One popular way of doing this is via invisible iframes embedded in popular, high-traffic websites such as gambling sites, forums and shopping sites.  An individual or company joins an affiliate program and then proceeds to acquire multiple hoplinks which are then placed in a webpage. This webpage is then secretly loaded into other webpages within a website via an inconspicuous or invisible iframe.  This allows for all the affiliate cookies to be deposited on your computer without your knowledge. Should you decide at a later point to purchase a product from one of the corresponding merchants, the cookie-depositing perpetrator gets credit for the sale.  And since it’s not uncommon for affiliate cookies to last 120 days or more before expiring, this leaves ample time for the cookies to do their dirtywork.

Unfortunately, there’s not a lot that can be done to safeguard against cookie stuffing.  The ultimate solution is one that must be implemented by the merchants themselves by issuing cookies that are not re-writable.  This way, once a visitor has received a cookie from a legitimate affiliate, it cannot be overwritten at a later point should this same visitor land on a page that has been stuffed with illegitimate cookies.

Here’s how the process works: Someone signs up to be an affiliate by providing identifying information.  Once approved, the affiliate decides which products he or she would like promote and is then issued a corresponding ‘hoplink’ for the product(s).  The hoplink not only links shoppers to the merchant’s website, but also contains a tracking code identifying the affiliate who referred the shopper to the merchant’s website.  The merchant’s host server deposits a ‘cookie’ on the shopper’s customer’s computer that will allow the affiliate to get paid for up to a certain length of time even if the shopper leaves without purchasing and then returns at a later time as a customer to make the purchase. All of this tracking is absolutely essential to ensure that an affiliate’s efforts don’t go unrewarded.

Affiliate programs that require the least amount of conceptual understanding and the greatest payout tend to be the most popular. It’s not uncommon for programs like Dish Network and Match.com to pay commissions up to $100 per sale. This would be great were it not for that minor detail called competition.  As expected, the masses tend to follow the path of greatest reward and least resistance.  This is why finding a nich program can often be much more profitable–e.g., making $200 profit is better than losing $200 on pay-per-click ads trying to sell a product that is being intensely marketed by 50,000 other affiliates.

But whetever product you choose, try to find something in which you have at least somewhat of an interest, something that you understand.  Not being excited about something or not understanding something will tend to undermine your efforts on all levels, from designing your website, to writing pre-sales copy to how much time you put into the endeavor as a whole.  Whereas promoting something that you have an interest in will tend to keep you going in the face of obstacles.

Affiliate marketing can be quite lucrative.  It’s not uncommon for some affiliates to make 6-figure incomes, all while working from home.  Even more common are affiliates making $1,500 to $3000 a month.  Sadly, the most common type of affiliate is the one who makes alomost nothing or even loses money.  While this is not an indictment of affiliate marketing, it should serve as a note of caution to anyone thinking about trying affiliate marketing to make easy money.  Not knowing the nuances of any field of endeavor is the quickest way to fail before ever getting started.  As the saying goes, if you want to be the lest, then learn from the best, copy the best.  There are plenty of successful affiliates who offer their knowledge for free. Take advantge of these resoruces and learn as much as possible brfore diving in. It could mean the difference between working at home and getting a job.