Way back at the end of May 2007 I wrote an article Affiliate deep linking tools and the one click deep link creator from Paid On Results, which had been around a while even then, came out top of the pops.

Since then other networks have developed one click deeplinking too, Affiliate Window, Linkshare and just recently Buy.at, I love them all it makes my life as a affiliate much easier to just simply navigate to the merchant page, click a link on my toolbar and bingo a deep link.

The question is how do they all stack up?

Paid On Results

To set it up go to your POR account, follow the ‘Deep Link Generator’ link in the Tools menu and you will see full instructions.

Positive

Works with Firefox and Internet Explorer

Generates either the deeplink URL or full HTML code

Provision for a click ref

Negative

No facility to generate a short URL

Takes user away from merchant page to generate the deep link

Linkshare

You will find instructions to set up the Linkshare Bookmarklet in the BentoBox here.

Positive

Works with Firefox and Internet Explorer

Generates the deeplink URL

Creates short URL’s

One click posting to Facebook and Twitter

Negative

Doesn’t generate full HTML code

No provision for a click ref

Affiliate Window

To install go log into your Affiliate Window account and click the Plug-ins link in the menu under Web Services and Tools.

Positive

Works with Firefox

Generates either the deeplink URL or full HTML code

Provision for a click ref

Creates short URL’s

Negative

Does not work with Internet Explorer as its a Firefox Plugin.

Buy.at

To Install log into your Buy.at account, click Content & Creative > LinkEngine, then follow the instructions on the Firefox LinkEngine tab.

Positive

Generates the deeplink URL

Works with Firefox

Negative

Does not work with Internet Explorer as its a Firefox Plugin

Doesn’t generate full HTML code

No provision for a click ref

No facility to generate a short URL.

So which is best?

Basically I like each and everyone of them but because Paid On Results has been around so long without being upgraded it has stood the test of time plus the negative points are so minor I am going to award it 9/10.

Second place goes to Linkshare they have embraced social media with the Facebook and Twitter integration 8/10.

Affiliate Window is only let down by being tied to Firefox only, not a problem for me but I know others that wont use that browser 7.5/10.

I am very pleased that Buy.at have produced one click deep linking as it will get me using them more, this tool like I said is the new kid on the block and still very much in beta I’m sure we will see massive improvements in time 5/10.

Much has been written about that mythical creature the “Super Affiliate” however Affiliate Marketing is a partnership and everyone involved should be working towards a common goal to this end I am going to look at:

6 Effective Habits Of Super Merchants*

*Some of the activities mentioned may have been outsourced to Affiliate management companies and agency’s but for continuity I am going to bracket everything under the “merchant” banner.

1) Improve Conversion Rates

Affiliates can get the prospective customers to merchant websites, often this traffic will be pre-qualified and highly targeted, however, it is up to the merchant website to make the sale.

Usabilty tests, eye-tracking, multivariate tests are all ways of identifying problems and the results can be used to improve conversion rates, not only of affiliate traffic but natural traffic too.

Resources: Pick up a copy of Don’t Make Me Think!: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug and read Google Website Optimizer – 108 Free Tips | Conversion Rate Experts for some fabulous ideas on the subject, inncidently I recommend affiliates read these to as the methods can be used to improve click through rates.

2) Affiliate Friendly Website Updates

A massive bugbear of mine is when a merchant announces their great new website and then ends with “our url structure has changed please amend ALL your affiliate links”, don’t get me wrong I am all for merchants improving their site navigation to make it more user friendly but if the coder can’t add a simple line to the .htaccess file which puts in 301 redirects from the old structure to the new its a bad job.

By the way having redirects in place makes sense as it is also search engine friendly, Google may have indexed your old page but without a redirect to the new one it will just hitting a whole load of broken links and 404 pages which isn’t going to do your rankings a lot of good. Effective 301 redirects can only be good for sales.

This article on the Blue Chip Vacations Affiliate Blog Site relaunched after usability study covers a few of the things I have mentioned on site usability and affiliate friendly website updates.

3) Effective Communication

We live in the communication age, Email, Phone, Text, instant messenger, Twitter, Facebook and Skype are just some of the methods that merchants can use to get in touch with their affiliate, a word of warning do not swamp your affiliates with a constant barrage unless that’s what they have asked you for.

Do your homework, does the affiliate what updates from you daily, weekly, monthly or just whenever something of interest crops up, do find out how the affiliate likes to be contacted, I personally prefer email with a quick convo on messenger just to make me aware if the content of the email warrants it.

Categorise affiliates too some want voucher and offer information, while others want content ideas, some require both. Have separate mailing lists.

Oh and when sending emails avoid the big graphical ones where the text is on an image as they are impossible for affiliates to work with. Also deep link emails where possible and add the affiliate tracking if you can, most UK affiliate networks have provision for this just ask them if you don’t know how.

4) Provide Useful Content

Content affiliates are always on the look out for fresh content, while it is logistically impossible to provide every affiliate with bespoke content it often pays to look after your top performers.

Super merchants also let affiliates know about new products, best sellers, press coverage, press releases anything really that can get the creative juices flowing.

Oh and when sending emails avoid the big graphical ones where the text is on an image as they are impossible for affiliates to work with. Also deep link emails where possible and add the affiliate tracking if you can, most UK affiliate networks have provision for this just ask them if you don’t know how. (yes I know I wrote this twice it’s important for affiliate productivity).

5) Keep Product Feeds Up To Date

More and more affiliates are using product feeds thanks to services such as the fabulous Easy Content Units, I could rabbit on all day about the reasons for keeping them up to date but it has been covered by Jason Dale here Merchants, Are Your Product Feeds Leaving Affiliates Hungry? very wise words, I have a lot of respect for Jason and he is a live contender for affiliate blog of the year at the a4uawards.

6) Make Your Affiliate Incentives Winnable

Affiliate incentives which reward your top performers are all well and good but they are not going to get you new affiliates, from time to time introduce an incentive that anyone can win, put everyone in to the draw that makes a sale, puts up a banner, writes an article etc., this may well motivate new affiliates, stagnant affiliates and fringe players as well as your good performers too.

This article isn’t about teaching merchants to suck eggs I wrote it purely as an exercise in pointing out that affiliate marketing is a two way street, simply having an affiliate programme will not make you an instant millionaire, but being proactive and helping affiliates to help you will set you well on the road, just ask some of the merchants who swear by the affiliate channel.

Update 10/02/10:

A great blog response to this from Matt Bailey of i-level Can we all become Super Merchants?

And thanks to Linda Buquet at 5 Star Affiliate Programs for helping to spread the word 6 Habits Of Highly Effective Affiliate Managers and Merchants