Golden Goose Marketing

The affiliate community has been abuzz lately with the advent of a new business – Affilicert, providing affiliate internet marketing certification.  The idea is that Affilicert checks out affiliates (who pay) and then certifies those who are legitimate and serious.  Although some people have positive opinions, the overwhelming majority of responses have been highly negative.  But why?  At first glance, the problem with this system may not be obvious.

The issue today is not that affiliate networks don’t have enough affiliates.  In fact, many of them have more than they can handle.  With affiliate marketing, as with most things, the 80/20 rule is in effect.  80% of results come from a mere 20% of total affiliates.  The rest either don’t do much at all, or they consume more resources than they produce.  Networks aren’t looking for raw numbers – they’re looking for producers.

The other issue is that getting accepted by networks isn’t usually a problem for serious affiliates.  It’s definitely getting harder, but if a newbie is willing to put in a bit of effort, they can usually get accepted by at least one good affiliate network where they can get started.  They may not get accepted at a top-tier networks like Azoogle or Clickbooth, but they should have no trouble getting on at a smaller network if they are honest and forthcoming about their intentions.

What do you think about the idea behind Affilicert?  Good idea?  Crazy?  Would you pay to be evaluated by a company like Affilicert, if you thought it could help you get approved at networks?