Pay-Per-Click Affiliate Program Discontinued

The bCentral small business services Web site has discontinued the pay-per-click component of its ClickTrade affiliate program, leaving in place advertising programs that pay affiliates by the lead or by the sale. An online business seeking to advertise its Web site can use an affiliate program to draw customers. It does so by paying owners of other Web sites (“the affiliates”) that send traffic via links to the advertiser’s site. bCentral’s dropping of the per-click payment option drew criticism from a small number of its advertisers.

How Affiliate Programs Work

Affiliate programs were first used as marketing tools by large commercial advertisers such as Amazon. bCentral’s ClickTrade service makes the tool available to smaller businesses by allowing advertisers to set up an affiliate program for free. Microsoft handles the back end, providing the data center and software to track clicks, sales, or leads. (For general background on other bCentral services, see “bCentral Offers Web Hosting, Auction Services“.)