15 Examples Of Successful Affiliate Websites

This is another successful affiliate websites. Following our article on writing better reviews, we had a lot of questions from readers on what it takes to build a successful product review website. Unfortunately for the internet, most people who consider creating affiliate websites typically envision something along these lines: These kind of affiliate websites are all over the internet.

They have no goals and are only intended to steal affiliate commissions by overselling bluntly. It’s hardly surprising that they disappear from view after a few months.

The truth is that there are a tonne of affiliate websites that are fantastic and still very effective at making money online, with a concentration on product reviews.

They actually provide so much free content that you can’t even see their affiliate connections.

At Authority Hacker, our focus has always been on creating sustainable companies with an emphasis on providing value in order to attract a loyal following and prevent the site from receiving penalties in the future.

Websites With Successful Affiliate Programs in 2022

In order to learn from them, we’ll look at 21 instances of affiliate marketing websites in this piece that “get it” when it comes to promoting third-party products while providing value.

I’m hoping that by looking at these affiliate marketing examples, you’ll be inspired to use affiliate marketing on your own websites and realise that it doesn’t have to be tacky.

1. Nerdwallet

One of my favourite affiliate websites is Nerdwallet, and I’m sure many other affiliate marketers would agree.

It has a lengthy history, dominates one of the most cutthroat industries, and the information is actually helpful.

In essence, Nerdwallet is an affiliate website that reviews financial items. The topics covered range from insurance to investment to credit cards. This is another Successful Affiliate Websites alternative. Also check campaign management tools

an outstanding user interface, top-notch content, and a strong marketing team.

For the past few years, they’ve essentially been the gold standard of affiliate websites (in my view anyway).

• Consumer finance is a niche.
• Objective: Assist consumers in choosing the finest credit cards, loans, insurance, etc.

Extremely competitive market is the main challenge.

What Nerdwallet Can Teach Us

1. create tools Because tools are not only fantastic for user experience but also tend to garner lots of links and SEO is a key component of this site’s strategy, a lot of Nerdwallet’s greatest information is available in will form.
2. Update important pages. Nerdwallet regularly updates its important pages. For instance, their major recommendations, such as “Best Credit Cards 2016,” will be updated yearly (to “Best Credit Cards 2019,” giving their marketing team the chance to promote them once more.

2. Money Saving Expert

Better financial decisions are made by regular individuals with the aid of MoneySavingExpert.com. Consider it public financial education that encourages individuals to make the most of their money.

In 2003, financial journalist Martin Lewis launched the website. With over 8 million monthly visitors, it currently ranks as one of the leading consumer affiliate websites in the UK.

MoneySavingExpert (MSE) has succeeded in standing out in a field rife with self-serving knowledge and dubious information because of the calibre of its material and commitment to assisting customers.

For £87 million, the website was sold to Moneysupermarket.com in 2012.

• Personal finance niche
• Martin Lewis, the founder (@MartinSLewis)
• Objective: To assist regular people in making better financial decisions
• The main challenge is to deliver trustworthy, up-to-date financial information in an industry where self-serving interests are prevalent.

How they earn a living

Affiliate links are the only way to monetize this site, as stated by MSE on its “How this site is financed” page. The website doesn’t accept sponsored content or adverts, and it doesn’t have any paid merchandise available.

To earn more money from affiliate marketing, it employs a number of other strategies. This consists of a tool that locates Amazon discounts, a partnership with Resolver, and the inclusion of Skimlinks in its forum topics.

What MoneySavingExpert Teaches Us

1. Spend money on design: The MSE website is incredibly well-structured. To complete it as straightforward as possible to browse, every article is also extensively formatted.
2. Invest in ethics: There is a lot of false information in the consumer finance industry. MSE distinguishes itself by openly disclosing all affiliate links and upholding a strict code of editorial conduct.
3. MSE keeps “hero” pages for important search queries (example). These are very graphic and allow readers to quickly scan the top choices. The pages nearly always rank well since they are very user-focused.
4. Be useful: All of MSE’s content and tools, including blogs, deal finders, and calculators, are quite useful. Users can get to the information they desire without having to deal with any unnecessary fluff.

