Do you use free or paid hosting for your affiliate programs?

[Louidam1]

Hey everyone,

I was just wondering what is best to use if your a affiliate marketer...Free Hosting or Paid Hosting? I currently use Free Hosting with Weebly and I'm not for sure if it is good to use Free Hosting. What is your thoughts?

[leanderson]

Hosting is so cheap, I would get a URL for my affiliate sites and drive traffic to my own url. A domain name will cost you about $10 a year and hosting at a company like Hostgator is another $5 to $15 a month. Best part about setting up your own url is your traffic is yours. If you leave an affilaite site for whatever reason, you still get your old traffic. There si so much more you can do with your own site, blogging, set up banner ad rotators and such it is a good idea, if you are serious about affiliate marketing to get your own domain.

[Louidam1]

I have my own domain name but I use a Free Hosting site for my affiliate programs. I been using Weebly since 2008 and not sure how I can transfer all my stuff to a Paid Hosting website.

Originally Posted by leanderson

Hosting is so cheap, I would get a URL for my affiliate sites and drive traffic to my own url. A domain name will cost you about $10 a year and hosting at a company like Hostgator is another $5 to $15 a month. Best part about setting up your own url is your traffic is yours. If you leave an affilaite site for whatever reason, you still get your old traffic. There si so much more you can do with your own site, blogging, set up banner ad rotators and such it is a good idea, if you are serious about affiliate marketing to get your own domain.

[jamhall830]

I'd only ever used paid hosting. As the other user mentioned, its so cheap why wouldn't you? The issue with free hosting is that some of those sites, it's against their TOS to use affiliate links. Also, you're leaving everything in the hands of someone else. If for some reason they shut down your account you're essentially screwed. With your own hosting you control everything plus you can run backups, in case anything happens.

[Louidam1]

Thanks for the information! I was wondering how can I go about using a Paid Hosting site and transfer all my stuff from my Free Hosting site there?

Originally Posted by jamhall830

I'd only ever used paid hosting. As the other user mentioned, its so cheap why wouldn't you? The issue with free hosting is that some of those sites, it's against their TOS to use affiliate links. Also, you're leaving everything in the hands of someone else. If for some reason they shut down your account you're essentially screwed. With your own hosting you control everything plus you can run backups, in case anything happens.

[Kris74]

I've seen people use free hosting, make great money, and have their sites taken down. Everything they had and all the work they put into those sites were gone in a heartbeat. It's better to "own" your work rather than taking the risk of losing everything on a whim.

[Louidam1]

I understand that but all that work I have already put into it, how can I transfer it onto a paid hosting site?

Originally Posted by Kris74

I've seen people use free hosting, make great money, and have their sites taken down. Everything they had and all the work they put into those sites were gone in a heartbeat. It's better to "own" your work rather than taking the risk of losing everything on a whim.

[geargirl113]

I would suggest using a paid hosting site like Hostgator. I have a link to an article that I think might help you with your transfer. I will PM you the link

[JimmieWriter]

It's a tough call sometimes. Yes, you have full control with your own site. But you also have all the headaches of setting it up (no, not hard, but still time consuming).
Another big factor is your SEO ranking. Using an established site for your blog/content gives your material an automatic level of authority in SERPs. Your own blog/site, on the other hand, has to be nurtured over time to gain that authority.
You could diversify and do both. Have your own sites plus use some of the user generated content sites that are free. It is really not expensive to have your own website.

[Louidam1]

Thank you for the tips!

Originally Posted by JimmieWriter

It's a tough call sometimes. Yes, you have full control with your own site. But you also have all the headaches of setting it up (no, not hard, but still time consuming).
Another big factor is your SEO ranking. Using an established site for your blog/content gives your material an automatic level of authority in SERPs. Your own blog/site, on the other hand, has to be nurtured over time to gain that authority.
You could diversify and do both. Have your own sites plus use some of the user generated content sites that are free. It is really not expensive to have your own website.