We list the best affiliate marketing platforms, to make it simple and easy to increase business sales using additional income streams.
Affiliate marketing is the key to generating income from websites that might otherwise struggle to sell advertising space, or else serve as an additional income for those websites already active in the advertising space.
The concept of affiliate marketing is relatively simple: you sign up for a program for a particular product or service, and if accepted for it, you can then use existing marketing materials and/or links with a unique URL. In the event that someone signs up for that product or service using that URL, you earn a commission.
As a way of making money online it sounds easy enough, but there are a lot of potential complications with affiliate marketing. For a start, the affiliate tracking must be precise and accurate, so that you are rewarded for the sales you actually made.
On top of that, you need products and services of actual interest to consumers. While many big brands are actively involved in affiliate marketing, there are various restrictions that may make them less attractive than alternatives.
For example, the time between a customer clicking a link and making a sale can be a number of days, so affiliate tracking that takes this into account will likely be more favorable to the affiliate marketer than ones that only reward instant sales, and therefore ignore the possibility of browsing.
You also need to actively promote affiliate products, something a lot of website owners overlook - or even overdo. But done right, and with enough traffic in play, it's possible to make income from it.
To determine the best affiliate marketing software, we evaluated various affiliate marketing platforms. We considered how hassle-free the application and acceptance process was, the product catalog diversity, commission rates, ease of use, and the quality of the products, among other aspects.
Here then are the best affiliate marketing software programs currently available.
We've also highlighted the best website builder software.
The best affiliate marketing platform of 2024 in full:
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Best affiliate marketing platform overall
Just about everyone already has an Amazon account and buys from them, so it certainly makes sense to partner with them as an affiliate marketer through their Amazon Associates program.
It's free to join, and once accepted to the program you can sell any Amazon product, including third-party ones without getting into individual programs. You also get the opportunity to receive commissions on not only the specific product that was advertised, but any other purchases that are made at Amazon for 24 hours post-referral.
Signing up to Amazon Associates is a generally pain-free experience - unlike some other platforms where you need to apply for each affiliate product/service separately. With Amazon, you have a single sign-up and can promote any of its products and services afterward. This can be especially handy as Amazon frequently do promotions specific to services, such as Amazon Prime or business accounts, making it potentially more lucrative than individual product links.
However, Amazon does change its terms quite frequently, and sometimes this has resulted in a reduction of commission across various product ranges, so that the earnings potential available now is lower than it was a few years ago. Even still, it can be a handy way of monetizing existing links to Amazon that you might be using anyway, and the ease of use is second-to-none.
Best affiliate marketing platform for choice
Awin is a huge affiliate marketing platform that accommodates a wide range of advertisers, services, and products.
Publishers can sort through different advertisers to apply for the products or services that might work best, then if accepted, apply targeted links to generate an affiliate income.
Awin does enjoy a lot of brand companies offering a wide range of products and services, so there is a lot of choice. However, this means that a single brand might offer multiple products that need to be signed up for individually, such as for financial services.
Additionally, some brands can be very picky about the publishers they will work with, and even though you might successfully apply to one service from a company, you might find your application rejected from promoting a similar service by the same company.
Overall, though, despite there being such a huge amount of choice the platform is actually quite easy to use, though applying for individual services can be quite time consuming, especially if you think your website(s) might be fit for a number of different companies and/or services.
Best affiliate marketing platform for links
CJ Affiliate is a popular affiliate marketing program with global reach, formerly known as Commission Junction which goes back to 1998. CJ Affiliate features Product Widgets that are embedded on your site, and can then feature multiple products via a slideshow, collage or grid to increase sales. Additional functionality includes deep link automation to automatically monetize links that lead to a CJ advertiser domain, and real-time transaction monitoring.
While this all sounds good, the stumbling block is the application process. First you need to apply with your website, which needs to be found worthy of becoming a partner, based on traffic, optimization and quality of content.
However, this is only the first step, as then you need to apply individually to each vendor for the products that you wish to sell, and you may not be accepted into their individual affiliate programs, making this one of the harder programs to get up and running with.
Best affiliate marketing platform for commission rates
Clickbank is a major affiliate marketer which has been around for years, with 200 million customers. It features a variety of products to partner with, across many categories, particularly eBooks. It is simple for a novice to get started as anyone can create an online account, and it is free with no signup fee, so it is great for startups.
It is also known for having a much higher commission rate than other affiliate marketers. It even runs a Clickbank University to teach the ins and outs of affiliate marketing to those new to the field or curious about what affiliate marketing has to offer.
One of the only downsides of Clickbank is that most of the products for sale are eBooks, and while they span several categories, most are lower quality offerings, without brand recognition.
