Do all affiliate links place a cookie on the user's computer

[archcommus]

Just wondering, thanks. And, if so, is the cookie unique to that computer? Would it pay the commission even if the user bought something months later, as long as the cookie was still present?

[Linda Buquet]

HI archcommus,

Welcome to WebProWorld. The length of the cookie is different for each program. But yes, if a customer clicks your link today and the affiliate cookie is 90 days, then if the customer goes direct to the merchant or through a search engine 88 days later and buys, you should get credit. IF the customer has not deleted cookies and if they did not click another affiliate link in the meantime. In most programs, the last affiliate clicked gets the sale.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

[archcommus]

It does help, thank you very much for the welcome and for answering.

What would you recommend as a good, very basic affiliate program to start with? Looking for something that won't ask for my SSN or anything that personal. Just looking to get my feet wet.

A lot of buddies of mine said they would gladly buy through my affiliate link if it was something they were interested in, to help get me started, but that could be months from now, and we do not want to forget, hence my original question. If I visited my own link, received the cookie, and gave the cookie to all my pals, would that work just as well? Trying to make as little hassle for them as possible.

Thanks.

[Linda Buquet]

What types of products would your pals be interested in? Maybe that's the type of program you should start with.

Passing them your cookie may not work and would be more hassle. All you need to do is email them your affiliate link. Or send them a link to your page and ask them to click it to buy.

[archcommus]

Yeah, I suppose that'd be just as easy, huh? I can be dumb sometimes.

Well, not sure what they'd be interested in most, probably Amazon stuff, but I'm not sure if that's the best place for a beginner.

[archcommus]

Okay so moving on.

A good affiliate to start with?

And...thinking of some topics for a website. I know tons about computers, I build my own and stuff, so I could write a lot about that. But how could I, a regular guy that doesn't have any PROFESSIONAL information to offer, get readers to visit my site instead of the biggies out there? That's why I imagined I'd never be able to generate good traffic.

[archcommus]

How about a girly website? My girlfriend has more free time than I do, and she could write articles on stuff like clothes, makeup, hairstyles, etc. Then we could become affiliates for places that sell that stuff.

Good idea maybe?

[scallihan]

Do your buddies buy posters for their rooms? If so, Art.com and AllPosters.com have great affiliate programs paying 25%-30% commissions on sales. AllPosters.com also sells t-shirts and calendars. Gals (your girlfriend and her friends) like that stuff too.

Both have 10-day cookies, so as long as they buy within 10 days of clicking through your affiliate link, the sale should be yours.

[archcommus]

Hmm, could be intriguing.

I keep thinkging about a more girl-oriented site, however, because my girlfriend has lots of time to write articles about that kind of stuff, which of course she's interested in. I could manage the site and she could write the content. With that setup the site could build much more quickly than if I were to ever write content on my own.

I currently have a buddy who thinks he has a good system worked out of clicking his own eBay affiliate link and registering users with fake information. He's doing a whole bunch every day and getting $12 each. I'm doing my best to talk him out of it, to explain eBay's and CJ's terms, to tell him how dangerous that is, to tell him that they could ask for the money back at any time and maybe even prosecute him, but he just won't listen. Could anyone provide me with a link or something that shows how WRONG this is so it'll scare him and make him stop?