An affiliate marketing website promotes another company’s products or services in return for some sort of compensation, usually in the form of a commission.
While it may seem like a pretty simple concept, this form of promotion has grown into a $17+ billion industry that is estimated to reach $28.8 billion by 2027.
But, how do you get in on this action to monetize your website and where do you start?
The best way to start your affiliate journey is by exploring successful affiliate marketing websites.
Once you see what these affiliate websites are doing right, you’ll have a better idea of how to replicate their success for your own site.
Let’s dive right in.
1. Wirecutter
- Niche: Product reviews for household items, gadgets, and electronics
- Estimated monthly visits: 64,800
- Most active affiliate programs: Amazon Associates; GoPro; The Home Depot; Apple; Best Buy
Wirecutter has proven itself as an expert when it comes to researching, testing, and reviewing products for its audience. In fact, the website’s reviews even go one step further to recommend how you can best use these products in everyday life.
This expert insight is what led Wirecutter to be so successful that it generated $150 million in revenue between 2011 and 2016, before being bought by giant media company The New York Times.
This rapid rise in revenue is all thanks to affiliate marketing done right.
How They Make Money
Wirecutter is probably one of the best examples of an affiliate marketing team making use of the involved affiliate marketing type. This is where an affiliate has a connection to the service or product they’re promoting and enough expertise and influence to generate traffic. In involved affiliate marketing, the marketer has used the service or product they’re promoting and shares their experiences with others.
Wirecutter does a deep dive into every product they review to ensure that they only refer their audience to the best products on the market. This allows them to give expert recommendations, which in turn creates audience trust. And we all know that the more you trust something, the more likely you are to buy what they’re selling. Unlike with some affiliate sites, you won’t find loads of irrelevant reviews on Wirecutter. Instead, you’ll find perfectly curated reviews.
Creating an enhanced user experience by providing valuable content is exactly what they do best. It’s why Wirecutter is one of the best affiliate marketing websites out there (and not to mention one of the most successful).
2. PCPartPicker
- Niche: PC parts for customized desktops
- Estimated monthly visits: 29.05 million
- Most active affiliate programs: Amazon Associates; Newegg; SuperBiiz; Outlet PC
If you’re looking for one specific part for your rig, PCPartPicker will give you a review on that part and give you a cost comparison for similar parts. They have everything from CPUs and coolers to operating systems and peripherals. Not sure where to start when building your PC? PCPartPickers will give you a comprehensive guide.
In short, they are in a very specialized niche and they’re experts at giving their audience exactly what they need.
How They Make Money
PCPartPicker has incorporated a good mix of advice, examples, and interactive advanced tools on its website to provide all the answers to the questions its audience may have. This is the foundation of its marketing strategy, which has allowed it to build a high level of trust with its audience.
The main reason they are one of the best examples of an affiliate marketing website is the fact that they know their niche inside out and have stuck to it. They have a very specific audience that they do not deviate from just to earn extra cash. Focusing on this niche has certainly paid off, and the website is currently estimated to hold a worth of $77 million.
3. This Is Why I’m Broke
- Niche: Unusual and quirky products that are funny, creative, and often bizarre
- Estimated monthly visits: 5.86 million
- Most active affiliate programs: Amazon Affiliates; Etsy
This Is Why I’m Broke occupies a unique space in the affiliate marketing world. It provides reviews of unusual products and its amusing descriptions of these products make its content highly shareable on social media.
It’s a place where you can find anything that’s a bit weird, from toilet paper with Donald Trump’s face on it and a book with 500 facts about Godzilla to a massager for your cat’s face.
How They Make Money
What’s interesting about the marketing strategy for This Is Why I’m Broke is that a lot of the products they promote don’t actually get sold to their direct audience. Their audience is there more for fun than anything else. Instead, the content on This Is Why I’m Broke is specifically designed for social media shares.
The unconventional nature of the products and the content is designed to attract attention on social media platforms and has resulted in a large following. The high level of social media shares results in more clicks on the site’s affiliate links, leading to plenty of revenue. Relying solely on a pay-per-click affiliate model won’t work, but as you can see from This Is Why I’m Broke, it can be great to mix into your strategy if done right.
4. Dog Food Advisor
- Niche: Dog food
- Estimated monthly visits: 1.25 million
- Most active affiliate program: Chewy
Dog Food Advisor has positioned itself as a trusted resource for dog owners who want to make informed decisions about the food they feed their pets.
It holds a high authority in the niche of canine nutrition due to its well-researched and comprehensive reviews on dog food, nutrition, and health.
This expert insight has allowed Dog Food Advisor to become a trusted source for its audience.
