Affiliates: How many links do YOU use?!

I always test it BUT I have found that links above the fold work better. That said, I had a squidoo page that was getting the most clicks from the middle of the page. Test it. Set up separate ID's in your aff link and see what works best.

Like Ldimilo said, I'm a huge advocate of providing at least one link above the fold. Generally speaking, if its a review page I'll do something like this:

Introductory paragraph introducing the product...

One sentence link that says something like "Here is the blue widget offer this review is about" or something a little more enticing but to that same effect.

Rest of review with one or two other links sprinkled in. I'll usually stick the second link in just after I've talked about a major benefit of the product that can be expounded upon by information on the sales page. Finally, the third link will be at the bottom.

-DareDevil

I would go with an A.

B is just too pushy, can end up in pissing people off.

Igor

I think depends on the product most times. I prefer to use B for most of my products because i have found that the more links i give them without being tacky and overbearing, the higher my sales go. People like things to be easy when they are ready to buy. They don't want to search for a link to click on. It's worked out pretty well so far.

When I'm creating such a page...every time
I mention the product by name, I link it and
at the end of the 'recommendation' page I
use a link like: 'Click Here to Check XX Out'
or some similar 'TAKE ACTION' link.

It works for me.

However, one thing to keep in mind as well
is the overall theme of the site. What you
do on one page, it's important to do on
another as that keeps the flow the site
similar, comfortable and recognizable for
site visitors.

Matt

That's funny...

I graduated high school with a Matt Ryan
in Minnesota.

I had a blog in which I was displaying a good amount of banners and affiliate links.
I had a poor click-through rate. My sidebar just went on and on with banners of all sizes.

I did one simple adjustment and increased my conversion by a TON!!
What did I do?
Got rid of all the affiliate links and banners except for 1 small banner in the sidebar.
I had one line of copy right above the banner just to subtly remove an objection before clicking and my click through rate improved dramatically.

The way I see it is, from the eyes of a normal viewer.. "every banner is a stupid pitch. I hate pitches. I hate people trying to advertise to me. A site with multiple banners is someone who is trying to profit from me, *******s. Even if i was interested, which one do I click on? There are so many options. So many recommendations."

How do you fix that?
Simple, give one option. one recommendation. one solution.

While this may not work all across the board. It worked for me and my niche.
Maybe cutting to 1 banner or affiliate link is too much for some people. But a handful of them is good.

Eric,

that's awesome...and I'm glad to hear your
success by choosing to remove most of the
ads leaving only one making it simple for your
visitors to click-thru...

However, I'm speaking of hypertext in this post.

And to be even more clear for everyone here,
I'm speaking of THE SAME affiliate text link
being embedded CONTEXTUALLY within the
page's copy.

AND I thank everyone for their replies so far.

They've been helpful.