3. The Wirecutter

One of the most popular review affiliate websites for consumer products, electronics, and gadgets on the internet is The Wire Cutter. This is another Successful Affiliate Websites alternative.

Brian Lam, a former editorial director at Gizmodo, founded it. Brian and his colleagues put every device they assessed through rigorous and creative testing, earning the site the moniker “Mythbusters for electronics.”

How they earn a living

The “How to Support Us” page of The Wire Cutter details their revenue generation strategy.

The business concept is straightforward: affiliate commissions, mainly from BestBuy and Amazon. The website does not sell any of its own items, accept any sponsored posts, or accept adverts.

It uses a variety of strategies and resources to generate revenue, such as:

• Product recommendations: The Wire Cutter’s mainstays are the “Best of” product listings for each category. Each suggestion includes a link to Amazon.com.

The Wire Cutter responds to reader inquiries like, “Which headphones should I buy?

and deducts a portion of any product sales.

• Others: In addition to a few other well-known stores including Amazon, the website also makes money online through Skimlinks. Although the information isn’t made public, there is evidence that it also sells some advertising (as seen by this link).
• They were just purchased by the New York Times for US$20 million, so from our perspective, that qualifies as peak monetization.

Leading Promotions

1. Focus: The Wire Cutter focuses exclusively on in-depth evaluations rather than producing hundreds of gadget news items each month.
2. Design appropriately: The Wire Cutter doesn’t employ the conventional blog structure. Instead, a straightforward page with a list of the top products in each category is used.
3. Quality over quantity: The Wire Cutter’s examinations are so advanced and thorough that producers occasionally consult them for suggestions on how to enhance their goods. Every product that is recommended has been proven to be the finest in its category, as stated on this page. It also only publishes 6–12 posts per month.

4. Dating Advice

The courtship sector is one of the multiple lucrative in online marketing. Sadly, it is also rife with spam websites and scammers who just exist to divert users to affiliate offerings.

In this crowded market, DatingAdvice.com is a breath of new air. It is wholesome, entertaining, and free of the seedy elements that characterise so many other dating affiliate websites. It essentially mainstreams dating by emphasising “professional guidance” and providing real-world solutions.

• Niche: Reviews of dating websites and dating advice
• Objective: To assist folks in honing their dating abilities and discovering the ideal dating service for their requirements.
• Main Obstacle: Standing out in a crowded field of spam and sleaze

How they earn a living

Most of Dating Advice’s revenue comes from sending users to dating websites like Match, eHarmony, etc. All of its recommended websites sport a clean, mainstream aesthetic, which is appropriate given its target audience.

It uses a variety of strategies and resources to generate revenue, such as:

• Best-of lists: By taking a percentage of any sign-ups or sales, DatingAdvice.com compiles “Best Of” lists of the top dating apps, websites, and goods.
• Reviews of dating sites: DatingAdvice.com provides reviews of some of the most well-known dating sites available and earns revenue from affiliate commissions. When it comes to revenue, this is the site’s main source.
• Sponsored posts: Although it isn’t stated directly, DatingAdvice.com receives compensation for posts like this one. Also check keyword research tools

Leading Promotions

What DatingAdvice.Com Teaches Us

1. Keep it clean: In a spammy, scammy niche, DatingAdvice.com has succeeded by upholding a decent, healthy image. Readers can tell this site is “safe” from the colours, the design, and the prominent use of real faces in all posts.
2. The website has no banner advertisements, much as the other websites we previously mentioned. In actuality, banner advertising devalue your brand and credibility, which might be detrimental if you’re trying to monetize through affiliates. For instance, we are developing a version of Health Ambition without advertisements.

5. PC Part Picker

The fact that it differs from the “standard” affiliate website concept is one of the reasons I adore it so much. It’s not just another content website that targets the keywords “best x.”

Instead, they created something so valuable that it practically markets itself.

The website’s primary notion is that it serves as a tool for those who want to build their own computers (usually gaming computers). This is another Successful Affiliate Websites alternative.

