As of this date onwards, affiliates are not allowed to acquire links for the brands bingo site terms from any third part sites for the purpose of deep linking to their own affiliate website.  According to the two networks, any affiliates found to be breaching these new rules will have their affiliate commissions withheld.

The reasons for the rule changes, according to the networks, are so that the brand owner can have greater control over the quality of the reader experience when a user searches for their branded terms in the search portals.

The decision is understandable in terms of the brands wanting to control the user experience, but they don’t control the search engines that use their own algorithms to decide how to rank sites and the reader experience.  Perhaps a better solution for the bingo site owners is to improve their own SEO strategy for the brand, instead of trying to artificially control the SERPS.

The question on everybody’s lips now is how are the merchants going to monitor the acquisition of third party links? And does acquiring mean getting a free link because someone has read your site and genuinely links back to you? Whats stopping the affiliates brand link building and then advertising a competitor?

Test Multiple Design Formats –

If the merchant offers a variety of different banner designs then test each one to find out whether they make a different in terms of click-through rates (CTR). Research has shown that complex banners generally get the highest CTR.

Animated banners also outperform static as internet surfers are more likely to notice banners that are bright and flashing.

Positioning –

The saying   ‘location, location, location’ is none the truer than with online affiliate banners and Adsence.  Test different positions to figure out which area of your site gives you the best CTR.

Size of Banners –

Size does matter! Research has shown that banners of larger size are more likely to create click throughs’ than smaller pixel banners. When selecting a size, consider loading times and overall page design.

Banner Loading Time –

Only use fast loading banners. If you use slow loading banners, you will not only miss out on clicks but also page visitors as it will slow down how long your entire site takes to load.

Brand Name

Choose a reputable dating site to promote. People are less likely to part with their cash if they don’t trust the site. Select dating sites that are well known in the public domain such as Dating Direct, Match or eHarmony.

Payouts

Simple advice, but select an affiliate-dating program that has the biggest payouts. Consider how much traffic you expect to get on your site. Some affiliate dating programmes will pay out more when you get over a certain number of sign ups a month whereas others will have a set rate no matter how many new members you send.

Some will also pay for registrations (such as Dating Direct & eHarmony do) whilst others like Match.com will only pay for sales, but usually at a better percentage.

Cookies

Consider the affiliate programmes cookie period. Not everyone signs up to a dating site the first time they visit. The longer the cookie lasts the better the chances of you getting paid. For example, a 30 day cookie means you will get paid so long as the person signs up to the dating site within 30 days of first clicking your link or banner.

Conversion rates

The majority of affiliate networks provide conversion data. This allows you to see which dating sites are great at converting visitors into fully paying members. You can also measure conversion rates yourself by testing each dating site until you find one which works best with your website.

Its important to remember that the content of your website is going to attract a certain type of visitor and that visitor is likely to convert into a sale better on a certain type of dating / relationship website so test test and test some more!