10 Best Affiliate Programs
Using Criterion Based Research the Top Rated Programs Were Selected
Jun 27, 2008
Determining the best affiliate programs required research which began with developing search criteria. Since there were many attributes to use for the criteria, several being subjective, the best attribute was determined to be the click through rate (CTR). After deciding the criteria, then the affiliate programs which had the highest CTR were determined.
Affiliate Program Attributes
Even though CTR was decided as the primary criteria, there are many other subjective attributes which influence CTR. These other subjective factors influencing CTR include:
- Affiliate website design
- Search engine optimization (SEO) effectiveness
- Search engine marketing (SEM) effectiveness
- Affiliate website content strength
- Products and services popularity on affiliate website
- Affiliate advertising efforts using Google Adwords, Yahoo Marketing, etc.
Information on affiliate marketing can be found by visiting 10 Affiliate Marketing Tips.
Best Affiliate Programs
These are the current best 10 affiliate programs; what they sell and how affiliates are compensated (they are listed in no specific order).
- Amazon.com – their current affiliate program includes large, well-known sites, niche content sites and blogs, comparison shopping engines, search engine marketers, and everything in between. They provide up to 10% compensation for all click through referrals.
- Shopzilla – their current affiliate program allows building contextually relevant shopping links and advertisements which they integrate into their content sites. Affiliates can earn up to 60% of the revenue generated from click through traffic.
- Orbitz – is an online travel company offering travelers a wide selection of low airfares. They also offer travelers deals on lodging, car rentals, cruises, vacation packages, and other travel. Affiliates are compensated when transactions occur and are based on a flat rate for each type of transaction.
- zZounds.com – affiliates are compensated when visitors click through and make a music purchase from their website. Commission is 6% of purchase total. Commissions are up to 10.8% if there are no other music companies listed on the affiliate website.
- Hydra Network – offers non-exclusive campaigns which generate high responses from a targeted audience. They provide daily e-mails to keep affiliates informed. Pay per Click is used for payment and also rewards are given to affiliates based on monthly sales.
- Advanta Bank Corp – provides affiliates a compensation of $65.00 for every approved credit card, which is based on click through an affiliate’s website.
- eHealth Insurance – provides affiliates with a commission based on the purchase of health insurance policies.
- LinkConnector – compensates affiliates on Pay per Call (visitor calls merchant) or Pay per Go (visitor clicks on to another website hosted by the merchant).
- AzoogleAds – affiliates are compensated for each visitor to an affiliate website completes a specific action which leads to sales of products or services.
- Scholastic Store Online – affiliates are compensated 7% of total sales resulting from a click through the affiliate’s website.
These are the current top 10 affiliate programs based on CTR, after completing the criteria-based research. One major influencing factor for those who want to become affiliates are the subjective criteria listed above. These subjective criteria are all known critical attributes of lucrative affiliate program websites. A thorough research into any affiliate program being considered is highly recommended for those considering this venture.
