The internet is great for making friends you would never have met otherwise and businesses should be doing that with their internet marketing too.

Jack Wallington of the Internet Advertising Bureau has been providing tips on how to use online marketing to carry on through the credit crunch and an affiliate programme is one of the things he recommends.

This technique will be of particular interest to people delivering ecommerce solutions, as it is a situation where other websites can sell a product for a small cut of the profits.

"If you offer services or products online through your website, why not extend your online shop to the millions of visitors that don't visit your site," said Mr Wallington.

"Many affiliate networks now exist to make this process a lot easier.

"Affiliate marketing also allows you to grow your business with no upfront cost - you only pay when you make that sale."

Other advice he offers includes, of course, search engine optimisation and he even gets a bit optimising-obsessed: "You need to monitor and optimise the entire consumer journey, from seeing a display advert, to searching, through to visiting your website."

But while we all know the importance of a good SEO web design, how highly should an affiliate programme rank in a business's internet marketing plan?

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