If you’ve never built a computer before, the research is nearly always the most challenging step.

These issues are resolved using PC Part Picker. It enables you to shop for the newest computer components based on performance and price, and it automatically compares them to one another to determine compatibility.

So the website’s main component is a tool. However, they have recently established a really good blog in addition to the tool.

It goes without saying that it has achieved successful success.

• Computer component niche
• Aim: Assist individuals in building computers
• The main issue: low commissions

How they earn a living

All revenue generated by PC Part Picker comes from affiliate links. And they essentially commercialise whatever they do in the following ways:

• PC builds created by users. Users can create their own computers from scratch and then purchase components by clicking on the affiliate links. Or…
• PC builds made by professionals. On the website, professionals will put together builds for you (in the form of a blog post).
• Analyses of each component separately. Additionally, they evaluate specific PC parts and make use of historical price information to assist customers in purchasing decisions.

Leading Promotions

As part of its overall plan, PCPartsPicker participates in a number of different affiliate networks, but it would seem that Amazon is where the majority of their revenue comes from.

What PC Part Picker Teaches Us

1. Create a tool. This website does contain a blog and content, however the PC-building tool serves as the site’s motor.
2. Put the user experience first. Everything on this page is specifically designed to assist customers in achieving a very specific objective: constructing a PC free from compatibility problems and within a set price range.
3. Help customers compare prices. PC Part Picker goes beyond simply recommending products on the site by being a member of numerous affiliate programmes, directing customers to the best price, and keeping track of price history. They also assist their readers in having a positive offline shopping experience.

6. 50em.Com

The majority of the aforementioned affiliate websites are well-established, with sizable teams and even sizabler budgets.

Some even have famous founders who already have fan bases.

However, the majority of IM users lack such tools. For this reason, in our sixth example, we selected to concentrate on 50em.com, a site with only seven pages.

Ontraport and InfusionSoft, two of the most well-liked automation systems on the market, are made easier to pick between by 50em.

Any AH reader may create a website like this with a lot of work and direction, of course!

The website essentially serves as a masterclass in producing high-impact, high-value product reviews. Continue reading because you can learn a lot from it.

• Review articles of automation software
• Objective: Assisting marketers in selecting between Ontraport and InfusionSoft
• The main obstacle is building trust and traffic in a pricey niche with a highly targeted audience.

How they earn a living

The way 50em makes money should be obvious enough: it does it by earning affiliate commissions.

Both InfusionSoft and Ontraport are pricey software programmes; InfusionSoft has a monthly starting price of $199 while Ontraport costs $297.

Thus, even a single sale might be extremely profitable.

For these commissions, 50em employs the following four strategies:

• Comprehensive evaluations: 50em provides comprehensive reviews of both Ontraport and InfusionSoft. Each product is explained in a video and thousands of words of text. Many benefits for any reader.
• Head-to-head comparisons: If, after reading the evaluations, you’re still unclear, you can contrast the two goods. On the InfusionSoft vs. Ontraport comparison page, 50em provides a detailed analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of each product.
• Recommendations: 50em also features a separate “self-serve” website for recommendations in addition to evaluations and comparisons. Verify that you meet the requirements, then choose the product that best suits your requirements.

Leading Promotions

Just three essential products are promoted by 50em: InfusionSoft, Ontraport, and Salesforce.

These three products all primarily rely on partners or affiliates to spread the word about them. The links below provide additional information on it:

What 50em.Com Can Teach Us

1. Pick the appropriate market niche: InfusionSoft and Ontraport are the only two tools covered by 50em. The website is free of additional content. It is able to rank highly in a small niche because of its intense focus.
2. Offer first-hand knowledge: All of 50em’s reviews and comparison pages are thousands of words long, nearly entirely free of filler, and loaded with information provided by actual users of the products.
3. Invest in the copy: Product reviews for businesses don’t have to be uninteresting. The copy by 50em is enjoyable to read. You are likely to read through a review that starts with “dadgum it.”
4. Make it easy to pick: Reviews, comparisons, recommendations…50em makes it easy for readers to choose the correct product for their needs. The fact that its layout is easy enough for everyone to use also helps.

