Webmasters should take care to ensure that they are making the most of affiliate schemes, according to industry website Promotion World.

Laurie Raphael, writing on the site, recommended that webmasters stick to a product with which they are familiar in order to maximise the likelihood of a return on any investment.

She said: "Setting up a web site on a topic that interests you will have a higher probability of success in affiliate sales."

"Visitors to your site will find it more interesting and will return again and again," she added.

Ms Raphael suggests that if the owner has significant knowledge in a given topic, affiliate schemes aimed at that subject may be more effective than for owners with an interest in the subject but no specific experience.

She urges that, either way, a background check may be necessary in order to identify previous complaints against a given company and to discover promptness of payment.

The Guardian recently reported on a series of spurious comments posted to weblogs in an attempt to increase the search ranking of third-party sites offering affiliate sales.