How They Make Money
Dog Food Advisor does not make use of any explicit product endorsements or ads, which means that its affiliate marketing strategy is more subtle.
This has allowed the affiliate site to define itself as an “unbiased dog food reviews and ratings” website.
To monetize this business model, Dog Food Strategy only makes use of affiliate links in a section of a review known as “Buying Tips” or “Exclusive Offers”.
This subtle approach to promoting affiliate products helps to build audience trust, as having numerous affiliate links in a review can be annoying and spammy, which has the opposite effect.
5. Skyscanner
- Niche: Travel
- Estimated monthly visits: 17.96 million
- Most active affiliate programs: British Airways; Ryanair; AdSense
Founded in 2001, Skyscanner has quickly become a trusted resource for people looking to compare and book flights, hotels, and car rentals.
What largely makes Skyscanner’s site so successful is its search aggregator (or metasearch engine). This advanced tool provides results from other search engines to compile a list of prices from various travel sites and airlines. In turn, users can quickly and easily use these results to compare prices and choose an option that is most suited to their budget. This streamlines the entire process of booking flights, accommodation, and cars.
On top of this, Skyscanner also runs a travel blog, which is where their affiliate marketing comes into play.
How They Make Money
Skyscanner’s travel blog is a prime example of how SEO can really drive your affiliate marketing efforts.
The in-depth travel guides and tourism-related articles found on their blog have been specifically optimized to drive organic traffic to the site. Once the reader is on the article, various links within the text then direct the reader to the search aggregator for the specific country, place, hotel, or car hire that is mentioned.
Every time something is booked through the site, Skyscanner earns affiliate revenue from the sale. Despite the website already being as popular as it is, their travel blog provides another source of traffic, which only aids in boosting their success.
Another reason Skyscanner is so successful is that it also offers its own affiliate program via affiliate networks like Commission Junction, Trade Doubler, and Awin.
Now, you don’t necessarily need to create your own affiliate program to be successful in the affiliate marketing game. However, it is handy to keep in mind that you can be a successful affiliate marketer and run various affiliate programs at the same time.
6. Ruled.me
- Niche: Keto diet
- Estimated monthly visits: 269,890
- Most active affiliate program: Amazon Associates
The ketogenic diet (or keto diet, for short) has revolutionized the multi-billion dollar weight loss industry over the last few years. What originally started out as a treatment for epilepsy in the 1920s has quickly become a solution for people trying to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle.
Ruled.me aims to capitalize on this diet’s popularity by promoting keto-friendly recipes to make the switch over to this diet more of a fun experience rather than a boring regime.
From recipes and diet tips to exercise plans, Ruled.me provides all the necessary information that its keto audience requires.
It also includes an integrated tool for users to accurately calculate the amount of protein and carbohydrates they need to include in their diet to achieve their weight-loss goals. This takes all the guesswork out of meal planning and gives their users an all-in-one solution.
Ruled.me has created the ultimate resource for those on the keto diet, which has allowed it to gain user trust and authority within its niche.
How They Make Money
Ruled.me largely makes use of affiliate links in its blog posts under its “Recommended” section. These posts provide information about what cooking and kitchen equipment, supplements, exercises, and special recommendations its reader can use to support their keto journey. They also contain links that direct the user straight to the relevant page where they can purchase these aids.
The affiliate site largely makes use of the Amazon Associates Program, which allows them to earn a direct affiliate income from each purchase made through the respective links.
What makes Ruled.me stand out, though, is its customer retention. Through its subscription service, The Keto Academy, its users can sign up to receive new recipes, keto success stories, and guidance from experts.
This service encourages subscribers to keep coming back to the site, which makes them more likely to spend time on it and potentially purchase the specific products that it recommends. In turn, this can result in more commission from its affiliate site.
7. Minimalist Baker
- Niche: Quick and easy food recipes
- Estimated monthly visits: 10.07 million
- Most active affiliate program: Amazon Associates
The Minimalist Baker addresses the pain points of cooking by providing its audience with simple, easy, and quick recipes. When you don’t have hours to spend in the kitchen, the Minimalist Baker steps in to give you recipes that can streamline your entire cooking process.
It’s aimed at busy users who are short on time but still want to make healthy, tasty meals. Its recipes usually require 10 ingredients or less, and they typically take no more than 30 minutes to prepare.
The site also caters to users with various dietary needs by including vegan and gluten-free recipes.
How They Make Money
The Minimalist Baker features Amazon affiliate links in almost all of the recipes it has on its site. These links are mainly for food-related products that it mentions in its ingredient lists.
While food items are not the highest-paying items for affiliate marketers, it goes to show that you can still earn an affiliate income from the lower-paying categories. This is partly because food items are usually bought a lot more frequently than some of the higher-paying categories, like tech gadgets and luxury items.