7. This is Why I’m Broke

An established standard in the affiliate marketing industry is This is Why I’m Broke. But the reason I appreciate it is that it was one of the first affiliate websites to really nail the gift and novelty aggregation angle. This is another Successful Affiliate Websites alternative.

And that’s what the website excels at more than just about anyone else: it mines the Internet and popular culture for weird stuff that tickles people’s funny bone and seizes on consumer trends like some kind of cyber lycanthrope.

For instance, the first entry today is a slot machine offering alcohol vaporisation for just $900.

I find it challenging to resist clicking on half of these affiliate links, and I work in marketing.

• Specialty: novelty goods and presents
• Objective: Discover strange items to spend money on
• Major Issue: Lack of a unified theme (for search engines)

How they earn a living

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that the majority of the money appears to be generated through the Amazon Associates programme since the site primarily earns money through affiliate deals.

Finding individual affiliate programmes for each of the unrelated products they feature on the blog wouldn’t make much sense.

However, they also appear to be an affiliate on Etsy and sell a lot of goods there.

Leading Promotions

There is an intriguing model at TIWIB. I believe that the only posts that are monetized are those that link to things on Amazon or Etsy. Every other link is a standard, non-affiliate one.

Why I’m Broke: What We Can Learn From This

1. Fun element marketing can be quite effective. Although I’m not sure if this site has ever engaged in active marketing, it certainly seems to draw a lot of organic links and shares. The sheer fun element is almost certainly to blame for this.
2. You don’t have to make everything profitable. Even if they contain prizes, other articles are just for fun and offer a fantastic user experience; this undoubtedly helps to improve the site’s reputation.

8. Making Sense of Cents

Another finance website is Making Sense of Cents, although it differs significantly in that it was founded and is managed by Michelle Gardner.

Michelle creates every piece of content on the blog individually, in contrast to some of the larger money websites on this list, making it more personal advice and coming from personal experience than a massive site with a team of specialists. This is another Successful Affiliate Websites alternative.

And it has greatly benefited her.

Michelle posts monthly income reports on her blog, and as of the most recent report, she was earning $125,000 each month.

Michelle is at the top of the list of successful bloggers that use affiliate products.

• Personal and family finance niche
• Michelle Gardner is the creator
• Objective: Assisting people with financial planning and saving
• Primary Challenge: Limited starting resources due to being a personal blog.

How She Earns a Living

Michelle combines affiliate marketing with the sale of her own courses to generate the majority of her income.

Although display advertising contributes to some of her income, it only makes up a modest portion of it.

Leading Promotions

What Making Sense of Cents Teaches Us

1. Using a personal perspective might help you stand out in crowded markets. Michelle works in a very competitive industry (finance), yet one way she succeeds is by being approachable.
2. Have the support of your readers. Many of Michelle’s best articles assist her readers in avoiding danger or earning a little more cash. It is much more about really assisting people than it is about reviewing items.

9. The Points Guy

Who, at this time, doesn’t know about The Points Guy?

It’s no secret that the financial and tourism industries are home to some of the most popular affiliate websites. However, The Points Guy is one of the select few who appears to have successfully cracked social traffic in addition to organic traffic. Also check spy tools

Credit cards and travel are the focus of this website. In particular, it discusses how to take use of the advantages credit card companies and travel agencies give you in exchange for doing various things, so you may travel on a budget (or even for free).

And I really believe that this, together with a laser-like focus on assisting others in achieving a very particular goal—getting stuff for nothing—has contributed to The Points Guy’s phenomenal rise to fame.

To that aim, this website is a brilliant blend of offering advice on things that users may use while also earning affiliate commissions.

• Niche: travel and credit cards
• Objective: Travel and credit card fraud
• Major Obstacle: Highly competitive niche

How they earn a living

Through affiliate networks for credit cards and travel, The Points Guy earns money.

They mostly concentrate on credit cards that can be used to earn rewards for travel.

