RealPages.com, a wholly owned subsidiary of BellSouth, kicked off an affiliate marketing program this week for small regional Web sites in the Southeast.
“There are thousands of small local Web sites that we just don't have the resources to tackle on a one-to-one basis,” said Beth Suitt, senior advertising manager at RealPages.com, Atlanta.
The affiliate program was created in cooperation with affiliate program broker LinkShare Corp., New York. RealPages is promoting the program to LinkShare's more than 100,000 affiliates. Also, the program is being promoted on the RealPages Web site, which features a partnership agreement, frequently asked questions and an application for partnership.
RealPages places banner ads, HTML search boxes and buttons on partner sites, which direct consumers to its online white and yellow pages listings. Affiliate partners will be paid 4 cents for each consumer who clicks through to RealPages.com. Partners can access an online report tracking the number of click throughs.
“This program provides us with the opportunity to drive additional value to our advertisers,” Suitt said.
“We are looking for sites that focus on specific vertical content, like a Joe's Bait Shop, for example,” Suitt said. The company has already signed 200 partners through a beta-testing program, she added. She would not disclose the names of the partners using the program.
Suitt also would not disclose unique visitor information for the RealPages.com Web site.
