What's the best way to build an effective affiliate site? Opinions differ. Theoretically there are as many possibilities as there are sites on the web. However, some models are more effective than others. Here are the models we've found work the best for our affiliates:

• Content Sites : The most successful Affiliates have put in time and effort building relevant content sites that are useful to their visitors beyond finding the gear they need. The process of building a network of users takes time, patience, trial, error, and persistence. When launching a site, budget a year to build effective page rank. With the correct approach and patience, high page rank yields excellent organic rankings for your pages. Don't hesitate to contact us for more information on building relevant page rank. Some of the most important things to consider when building site page rank include:
• Your Content: Should be rich and unique to only your site
• Inbound Links: The higher PR sites that link to you the better
• Merchandising: Do not choke a page with too many advertisements. Pick a category or product and focus a page narrowly
• Network Affect : Affiliates who embrace the network affect develop the perfect channel for Affiliate marketing. User-generated content is the key. If you can develop a relevant buzz around a camping forum, for example, this forum becomes the perfect place to merchandise the best camping gear on the planet. The ideas are endless for creating a network of users. Find your niche (something you are passionate about) and start adding a page of content a day or start facilitating a forum or blog in the right direction. Be patient and the page rank will come.
• Paid Search : While organic search refers to all unpaid search results ranked by relevance, paid search refers to all pay-for-placement results. We do allow paid search Affiliates to bid on all terms except our trademarked name, URL or any mis-spellings/variations thereof. It is also required that all paid search Affiliates first land users on their website before pushing them on to Backcountry.com. Refer to our Program Terms for more information.