Tiered Commission Increases Most Popular Online Affiliate Incentive

Twenty-six percent of e-merchants offer tiered commission increases as rewards to online affiliate partners that drive traffic to their sites, according to a recent report from affiliate network LinkShare and shared with attendees at last week’s Internet Retailer conference in Chicago. Other affiliate incentives revealed by the study include the following:

* Special access to marketing materials, such as data feeds and pay-per-click keywords: offered by 25 percent of online merchants;
* VIP commissions, offered right away to large affiliates that can drive highly qualified traffic: 25 percent;
* Contests rewarding top affiliates per month or per quarter: 22 percent; and
* Special bonuses for top referrers: just 2 percent.