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Although I've waited until this stage of the case study to talk about affiliate programs, it's best to consider what affiliate programs might suit your site from the very beginning.

During the first stages of planning my site I had a look at possible affiliate programs. It was important to find merchants who had products that I could recommend and who also had a generous affiliate program I could join.

When you are dealing with real, shipped products it is also very important to choose a company that has competitive prices. People compare prices online and if they visit your site, click through to the merchant, and find your merchant has the best deal then you're more likely to achieve a sale.

The whole point of my affiliate site is to help people buy DJ equipment. I made sure I spent plenty of time researching online DJ equipment merchants so that my visitors are offered great deals from my site. I wanted a partnership with a merchant that I would buy from, not just the merchant who at first glance looks the most profitable.

NEXT: Sometimes it's not that easy