Online advertising can take on several forms and companies have multiple opportunities to direct customers their way. Some of the most popular advertising networks operate on the CPC (cost-per-click) or CPM (cost-per-thousand-impressions) system, but there is one fatal flaw with both of these systems for the advertiser. When an Internet user views an ad (CPM), they may not necessarily click through to your website. If this user clicks on the ad (CPC), it’s still not guaranteed that they will follow through with a purchase.

A particularly effective method of advertising for online stores would be the CPA model, which stands for cost-per-action. This action could be the filling out of a registration form or it could be completing a purchase. This is up to you as the advertiser to decide. The reason why this may be a good option is that you don’t have to pay for the advertising until you actually get something out of it: a paying customer, for example.

By offering an affiliate program, you can leave it up to the master advertisers of the Internet to drive traffic your way. There are countless people who specialize in minimizing their costs in a CPC-based campaign while maximizing their profits through the CPA offer on the other end. You can take advantage of their skills and expertise in this way; they bring the paying customers and you reward them accordingly.

Offering an in-house affiliate program may not be the best solution. It is perhaps better to offer your affiliate campaign through an advertising network like ShareASale, PepperJam, and NeverBlueAds. This increases your exposure and can ultimately result in more sales sent your way.