I have to agree with kkiely’s statement, if not the “harsh” tone of it.
I’ve said the same thing for years, if you went to business school, they would likely tell you the best affiliate program is one that ends quickly after having made the product/service a household name. The same B-School will tell you that being an affiliate markerter is great way to build a business at a low cost and with little staffing. They’ll also tell you in the long run, you’ll find that you are selling a commodity and need to own your brands to avoid the stuff (term changes, “Exclusive” affiliate programs) we’ve seen recently.
Amazon constantly restricts how they pay commissions, to the point where I doubt any small site website can money. I make about $1500 a quarter, because I have 4 automated sites that have thousands of pages, that generate hundreds of sale a month and (more importantly) work with trackers from a guy who does $350,000 a year with amazon, so I get paid 6% instead of 2 or 4%. The point of their term changes? >dump the under producing affiliates. And remember under producing is below average, each successive “tightening” will hit bigger affiliates.
Consolidation comes to every industry. over 100 car manuafacters in the US in the 1920’s, in 2005 there about 20 manufacturers of cars in the US and all but 2 are from outside the US. To survive consolidation in our industry you must grow bigger or find and own a profitable niche and all this while battling it out in the SEO world.
We have a consolidator here in our midst: Tovey, who saw this trend a year or two ago and started growing his business. Congrats on a job well done! :cheers: