If I join an affiliate marketing program, is it okay to use a free webhosting service?

[Andrew]

Or is it better to have my own independent site?

[yep95821]

You can use a free hosting service. In fact I, and many others have successfully used them to promote affiliate offers. It does help to have your own site, for more than one reason. With your own site, obviously, you own it, and don't have to worry about it ever getting taken away. You also tend to have a lot more control as to what goes on, with your own site. For example, you can't really set up redirects and forwards on a lot of free services, or other things like running scripts.

The other good thing about having your own site, is that as you do your SEO, and start building backlinks and traffic, you're building value to the site, which is paying you in the long run. If you spend 2-3 weeks building traffic to a free site, you can't decide to sell it really.

But, aside from those reasons, free sites can work just fine to promote affiliate offers. In fact, I have been using one recently.

[WealthyChange]

Yes, it is okay to use a free platform if you want to be an affiliate marketer, especially if you're still starting out. This would be your training ground or something, and it's better if you don't shell out any amount yet in case you decide it's not for you. If you do wish to pursue it and are better at it, your own website would serve a better avenue for affiliate marketing, since some of them do not allow their ads to be placed on a free webhosting service.