What ThepointsGuys.Com Can Teach Us

1. Solve a problem. Being an affiliate website does not need you to write about or conduct product reviews without doing your research first. If you adopt a perspective that genuinely aids people in solving an issue, you may benefit from both free promotion and expanding popularity.
2. Put your preferred products in the spotlight. The top travel credit cards are simply listed in The Points Guy’s “Top Cards” section of the main navigation menu. Although it doesn’t receive as much traffic as some of the other stuff, it does reasonably well. For individuals who are interested in this kind of item, it’s an easy spot to locate the most crucial products.

10. Just A Girl An Her Blog

One of my personal favourite affiliate websites is Just a Girl and Her Blog, mostly because it closely resembles what so many of us enjoy doing: selling products through the Amazon Associates programme. This is another Successful Affiliate Websites alternative.

Abby, the author of this blog, writes about organisation, DIY, and crafts. Since Abby discloses her income reports, we know that she earns over $40,000 each month from the hugely popular site.

Nearly 75% of that income is generated by affiliate marketing.

• Specialty: organisation and DIY
• Abby Lawson is the founder.
• Objective: Assisting people in organising and enhancing their lives
• Major Obstacle: Very General Content Mix

What Lessons Can We Draw From Just A Girl’s Blog?

1. Be a test subject. Abby frequently puts things to the test and then writes on her findings so that her readers don’t have to. Naturally, she makes product recommendations along the way as well.
2. Remember to use social media. Explore social media sites like Pinterest if your specialty (like Abby’s) is one that would thrive there. Almost 20% of Abby’s entire traffic comes from that platform.

11. Compare Accounting

All of the affiliate websites we’ve listed above rely on affiliate commissions for revenue. However, you don’t have to use product review and comparison websites exclusively to that end to earn money.

As CompareAccounting.com demonstrates, you can generate money even with little traffic by producing leads for businesses (this enables you to penetrate markets that don’t have affiliate programmes).

This is the reason CompareAccounting.com was selected for this list. The greatest accounting software for small businesses may be found on this website.

Any marketer may easily duplicate it without spending a lot of money because it is a modest, niche-focused website.

Compare Accounting demonstrates what is feasible if you choose the appropriate area and build a reliable website. This is another Successful Affiliate Websites alternative.

It doesn’t actively build links or have a social media presence. It merely offers SMBs straightforward, practical counsel before connecting the most interested ones with the sales teams of accounting tools.

It also has strong rankings and earns well from referring expensive business items, even if its readership isn’t quite as large as that of MSE or The Wire Cutter.

• Reviews of niche accounting software
• Objective: Assisting small businesses in choosing the appropriate accounting programme for their requirements
• The most difficult task is gaining reputation and traffic in a crowded but limited market.

What CompareAccounting.Com Can Teach Us

1. Benefits are the main focus: The CompareAccounting homepage is straightforward, static, and value-oriented. Long prose welcome you to the site and outlining its aim will greet you when you first arrive. Links to reviews of the top three products are also displayed. Everything is created with users in mind.
2. Offer free content, then collect leads: The website offers a tonne of free content, such as articles, blog entries, and reviews. You can even download whitepapers by providing some information if you want to learn more.
3. Produce the appropriate material for the market: CompareAccounting.com is aware that consumers looking to acquire accounting software require a great deal of information before making a decision. To help with the decision-making process, they provide comprehensive whitepapers. This is also a fantastic source of leads.
4. Social media presence is not a need for every website: Evidently, no. CompareAccounting is aware that engaging in social media won’t yield many advantages from its target market. It puts more of an emphasis on content creation and backlink building than it does on squandering time on Facebook or Twitter.

12. Website setup

We have a fantastic illustration of a narrowly focused niche site in a highly lucrative sector with WebsiteSetup.org.

And what’s even better is that this specialty has as its target market those who wish to build websites.

Every every day, fresh users enter this search into Google.

For me, Robert Mening, the site’s proprietor, has produced an affiliate marketing “perfect storm.”

1. He discovered a hungry market.
2. There are lucrative affiliate programmes in that same market.
3. For his website, he even succeeded in obtaining an EMD (Exact Match Domain).
4. Visitors never feel pressured into buying anything

I appreciate his approach since he only addresses the most typical queries people have, rather than attempting to cover every facet of web hosting technology.

