Affiliate marketing is a great way to monetize your blog, but let’s be real: relying on Amazon’s affiliate program can feel like a gamble. They’ve cut commission rates multiple times, leaving creators frustrated and with unpredictable income.
So, why stick to a single income stream when there are countless other affiliate programs out there? Let’s dive into how you can find profitable affiliate programs in your niche — and how to filter out the ones that just aren’t worth your time.
Why diversifying tour affiliate income matters?
If Amazon keeps being unpredictable (and let’s be honest, it probably will), it’s time to take control of your income. Relying on just one source for affiliate commissions is risky, especially when there are so many better options out there. But before diving into new affiliate programs, you need to understand what makes an offer actually worth promoting. Not every program will be a winner, so it’s crucial to choose wisely if you want to make real, steady money.
What makes a good affiliate program?
When choosing affiliate programs, Tony Hrvoic, Founder of Marhit, has a simple rule of thumb:
- It makes money — you need to get a decent return for your time and effort.
- It doesn’t wreck your reputation — you want your audience to stay happy with their purchases.
It’s tempting to promote any product that offers a high payout, but if that product is subpar, you’ll lose trust with your audience in the long run. And without trust, your blog won’t survive.
How to find affiliate programs for your SEO Blog
Let’s break down the step-by-step process for finding affiliate programs that will actually work for your blog.
- Look for products with good value for money
Start by finding products that offer a good price-to-value ratio. It doesn’t have to be the best product in the market, but it should be something that’s worth the price.
Why? Because products with poor value often offer higher commissions to attract affiliates. But promoting low-quality products for a big payout will eventually backfire — your audience will catch on and may stop trusting your recommendations.
Take Bluehost, for example. Many blogs recommend it as the “best” hosting service for new bloggers, but it’s not necessarily the top choice for serious users.
Here’s another example:
And another one:
So, why do so many affiliates push it? Because it pays $105 per sale. But promoting products just for the payout can hurt your long-term relationship with your readers.
It won’t take long before your audience starts calling you a sellout if you push low-quality products. Once that happens, people will stop trusting you, and your chances of growing a loyal following will disappear. That’s why it’s so important to choose affiliate offers that are a good deal for your audience and actually worth their money.
Trust is everything, and promoting valuable products will help you build it.
- Calculate earnings potential (not just payouts)
It’s easy to get blinded by high commission rates, but that’s only half the story. You also need to consider how well the product converts. A high payout is worthless if no one is buying.
Let’s compare two products:
- Product A: $10 per sale, converts at 8%
- Product B: $50 per sale, converts at 1%
If you send 1,000 visitors to each offer, Product A will make $800, while Product B will only bring in $500. Even though Product A pays less per sale, its higher conversion rate means more money in your pocket.
Some affiliate programs will gladly tell you their conversion rates upfront, which can be helpful.
However, take this information with a grain of salt — just because they say it converts well doesn’t mean it always does. It’s easy to make big claims, but the reality might be different.
Look for affiliate programs that not only offer decent payouts but also have strong sales pages and a smooth checkout experience. This will increase the chances of conversions and put more money in your pocket without extra effort.
This will increase the chances of conversions and put more money in your pocket without extra effort.
- Find affiliate offers your competitors are promoting
One of the easiest ways to find profitable affiliate programs is to **spy on your competitors**. If they’re actively promoting a product, chances are it’s making them money.
Here’s how you do it:
- Analyze tracking links: Use a tool like Ahrefs to find out which affiliate programs your competitors are promoting.
Simply copy their affiliate tracking link, plug it into Ahrefs, and check the backlink profile to see which sites are linking to the program.
And you’ll even get to see which specific programs they’re promoting:
- Check their outgoing links: Another strategy is to run your competitor’s domain through Ahrefs’ ‘Site Explorer’ feature.
Check out their ‘Linked Domains’ report to see which affiliate programs they’re linking to most often.
Here’s how it works: Start by clicking on the “Link to target” dropdown to see which websites my competitor is linking to the most.
Next, scroll through the list until you spot affiliate networks or programs they’re promoting.
For each tracking link, use the ‘Links from target’ dropdown to see exactly which pages on their site contain those affiliate links.
An added bonus? You can also see how long they’ve been promoting each offer, which is a good sign it’s making them money.
Finally, you can run the URLs of those pages through ‘Site Explorer’ to check how much traffic they’re getting.
This is a great way to discover new affiliate opportunities that are already working for others in your niche.
Other ways to find affiliate programs
If you don’t want to rely solely on competitor research, there are a few other ways to find affiliate programs:
- Google search: A simple search like “niche + affiliate programs” will turn up plenty of options. But you’ll still need to vet each one to make sure it’s worth your time.
- Reddit: Communities like r/AffiliateMarketing are full of discussions about which affiliate programs are working and which are a waste of time. It’s a great place to get honest feedback from other marketers.
- Affiliate Networks: Platforms like CJ Affiliate and ClickBank allow you to sort offers by metrics like earnings or conversion rates.
While this method is more hit or miss, it can still help you find some promising programs.
How to test new affiliate programs
Once you’ve found a few new affiliate programs, don’t rush to replace all your Amazon links. Instead, test them one step at a time:
- Pick one of your top-earning pages and replace the Amazon links with links from the new affiliate program;
- Track the page’s earnings for 30 days;
- If you make more money, expand the test to a few more pages. If you make less, either try a different page or cut the program altogether.
This slow-and-steady approach ensures you don’t accidentally hurt your income while experimenting with new programs.
Finding the right affiliate programs for your blog takes time and effort. Not every program will be a winner, but by focusing on value, conversion rates, and competitor insights, you can discover offers that boost your income without sacrificing your audience’s trust.
Conclusion
Finding truly profitable affiliate programs takes time and effort. That’s why you’ll notice most affiliate sites still stick with Amazon Associates— it’s the easy, familiar option.
I mean, with over 736,000 domains pointing to Amazon, it seems like a no-brainer, right?
But here’s the thing: switching away from Amazon is hard work. It’s easier to rely on what’s already working, even if there are better opportunities out there.
Once you find the right affiliate programs, you’ll have more control over your income and feel less dependent on Amazon’s unpredictable commissions. So, take the time to research, test, and optimize — and soon you’ll see the rewards.
