There are many decisions that you need to make in order to have a successful online business, including which affiliate programs you should join. In this article I will share the Top 10 Affiliate Programs that you should consider for your website or blog.
Keep in mind that all reputable affiliate programs are free to join.
I get questions from beginners all the time about affiliate programs trying to charge them to sign up.
These are SCAMS! Never pay to sign up for an affiliate program!
Affiliate marketing is a multi billion dollar industry with tens of thousands of affiliate marketing programs.
Trying to navigate your way through all those affiliate programs can be dizzying!
Why does this matter?
Because I am going to solve your problem and help you to find the best affiliate programs for your website or blog so that you can get your piece of the affiliate marketing sales!
If you are not sure about what affiliate marketing is, or if it is for you. You should visit...
Affiliate Marketing for Beginners to learn more and find answers to your questions.
A top 10 affiliate programs list would not be complete without including Amazon. This is the first affiliate marketing entry point for most beginners out there because of its ease of implementation and its huge selection of products to promote.
Amazon has products in every niche imaginable and is the world leader in online shopping.
If you have ever shopped at Amazon, you know how easy it is to purchase through their website.
They store your information and you can literally buy with one click.
The easier it is for customers to buy from Amazon, the easier it is for you to make a commission.
Sounds like Amazon is the Utopia of affiliate programs right?
Well not so fast...
There are some downsides.
- Low commission rates - Starts at 4% and will go to 6% after a certain number of sales have been made.
- Amazon uses a 24 hour cookie. This means that when a prospective buyer uses your link, they must purchase within 24 hour for you to get credit for the sale.
- You must make a sale within 60 days or Amazon will close your account.
Tip: You can circumvent the 60 days by having a friend purchase something that they use anyway, through a link of yours to keep your account active.
Please note that it is against the Amazon affiliate terms and conditions to buy products through your own links. That can get your account banned, so don't do it.
Best Way to Profit from the Amazon Affiliate Program
I have found that with Amazon, the best way to use their affiliate program is with very narrowly focused, niche websites.
I'm talking really "niching down" to one product, or one small group of products.
For instance, a good example would be pool pumps...
A niche website just about pool pumps.
Not pool filters, not pool toys, not pool covers, not pool liners...
Just pool pumps.
When you narrow your website down to something as small as pool pumps, it is much easier for you to establish yourself as an authority in your niche, both with your readers and, more importantly, in Google's eyes.
When Google sees you as an authority, you will be rewarded with high rankings for your keywords in Google searches.
#2 Rakuten Linkshare
Number 2 in our Top 10 Affiliate Programs is Rakuten Linkshare.
Rakuten Linkshare is what is known as an affiliate network. This means that they represent thousands of affiliate programs from retailers all over the world and administer their affiliate programs for them.
That is good new for you because you can become an affiliate of many different retailers and track it all from one place.
The downside is that you have to apply to each affiliate program individually, which can be time consuming.
Affiliate commission rates are set by the individual affiliate programs and can vary widely.
The way to use Rakuten Linkshare affiliate program is to leverage the brand names that are available.
You can send your readers to the online stores of the brands that they know and trust.
This can have the result of passing some of that trust on to you.
As I'm sure you know, people are much more likely to buy from those that they know and trust.
Here are just a few of the many brands you can represent through the Rakuten Linkshare affiliate network.
- Walmart
- AT&T
- Pet Smart
- Nutrisystem
- Macy's
- Lillian Vernon
- 1 800 Pet Meds
- Magazines.com
- Avon
- And thousands more!
Go on over and sign up at Rakuten Linkshare and see for yourself!
It's free to join, as all reputable affiliate programs are, so have a look around.
#3 Commission Junction
Number Three on our list of Top 10 Affiliate Programs is Commission Junction.
Commission Junction is another example of an affiliate network that represents thousands of affiliate programs.
Commission Junction is one of the oldest, most respected and most trusted affiliate networks on the internet today.
Rakuten and Commission Junction are the two really big players in the affiliate network arena.
Chances are that you can find the brand that you are looking for at one of these two affiliate programs.
Similar to Rakuten, the commission rate is set by the individual affiliate programs and each affiliate program must be applied for separately.
CJ offers a unique Pay Per Call program, where you can get a unique toll free number to send your readers too. If they purchase through your number, you get the commission for the sale.
Here are some of the affiliate programs that you can join with Commission Junction.
- Allianz
- Allstate
- Ancestry.com
- Adobe
- Booking.com
- Bose
- Dell
- Disney Store
- Bass Pro Shops
- Zone Diet
- Adidas Golf
- And thousands more!
Head over to CJ.com and discover the huge array of affiliate programs available for your website or blog.
#4 ShareASale
ShareASale is yet another affiliate marketing network representing thousands of affiliate marketing programs.
While it is number four on the list of top 10 affiliate programs, it is one of my favorites and one of the most profitable for me.
Again, it all depends on your niche and which affiliate programs offer the best products for that niche.