He is now ranked #1 for well over 1,000 competitive keywords, which should bring in a sizable sum of money for him. This has really paid off for him.

• Specialty: web hosting
• Robert Mening is the creator.
• Objective: Aid technophobes in creating their first website

Operating in an extremely competitive market is the main challenge.

What WebsiteSetup.Org Teaches Us

1. Early conversion: Using only your webpage, you may turn visitors into paying clients. The micro-niche website WebsiteSetup.org has grown to provide visitors with substantial value.
2. You can contend: The majority of “gurus” will advise you that some niches aren’t even worth contending in. But Robert managed to bring this site from nowhere to thousands of page one ranks in a little more than two years. To never assume. Test constantly. This is another Successful Affiliate Websites alternative.

13. Headphones Addict

Usually, when people think of affiliate websites, they image a messy layout with banner ads jammed into every open area.

Then there is a website like

HeadphonesAddict.com is a website that stands out.

Why?

Because despite the fact that it is definitely an affiliate site, it doesn’t feel or appear like one.

It does this by including both product reviews and news articles.

Its main source of revenue is “Top x” style product reviews, however they do try to be a little bit more objective than most affiliate websites.

These websites represent the next development in affiliate marketing since they prioritise user experience over financial gain.

• Specialty: headphones

Our Objective: To offer unbiased, impartial reviews of the top headphones available.

• The main obstacle is competing in the same market as 10Beasts and several imitation websites.

What HeadphonesAddict.Com Can Teach Us

1. Imitation pays off: Creating the “next big thing” isn’t necessary to generate income from an affiliate website. Good content and a professional design go a long way in persuading readers to click on your affiliate links.
2. Social media matters: By ignoring Instagram, Pinterest, and other image-based social networks, they’re losing a trick here. There is a large volume of traffic that they are ignoring.

14. Skyscanner

Wait…what?

What HeadphonesAddict.com Can Teach Us

Is Skyscanner a partner affiliate?

I debated this internally, but here it is: Skyscanner receives payment for directing users to the websites of significant airlines. This is another Successful Affiliate Websites alternative.

Since they operate on a commission basis as a result, they are affiliate websites by definition.

Everybody has heard about Skyscanner.

only those who have never made even a single online flight reservation.

Skyscanner has grown into a reputable brand in addition to being a very successful affiliate website.

• Specialty: air travel
• Bryan Dove is the creator.
• Aim: To assist tourists in locating affordable airfares
• The main obstacle is that this website is directly competing with well-known international airlines.

What Skyscanner.Com Can Teach Us

1. Think large; establishing a presence in the air travel industry is absurdly challenging, but Skyscanner managed it. They are not a mom-and-pop affiliate site operated from a person’s bedroom, it is true. However, they do demonstrate what is possible when you put no boundaries on yourself.
2. It’s encouraging to see that even a well-known company like Skyscanner takes content marketing seriously. And you can comprehend why when you look at the backend because it sends a lot of free traffic their way.

15. Safewise

The goal of home automation, practical robotics, and artificial intelligence is now a reality because of the time in history we are living in. This is another Successful Affiliate Websites alternative.

However, it’s also a moment when being security cautious doesn’t automatically make you a part of the “tinfoil hat” crowd.

Who wouldn’t like their home to be as secure as possible, after all?

But how can you possible know which security products best fit your needs when there are so many different goods and services available?

One solution: SafeWise

• Specialty: home security
• Objective: Offer in-depth analyses and recommendations on the top home automation and security products.
• The main challenge is building enough trust to market expensive products like home security systems.

SafeWise Can Teach Us

1. If you can, publish reputable articles, product reviews, and a tonne of user manuals to cover all the bases. This adds padding to pages that are heavily sponsored.
2. This is our first instance of an affiliate site implementing pay-per-call lead generation as a component of their monetization plan. Lead generation pays well.
3. By developing a real comparison tool, like the one found on PCPartsPicker.com, they might actually optimise their market share and earn more money.