What is Affiliate Marketing?

In affiliate marketing programs, an affiliate earns a commission from a merchant for generating a desired action, such as a lead or sale, for a merchant that the affiliate is promoting. The merchant provides its ads (also called creatives) to affiliates and offers a pre-determined commission for each action it wants visitors to take. Affiliates place a tracking code for these ads on their websites, in search listings or in their email campaigns. Whenever a visitor uses these links to generate the desired action on the merchant site, these online actions are tracked and recorded by a reliable tracking program. When the desired action is verified, the affiliate is paid a commission for that verified desired action.

How do I join Partnercentric merchant programs?

Becoming an affiliate with Partnercentric and our merchants is easy! First, be sure to sign up for PC Announce, the Partnercentric affiliate newsletter. PC Announce will not only provide you with the latest news and trends in affiliate marketing, but also keep you up to speed on new merchant programs and deliver the most compelling merchant coupons and offers directly to your inbox.

Start by checking out our merchant programs page at http://www.partnercentric.com/programs.shtml. This page will give you a quick overview of our merchant partners. Click through on any specific merchant link where you would like to learn more and you will be taken to that specific merchant's profile page.

The merchant profile page will give you all the information that you will need on that specific merchant. To apply to the merchant program click on the 'Sign Up' button in the menu on the left side of the page and walk through the application process.

How do I get links for my web site?

Once you have joined and been accepted into a merchant's program, you can get any of their links, banners, or product links and place them on your Web site. Links and banners are hosted by Partnercentric tracking partners…the biggest and best in the industry. There are detailed tutorials within their interface that will walk you through creating and posting merchant links to your site.

If you need some help with the HTML, visit one of many online HTML tutorials, such as http://www.htmlgoodies.com to learn the basics. Remember, you must join a merchant's program before you can get the HTML code for their links.

How are sales tracked?

Sales, clicks and impressions are tracked by the various third party tracking providers that Partnercentric has partnered with. The code provided to you when you created your link contains specific tracking parameters unique to that merchant and tracking provider. It is important that the link code is posted to your site EXACTLY as it was given when you created the link. Alterations to this code can result in lost sales and click tracking.

Each provider has a reporting suite within their affiliate interface that will summarize traffic and sales activity. For assistance in using a specific providers reporting functionality you may utilize their online help or contact us at affiliates@partnercentric.com.

How do I get paid?

Payments are made directly to you by either the merchant or by the tracking provider on behalf of the merchant. This process can vary by the provider that you are working with. If you have any questions regarding payment feel free to contact the tracking provider directly or Partnercentric at affiliates@partnercentric.com.

How do I get help if I need it?

There are actually a few ways that you can get help when you need it. The first way is to contact us directly at affiliates@partnercentric.com. Please allow at 24 hours for someone to respond to your message. Another way to find help is to post you question on the Partnercentric forum. The forum is a great resource for general questions about merchant programs or on how to market yourself as an affiliate and can be found at http://www.partnercentric.com/forum/. For questions specific to your account, payment, tracking, etc. please email us at our affiliate support email address.