Here are just some of the many affiliate marketing programs available at ShareASale.
- Wayfair.com
- Gymboree
- MLBShop.com
- Sears Parts Direct
- Weebly.com
- Namecheap.com
- National Debt Relief
- Grammarly
- Reebok
- NBAStore.com
- Medi-Fast
- And many more!
As you are researching the top 10 affiliate programs for your niche, be sure to take a look at what ShareASale has to offer.
#5 ClickBank
ClickBank is the first Affiliate program in the top 10 affiliate programs for bloggers and internet marketers that does not sell "hard" goods or physical products.
ClickBank's affiliate program is 100% digital products, such as PDFs, Video and Audio courses, ect.
The big draw with these products for the affiliate marketer is that the commissions are usually 50-75 percent and sometimes as much as 100 percent!
I have done a huge amount of sales with ClickBank and they have awesome reporting and quick turnaround for mailing checks.
The big downside to ClickBank is that there is a lot of "junk" products there.
By "junk", I mean kind of scammy products that are designed to sell people instead of helping them solve their problems.
That being said, there are also some really good products at ClickBank that are worth promoting and do help your readers solve their problems.
ClickBank has products in every niche that you can imagine and finding the right products can be a bit of a chore.
Tip: Once you are signed up and in the Clickbank Marketplace, choose a niche to see the products available in that niche. Now sort the products by gravity. This will show you the hottest selling products. Anything with a gravity over 20 is worth looking at.
#6 Avantlink
Number 6 on our list of Top 10 Affiliate Programs is Avantlink.
Avantlink is yet another affiliate network representing many affiliate programs.
I found Avantlink while looking for Cabela's affiliate program and have found some other gems there as well.
Avantlink has a lot of affiliate programs in various outdoor niches that may be difficult to find elsewhere.
Here is a sampling of affiliate programs that are available through Avantlink.
- Cabela's
- Edwin Watts Golf
- Eastern Mountain Sports
- Greg Norman Collection
- LifeProof
- Patagonia
- REI.com
- Sierra Trading Post
- Skullcandy
- West Marine
- Yeti Coolers
- And many more!
If your website is any niche that has to do with the outdoors, make sure that you take a look at the Avantlink network.
#7 Ebay Partner Network
Number 7 on our list of Top 10 Affiliate Programs is the Ebay Partner Network.
The ebay Partner Network can be an awesome affiliate program for those bloggers in the right niches.
Go to ebay and do some searches for products related to your niche. If you can find a good number of auctions for products in your niche, then ebay Partner Network can help you generate revenue for your website or blog.
The ebay affiliate works slightly differently than other affiliate programs. Ebay uses an algorithm that takes into account several factors including, sales, value of the traffic that you are sending, advertising sales and Paypal revenue among others.
The premise for making money with the ebay Partner Network is the same as others.
- You find products on ebay that you can promote to your readers.
- You generate an affiliate link.
- You use the affiliate link on your website or blog.
- A reader clicks on the link and makes a purchase.
- You earn a commission.
ebay has really good tracking and reporting to help you keep up with what is working and what is not.
As internet marketers, we are constantly experimenting and testing to find the most profitable combinations and then scaling those combinations to maximize profits.
The ebay Partner Network's tracking and reporting makes testing easy.
#8 Avangate
Number 8 on our list of Top 10 Affiliate programs is Avangate.
Avangate is an affiliate network representing over 4,000 affiliate programs that are focused on software and online services.
Avangate uses a cloud based platform that promotes quick and east affiliate set up with a state of the art performance marketing oriented platform.
Some of the awesome features offered by Avangate.
- Easy set up and start selling.
- Performance marketing oriented platform.
- Automatic integration with any ecommerce platform.
- Enhanced communication with affiliates.
- Real time reports monitor affiliate channel results.
Avangate also offers free affiliate training.
- E-books
- Case Studies
- Webinars
If you are in a niche that allows you to promote software such as virus protection software, you should consider adding Avangate to your affiliate programs.
# 9 Thrive Themes
Number 9 on our list of Top 10 Affiliate Programs is Thrive Themes.
Thrive Themes is quickly rising to the top of everyones list for lightning fast, conversion focused WordPress themes and plugins.
Thrive currently offers 10 different conversion focused WordPress themes for every situation.
They also offer some of the most used premium plugins on the internet today.
Here are some of the products that you can promote with Thrive Themes.
- 10 Conversion Focused WordPress Themes.
- Thrive Leads.
- Thrive Architect.
- Thrive Landing Pages.
- Thrive Clever Widgets.
- Thrive Headline Optimizer.
- Thrive Ultimatum.
If you are looking for high quality WordPress products to promote online, look no further than Thrive Themes. Get onboard now with this incredibly innovative, cutting edge company focused on helping bloggers and internet marketers increase conversions.
#10 Wealthy Affiliate
Wealthy Affiliate has made it onto the list of top ten affiliate programs and I suspect that it will continue to rise in the rankings.
What makes Wealthy Affiliate so special?