This frequency means there’s a higher chance that returning users to the site will use the affiliate links again and again.
The placement of the affiliate links is also quite fitting considering Minimalist Baker’s brand of simplifying the cooking process. The reader doesn’t need to go out and source the ingredients themselves. Instead, they can save time and just follow the link to purchase the items they need for that particular recipe.
8. SafeWise
- Niche: Home security
- Estimated monthly visits: 1.85 million
- Most active affiliate programs: Amazon Associates; OfferVault; CJ Affiliates
Let’s be honest, when it comes to safety, especially that of your home, nobody wants to cut corners. After all, safety is the second most important need according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
SafeWise knows the pain points of its target market all too well, which is why it provides brand comparisons, safety manuals, and reviews on various safety features.
The best part? All this information is summarized and found right at the top of each blog post. This saves its readers tons of time scrolling through articles that may not actually provide the answers they’re looking for.
How They Make Money
SafeWise’s blog posts not only provide all the comparison information that its users need to help make their security choices that much easier but it also has direct links to the purchase page for the various products it mentions.
SmartWise earns its commission through affiliate sites like Amazon and CJ Affiliates. Every time a user makes a purchase that was directed from the link in one of its many guides, SafeWise earns a share of the sale.
However, SafeWise’s marketing team doesn’t just rely on its own website to bring in the revenue stream. The affiliate website also makes use of various video and social media platforms, particularly TikTok and YouTube, to promote its helpful content and link to its various affiliate products.
This allows the affiliate site to increase traffic to its more in-depth guides while also giving its audience other avenues to access its affiliate links.
The result? A wider audience reach and the increased potential to cash in on more commissions.
9. HeadphonesAddict
- Niche: Headphones
- Estimated monthly visits: 221,530
- Most active affiliate program: Amazon Associates
Since 2015, HeadphonesAddict has strived to be the go-to place for any and everything related to headphones.
The site aims to simplify the process of finding that perfect pair of headphones to suit your unique needs and budget. To do this, the site posts various headphones-related news, user and buyer guides, and reviews.
It covers everything from Google Pixel Buds Pro to the best headphones for toddlers and serves as a comprehensive resource for all topics within the headphones niche.
How They Make Money
HeadphonesAddict stands out from its competitors by addressing pain points that its competitors haven’t considered. For example, it has reviews that cover the best headphones for sweaty workouts. This approach means the site has gained particular authority and trust within its relatively small niche.
With this trust comes a higher likelihood that its audience will follow through with the purchases the site recommends.
Once the reader has decided on which headphones they want to purchase, all they need to do is follow the Amazon links embedded in the articles to the product page. Once the purchase is made, HeadphonesAddict receives its commission.
10. RunnerClick
- Niche: Running gear
- Estimated monthly visits: 64,100
- Most active affiliate program: Amazon Associates
RunnerClick is the ultimate site for running enthusiasts. It has everything from tips and expert advice to reviews and recommendations for supplements, running shoes, and fitness-related gadgets.
Whether you’re a newbie runner who wants some advice on how to run a mile without stopping or an experienced runner, RunnerClick has you covered with expert insights.
What we like about RunnerClick’s content is that you can see they’ve taken their time to do their research. Each product that’s recommended has strict criteria that it needs to meet in order for it to be featured on the site.
If you’re looking for the best running shoes, for example, you know that the ones mentioned in the review meet all the necessary support, breathability, flexibility, and stability criteria that make a top-notch running shoe.
While the articles are really in-depth, they’re also easily skimmable, thanks to the summarized comparison information found at the top of each article. This is great for readers who are in a rush to get the answers they’re looking for.
Another thing we appreciate about RunnerClick’s site is its sleek, user-friendly design. The company knows that users shouldn’t struggle to find the information they are looking for, which is why the guides and reviews are simply categorized for easy access.
All this aids in boosting SEO-related traffic while creating audience trust and niche authority.
How They Make Money
RunnerClick’s money pieces are mostly their review articles. Each of the 950+ reviews on the site has one or more affiliate links that direct the reader to the relevant product page on Amazon or other affiliate websites.
By providing in-depth, expert reviews, RunnerClick can build trust among its audience by demonstrating that all the products recommended are backed by research and an open analysis of the criteria that went into the selection process.
As an affiliate marketer, RunnerClick then leverages this trust to guide its audience to purchase its recommended products. Arguably, an affiliate marketer will be more successful in converting potential customers when their site is seen as both reputable and trustworthy.
Apart from their reviews, the affiliate website also has a podcast, The Passionate Runner, which aids in spreading brand awareness. This can lead to increased traffic, more readers, and a rise in potential purchases made through its Amazon affiliate links.
