide individual Web sites with redundant connectivity and guaranteed uptime. These services provide an excellent solution for entry-level hosting needs because they are designed to host small-scale e-commerce sites and static Web pages.

Shared hosting is also popular among first-time webmasters because it can provide a reliable Web presence without advanced technical skills. Such a service is also advantageous to the smaller consumer because it assures them that they will obtain transparent services and that their Web site will have its own domain name and set of e-mail addresses.

Virtual hosting services are thus extremely popular because they offer the smaller consumer fast deployment, strong resources and most importantly, low cost. By paying an affordable and predictable monthly fee to a shared Web hosting service, consumers obtain reliability, expertise and faster connections than their dial-up service can provide.

Such a service is also advantageous to the smaller consumer because it allows them outsource a high-traffic, content-rich Web site for a small percentage of what it would cost to hire a single employee to develop it and run it in-house. For this reason, most individuals and small businesses opt to select a virtual hosting service because it is inexpensive and usually provides the basic services that they require.

Convenience is another factor that drives popular interest in shared Web hosting due to the service’s fast setup time and bundled features. Typically, site activation can take minutes after you have purchased services with a credit card.

The most characteristic feature of virtual Web hosting is that services are usually bundled. For an inclusive monthly fee, consumers can obtain a variety of high-quality, multi-platform Web site solutions.

Usually the bundle of services includes a minimum amount of disk storage space for your Web pages. The bundle will normally also include a minimum amount of data transfer, or a capped amount of data that your can send to individuals that access your Web site. Most virtual accounts will also include e-mail forwarding services along with hardwired, physical e-mail boxes. Mail forwarding services allows you to create e-mail aliases at your domain name that will forward to an external e-mail address.

A decent shared hosting firm will also include free 24×7 technical support in all of its service bundles. It should also include unlimited file transfer protocol (FTP) services so that you can update your Web site at anytime.

For your own reference, a shared Web hosting service should also provide you access to Web statistics, so that you can gage how many Internet clients are visiting your site. For the sake of accuracy, a reliable Web host should also provide its customers with access to raw statistical logs, so that consumers can use their own statistical Web packages for site analysis.

Other services that are typically characteristic of a shared Web host include: daily tape backup of your Web site; anonymous FTP server access so you can provide public access to your files via file transfer protocol format; and full CGI-BIN access so that as you upload scripts that will add functionality to your Web site.

Most shared or virtual hosting services now also offer hosting automation software such as control panels. The control panel allows a consumer to control most aspects of their hosting service through an online graphical interface. The graphical interface allows users to control all the characteristics of a shared hosting service described above.