Most people who search the internet for work at home opportunities, or for ways to generate additional streams of income, quickly become aware of affiliate marketing and some of the great affiliate commissions that can be earned.

Affiliate marketing is definitely one of the quickest and easiest ways to make money online. It doesn’t require complicated product creation or masses of customer service headaches. The main focus is on recommending products to keen buyers. Once that’s done you can more or less sit back and collect your generous paychecks.

Although it’s a cheap and cheerful way to make money online, and one of the most popular online work at home opportunities available, it’s important to make sure that you protect all of your commissions. If you decide to try this lucrative method of marketing there are some key things to look out for so here are the top three ways to make sure that you start banking more affiliate cash.

Stop using direct affiliate links

You probably already know that it’s a good idea to cloak (hide) your affiliate links. This ensures that ‘hijackers’ cannot switch their affiliate ID for yours, and thus steal your commission when they buy the product.

Another good reason not to use direct affiliate links is the fact that you could end up with hundreds of “dead” links all over the Internet. If you spend time promoting an affiliate product or include your direct affiliate link in an ebook, then what happens if the vendor stops selling that product? You would have dead links placed all over the internet which could damage your credibility.

If instead you use a redirect link, you can change the redirect link to point from the dead affiliate link to a similar affiliate product in just a minute or two. And in doing so, you could potentially save thousands of dollars in affiliate commissions.

Look for these common sales leaks

If you don’t vet the sales process thoroughly, you may find that the biggest thief is the product vendor! Sometimes the vendor is just a new marketer who doesn’t know any better. Other times, you may find vendors who are deliberately trying to pocket your commissions.

Here are some things to look out for:

* Google AdSense ads on the sales page. Some marketers don’t realize that a good sales page shouldn’t have any major distractions, and that the only way to leave a sales page should be via a back button or the buy button. Other marketers know exactly what they’re doing. You send them traffic for free, and they get the money every time someone clicks on their ads. Either way, you need to
look out for these methods and it’s usually best to avoid these vendors.

* Alternative payment options. This is another sneaky way that some product vendors reach into your pocket. They offer multiple payment options on the affiliate landing page. This is only troublesome if the customer chooses a different option. For example, if the vendor uses Clickbank for affiliate tracking, then obviously you won’t get a penny if the vendor encourages customers to use an alternative method of payment.

* Customer service reps that send visitors to a new page. Sometimes when a prospect has a question, the customer service rep (or the vendor) can send the customer to a different sales page. If this happens then it’s likely that You will lose the commission!

Look for any loopholes

Here’s one last tip: Always read the terms of service and affiliate agreement. Sometimes you’ll find outrageous payment thresholds that allows the vendor to legally keep your money until you reach that threshold! Other times the vendor charges a huge “accounting fee” just to reduce what he has to pay you.

There you have it – three quick and easy ways to start banking bigger affiliate paychecks.