Traffic brokering is one of the ways you can use to make money online. In simple terms, it means you direct traffic from your promotional content straight to the affiliates 'sites or your own sites which display the affiliate providers' products. Here you hope that the sales page is convincing and enticing enough to convert the prospect into a buyer.

Although traffic brokering is not seen as ideal because it is a way of making inconsistent income, sales wise it could be very profitable. However, this method is generally seen as inferior to list building, because the latter captures the contact details of the prospect and can result in more future sales. Traffic brokering knows no buyer, only the number of sales. No contact details are recorded so there is no way to contact the buyers and hopefully build a more profitable relationship in the future.

Here are some situations where you can become a traffic broker:

1. You have little or no time to get to know a niche better. A few traffic generation techniques here and there, just to get some sales with little or no effort is what you are aiming for.

2. Your potential customers may be just inquiring in general about a product or service they want to know more about. You can then redirect these potential customers to niche sites offering suitable products. Here you hope that the potential customers get the answer they need in the form of the promotional content outlining the products or services which eventually might earn you a commission.

3. The niche might be new or it might be related to a new trend. You do some quick research for information and affiliate products. You are then able to refer people, asking questions related to these types of niches, to your site or the affiliate provider's site.

4. Avoiding tax and legal explanations where it is best that you do not get involved unless you are qualified and authorized to give such advice. Examples of these niches are insurance and financial advice. In these niches, you will just refer the prospect to a provider's site to sign up and be given the advice they seek. Cost Per Action (CPA) affiliate programs usually operate this way and then you are paid for leads generated or when an action taken by the prospect occurs, depending on the provider's terms of service.

5. The niche is very competitive and the affiliate commissions are high, such as when there are giants in the niche. For example banks, insurance companies, medical businesses etc. Competing with them is usually out of the question. Trying to establish a foothold or gaining recognition in such an environment is also very difficult as this would take a lot of energy. In these cases, you aim for one-off sales that could compensate you nicely. You just need to have a general overview of the niche and then redirect potential customers to these sites where you hope they might buy something.

6. The niche is very popular and therefore overcrowded with customers. This situation usually means that the chance of getting one-off customers is large. Again, you just send potential customers to the affiliate providers' sites, hoping for a quick sale.

The above situations reveal that traffic brokering should be used as part of your arsenal of money-making tools, as it can be a fast route to generate additional income.