One of the many things that make Wealthy Affiliate rise to the top of my affiliate program list is their offer for your readers of a 100% free option to try out their program.
Yes, that's right, 100% free. No credit card required.
Once your prospect signs up for free, they have access to over 20 high quality, video and written lessons as well as 2 free websites!
The initial training is very good and they then offer further training with a paid membership.
1 out of 8 prospects will sign up for the paid training and unlimited websites and hosting using the WordPress Platform.
If you are not familiar with the Wealthy Affiliate program you can read an in depth description in my Wealthy Affiliate Review.
Bonus Pick - JVNotify
We have added a bonus pick to our list of Top 10 Affiliate Programs!
JVNotify is not really an affiliate program, but rather a notification program for upcoming launches.
You can sign up for free and be notified of all upcoming launches and you can then sign up for the affiliate programs associated with those launches.
This can be a great way to make affiliate sales if you have an email list.
You can also do very well with these by utilizing a method known as Launch Jacking.
For an in depth explanation of Launch Jacking, check out this article from my good friend and expert affiliate marketer Jeff Lenney.
Conclusion
I hope that you have gained some knowledge from the Top 10 Affiliate Programs for Bloggers and Internet Marketers.
I use each of these affiliate programs everyday and I recommend them highly.
Please keep in mind that in order to profit from any affiliate program, you first must have traffic.
Focus on creating really high quality content around the keywords that people are searching for in your niche and then promoting that content.
Tip: A good rule of thumb is to spend 20% of your time creating epic content and spend the other 80% focused on promoting that content.
One more word of advice...
There are some very clear regulations regarding disclosure of affiliate relationships.
I see many websites that completely ignore these regulations, but more and more affiliate programs are requiring their affiliates to abide by them.
I suggest that you abide by the regulations from the start, as enforcement is only going to get more stringent as time goes on.
Here is a link to the FTC regulations you should be aware of.
Now that you are armed with all of this new found knowledge...
Go put these top 10 affiliate programs to use and start earning your piece of the $5 billion dollar pie!
Please leave your questions and comments on "Top 10 Affiliate Programs for Bloggers and Internet Marketers" below.
Great post, very interesting to see other marketers think the same as myself and offering similar affiliate programs. I’d like to make a suggestion that the shopify or bigcommerce affiliate program is included as it offers a 20% recurring or 200% one time affiliate income. I have referred users who are paying over $2000 a month in fees and I get 20% of that every month. None the less, good article and thanks for the suggestions.
Hey Rhys,
Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll check out those two affiliate programs and see if they should be considered for inclusions.
Thanks again Rhys!
Best,
JV
Hi getting approved on eBay partner network is now instant and open to anyone. Payments are not fast if you get any at all. What happened to me with eBay partner network has also happened to some of my friends and if you do a google search you will find that what happened to me and some of my friends has also happened to many others around the world. I reckon that anyone claiming to make money with eBay partner network are paid by eBay partner network to say so. You know, a bit like those scam websites that use fiver.com to state that they have made thousands in one month. This is the type of business that eBay partner network are proving to be with the more time that passes.
Anyway, here is what happened to me with eBay partner network along with some of my friends along with the rest of the world that begins to earn good money with eBay partner network.
The moment eBay partner network begins to sort out payments (first week of the month) for the previous month earnings,
they either issue an AS77on your account (termination of your account due to low quality traffic) or an LS43 on your account (termination of your account plus a 100% reversal of all earnings due to non bona fide transactions).
What is interesting to note is that after some extensive research, me, some of my friends and the rest of the world did nothing wrong. We have all had good quality traffic (BUYERS) and NOT clicked on our own content as that would be classed as non bona fide transactions.
So what is the problem
Now after some extensive research, it is evident that eBay partner network issue out AS77,s when earnings are low and issue out LS43’s when earnings are high.
Conclusion:
eBay partner network get you to join by telling you how easy it is to make money and offering double commissions for the first 3 months making the payment structure look brilliant along with eBay’s so called trusted name. This is enough to make most people think that eBay partner network is the best thing since the invention of the wheel. eBay partner network does not want you earning money. Why would they. You spend hours if not days sending traffic to eBay. Traffic turns into buyers. eBay earns money. But now they have to give it to you via the eBay partner network program. low and behold, You have just been issued an AS77 or an LS43.
Join eBay partner network at you own risk and expect eBay partner network to legally steal your money.
Hi JV, I have JUST started looking into this type of marketing. When you say you use all of these sites every day, does this mean you promote multiple niches and therefore have multiple websites?
Hey MJ,
Thanks for the question!
Yes, I have multiple websites in many different niches. I am also constantly coming across new niches and building new websites.
I am a big believer in keyword research and that is where profitable niches begin to reveal themselves.
Thanks again MJ!
JV
Hi,
The FTC link looks broken. I got the message like “you are not authorized to see his page”
Hi Mary,
Thanks for the heads up!
I have fixed the link.
Best,
JV