11. Fatherly
- Niche: Parenting for modern fathers
- Estimated monthly visits: 1.96 million
- Most active affiliate programs: Amazon Associates; Walmart; ZergNet; Best Buy
Fatherly provides advice, tips, and guides on everything that comes with being a dad in the 21st century.
The site contains a nice mix of magazine-style content (think topics related to style, health and wellness, and entertainment) blended with content specifically geared towards promoting affiliate links (like buyer guides and reviews).
It’s a lot more subtle and actually provides its readers with other information that doesn’t always relate to specific products.
However, that’s not to say that Fatherly doesn’t actively promote its affiliate products.
In fact, before you even start reading one of their articles, there’s a list of products right on the home page, labeled “Fatherly Favorites”. This allows users quick access to various products that they may be in the market for.
How They Make Money
Fatherly makes use of both affiliate links and advertising to generate income for its site.
While not every article will necessarily contain affiliate links, the site still makes use of a clever technique to get its readers on to their money pages.
This technique is known as content funneling. This involves internally linking from articles that don’t contain affiliate links to articles that do.
For example, an article about bodyweight exercises may provide helpful content to the reader, but it’s not necessarily promoting any products. However, it could have an internal link that directs the reader to an article that does. Hence, a content funnel is created.
This is an excellent strategy to implement if you have quite a bit of non-paying, albeit still useful, content on your site. By continually linking to your money pieces, you have a higher chance of those pages getting seen, which increases the chance that your affiliate links actually get used and that you can generate commission.
12. The Points Guy
- Niche: Travel and credit cards
- Estimated monthly visits: 11.36 million
- Most active affiliate programs: Chase Bank; American Express; Citi
The Points Guy has combined two of the highest-paying and most popular affiliate niches out there: travel and finance.
The site produces content that helps solve its audience’s finance-related problems by sharing recommendations on various aviation, cruise, hotel, credit card, and loyalty programs.
The goal? To help its audience travel not only better but smarter too. At the end of the day, being able to get the most out of every dollar in your pocket goes a long way when traveling.
In particular, the affiliate website teaches its readers how to use the elusive benefits offered by travel and credit card companies. The site’s content gives actionable pointers so that its readers are able to travel in the most affordable way possible, and sometimes even for free.
How They Make Money
The Points Guy has affiliate relationships with some of the biggest names in banking, like American Express, Citi, and Chase Bank.
Every time someone signs up to get a credit card from one of the banks, The Points Guy earns a commission.
However, the company doesn’t just rely on organic traffic to get those affiliate clicks flowing. Instead, they know the all-important role that social media plays in generating traffic to a site. This is why its marketing team is highly active on social media platforms, specifically Instagram, Facebook, X, and TikTok.
As we know from other affiliate websites like SafeWise and RunnerClick, the more brand awareness you can create, the more traffic can flow to your site, and the more likely your chances are of promoting your affiliate partners and their services or products.
13. DatingAdvice.com
- Niche: Dating site reviews and dating advice
- Estimated monthly visits: 733,440
- Most active affiliate programs: Zoosk; Match.com; OurTime.com; Harmony; BlackPeopleMeet.com
With the massive rise in the popularity of online dating, the dating niche has become a particularly profitable industry. In fact, according to Statista, the online dating market is projected to bring in a total revenue of $3.12 billion in 2024 alone.
DatingAdvice.com’s clean, fun, and user-friendly design helps it stand out in an otherwise spammy and chaotic niche. This is also what has helped the site gain so much popularity.
Apart from its great web design, it also provides really useful information to its audience. This includes dating advice from experts, reviews of dating sites, and guides on the best dating sites out there for specific needs and preferences.
These guides include the best dating platforms for absolutely everyone, from seniors and Christians to members of the LGBTQ+ community.
How They Make Money
DatingAdvice.com earns an affiliate income when its readers sign up to use one of the dating sites it recommends.
The online dating niche is infamous for flashy, spammy sites that lead to a poor user experience. One of the ways this site has established trust with its audience is by creating a simple, clean, and appealing design that sets it apart from its competitors.
Add to that useful advice from various dating experts and you have an affiliate website that has become authoritative within its niche.
As I’ve mentioned time and time again, trust is key to getting your users to buy what you’re selling (or, in this case, sign up to one of its affiliate online dating platforms).
What Makes a Successful Affiliate Website?
As you can see from the examples above, there are quite a few things that go into creating a successful affiliate marketing website. However, if I had to narrow it down to four key points, they would be:
- A great website design.
- Valuable and informative content that is targeted to a specific niche and audience.
- A drive for both organic and paid traffic.
- Generating trust among an audience to buy or use the services or products being promoted.
