Becoming an Affiliate is not the overnight path to wealth that many sales pitches would have you believe. It is a process of growth. You’ll plant a seed - possibly many seeds - and when it begins to sprout you will continually feed it until it matures into that money tree you hoped for. The growth can take months and even years.

For many of you, this may be your first introduction to making money through the internet, or as it is known, being an Affiliate.This is an introduction to the basics. A simplified version of a complex business to get you started. You will be introduced to the items required to get started and how to go about getting them. I’m not referring to the programs being reviewed on this site, rather I’m speaking of the requirements of having a domain name, a Web Host, and of course, a website, among other things.

In the brief list below you will find links to articles that discuss these items. Those articles will lead to more aticles. My suggestion is to take it one step at a time. For the time being, don’t wander too far into the affiliate world. This is not something you will learn overnight. Get yourself started with a simple web site program, a simple hosting plan, and some simple linking knowedge. In time the more advanced part of affiliate marketing will present itself to you. Our main goal is to get you started.

FIND YOUR DOMAIN NAME AND WEB HOST

The domain name is the name found in the address bar of your browser, between the “//” and the “.com” as seen in this sites name of, “affiliatetoolsreviewed”. This is the web address that people will type into their browsers, should they not “bookmark” your site. Most webmasters will attempt to keep their logo name the same as their website name, for recognition purposes. The web host is a company that allows you to be seen on the internet, using your domain name.

For more information, visit our DOMAIN / WEBHOST ARTICLES.

WEBSITE BUILDING

There are a number of ways to build a website. You can build one yourself (if you know coding), you could hire someone to build you a website (very expensive),  you could buy a program that provides a basic template for you to build onto, or you can buy a turnkey website (fully functional).

For information on building websites, see our WEBSITE BUILDING ARTICLES.

FTP PROGRAM

FTP stands for “File Transfer Protocal.” It is a program that you download onto your home computer for use in uploading files to the internet (your website). Imagine a wall between the picture you have on your computer and your website in the “cyber-world.” An FTP program creates a window for you to pass that picture from your computer to your website. Now, for stopping here, I am going to give you a freebie. There is a FREE FTP program available that works perfectly fine for any beginner (I still use it). While many companies charge $30, or even $50 for an FTP program, Filezilla provides a free one. No trial periods, no catches.

It’s good for as long as you want it and can be downloaded when you CLICK HERE.

KEYWORDS

Keywords are those words that webmasters try to embed into their articles they provide on the internet that they hope people are searching for. When you type those words into the Google search box, you are typing in keywords. If a webmaster has a page on his site that in some way has those words on his pages, it is likely his webpage will be offered up in your search results. The goal is to have people click on your link that Google returned, in order that visitors will come to your site and generate money for you.

See our KEYWORDS ARTICLES for more information.

UNIQUE CONTENT

Unique content is what Google loves to feed on. If you create a website with unique content and continually feed it to the Google machine your website will rank among the top sites in the returns of searches. When that happens your visitors increase and so does your money.

For more on how to create unique content, see our WRITING / CONTENT ARTICLES.

LINKING

Linking is something you are likely familiar with. A link directs you to another page within the website you are in, or may direct you to a different domain (a different website). Linking your website to other websites also increases your potential to rank well with Google - depending on the website you link with. Choose carefully and learn the different types of linking options.

For more information see our LINKS FOR PAGE RANK ARTICLES.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization is a general term to describe the combination of unique content, keywords, and linking used to rank your site well in the search engines (Google, MSN, Yahoo, and others). SEO is a never ending quest for perfection. You can never be too optimized and to stay on top, you can never rest for too long.

To find out more about search engine optimization, see our articles on WEBSITE SEO