In my previous post, I said I would provide readers with the tools necessary to diagnose a PPC Affiliate Program’s RIP – their reliability, integrity and performance. Evaluating these three criteria can help you make an informed decision in regards to partnering with a PPC Provider. Here, I will examine a PPC Affiliate Program’s reputation and show you how to weigh that factor as a consideration for a profitable relationship.

Reputation

The first thing to look at is what other like-minded webmasters have to say about a particular PPC provider. This being the age of Web 2.0, the power is definitely with the people. Try web-forums and blogs for great reviews and avoid sponsored results and obvious in-house promotion that providers make for themselves to gain an online presence. Of course, take all opinions (especially negative) with a grain of salt. It’s estimated that 9 people will complain of poor service for every 1 person who can issue praise. Always consider the source. Is a negative reviewer upset with a PPC provider because of low bids and held payment, or did the reviewer simply have fraudulent traffic and neglect to read that provider’s terms and conditions? Generally, people are self-interested creatures who are concerned only with the benefit to themselves rather than spreading the gospel truth. Even with this caveat, however, valuable information about the PPC provider can be gleamed if one maintains an open mind and a heavy dose of skepticism. Don’t believe everything you read, but acknowledge that if people are posting reviews, either positive or negative, this PPC provider has at least some pull in the industry.

Resources such as Alexa can tell you a lot about a company – how long they’ve been in business, what other sites link to them, how much traffic they get, even what their website used to look like. If the provider is not even in the top 100, 000, get out fast. While working with smaller PPC providers can be advantageous, there is a risk with partnering with too small a company.

Finally, see what the company has to say about itself. Does its website offer easy ways to get in touch with them? Do they take the time to explain what a PPC Affiliate Program is and how the industry operates? Do they post testimonials from satisfied Affiliates? Do they provide a detailed FAQ and customer support? All these are factors that one needs to consider when choosing the right PPC Program to partner with.