How Affiliate Programs Can Affect Search Rankings

Interesting article from ClickZ relating to link strategy and the position Google takes against certain back links.

This is something to definitely consider with deals similar to Commission Junction & Overture. http://www.clickz.com/

Key snippets from article:

Rapid Link Expansion
Google reveals in the filing its ranking algorithm is organized to thwart overly aggressive marketers. It confirms something search marketers have long suspected: Google watches how fast new links to a site appear as a way to detect and penalize search engine spam. If too many new links appear in too short a timeframe, the site may be penalized, or even banned, by Google.

According to the filing, Google also watches how many new links with identical anchor text emerge. This is another clue links may be suspect or mass-manufactured.

Quality vs. Quantity
Before scuttling your existing affiliate network, remember: it's link quality, not quantity, that counts. We've seen two or three high-quality links very quickly catapult a site's rankings into the top-10 results in all major engines.

Be cautious and go slow. Alternative affiliate network strategies are fine, but any decision to work with a particular network provider should never be based solely on the ability to increase links. Link growth that leads to increased rankings and traffic can be realized in all affiliate networks.