Best SaaS affiliate marketing platform
JVZoo takes a SaaS approach to affiliate marketing. Product creators can list their products in their marketplace for free, and JVZoo gets a standard 5% commission on anything that sells - and nothing before that. Marketing affiliates get instant payments to their PayPal accounts as soon as the item sells, with no payout threshold required.
In addition, there is an opportunity to make money as affiliates can get a cut of sales of any affiliates that they have recruited, termed a ‘Second Tier Commission.’ Finally, if the buyer that was referred purchases another product (that was not specifically referred), the affiliate gets the commission - permanently.
The downsides include that payments are only made via the PayPal platform, with no option for direct bank transfers. Also, looking at the top-selling products, they are all digital downloads, and of lower quality, that could potentially lower the quality of a website. Finally, the affiliate marketing commissions will be taken back for a buyer that requests a refund.
Best affiliate marketing platform for sign-up
ShareASale is another affiliate marketer, with a longstanding reputation across eighteen years, and was acquired last year by Awin, an international affiliate marketer. It features a large catalog of products to partner with from beauty supplies, to branded sports gear, luxury goods, and eyewear- almost 5,000 vendors in total, making it easy to find products that tie into your site.
With so many options, ShareASale uses a Power Rank system to clue you in to the most popular vendors. The signup process to get started has no cost, and is quite painless, with owners of multiple sites able to sign them all up in ‘one fell swoop.’
The drawbacks of ShareASale center around the payouts. The payout threshold can be difficult to reach for newer websites still building their traffic. In addition, be warned that it reserves the right to delete your account if your account balance remains under $25.
Other affiliate marketing software to consider
There are a number of other affiliate marketing software programs available, including some major platforms not yet covered, which either bring together a large number of vendors under one place, or else are large retail platforms in themselves which offer affiliate payments.
Then there are other programs where you don't even need to add any marketing or product information, but instead have affiliate links or advertising directly automatically inserted into your website pages.
Here we'll look across the board at these affiliate marketing software options:
Tradedoubler is another big advertiser, especially in European markets. Like with CJ Affiliate and Awin, you need to apply to different advertisers to be accepted - once that happens it's easy to get started. You can use simple links, or any of the promotional banners provided.
eBay partner network is specific to the eBay platform, a huge online marketplace populated by many small sellers. The advantage here is that you can list eBay products and be paid for any link clickthroughs that result in sales, without having to actually market any products directly through eBay itself.
Google Adsense may be seen as less of an affiliate program as much as an advertising solution. However, if you're looking to monetize your website you should probably look to Google Adsense as one of, if not the main, source of income for those pages. While the payout isn't high, it does add up, and can help support your affiliate marketing campaign and revenue.
Skimlinks is a program that replaces keywords in your text with paid-for links, from which you get paid per click. The advantage is that the links work directly in your copy so you don't need to make room for adverts, but the disadvantage is that some malware can do something similar, so Skimlinks might not look the best for your users. However, it's another option to consider on topic of your affiliate marketing and Adsense to help provide an additional revenue stream.
We've also listed the best content marketing tools.
Best affiliate marketing platform FAQs
What is affiliate marketing software?
Affiliate marketing is when an affiliate earns a commission for marketing and selling a company or person's products or services. Affiliate marketing software platforms offer affiliate programs and opportunities to marketers.
How to choose the best affiliate marketing software for you?
With the best affiliate marketing software, you can supercharge your affiliate sales. But you’ll have to look at many factors before selecting the right affiliate marketing software for yourself.
You’ll first want to consider how effortless the registration process is, whether it’s free or paid, and the size, variety, and quality of the product catalog. You’ll want to look at the commission rates across different product categories and the payout thresholds.
And if you’re a beginner, check if the platform offers relevant tutorials and guides.
How to earn money from Minecraft and other game servers
We asked Nick Gillett, Co-Founder and Managing Director at PlayerLands, an online platform that allows developers to monetise their games, and players to buy and trade virtual goods, for his views on how almost anyone can earn money doing what they love doing best, playing games.
Block-based gaming juggernaut Minecraft celebrated its 11th anniversary this year. That’s 11 years of digging, crafting and building that has seen Minecraft become the best-selling video game of all time with more than 200 million copies sold.
For reference, second-placed Grand Theft Auto 5 sits way behind on 135 million copies sold. Nothing else comes close at least on desktop. With that kind of pulling power, it’s no surprise Microsoft forked out $2.5 billion to acquire Minecraft from developer Mojang in 2014.
Incredibly, the momentum behind Minecraft shows no signs of slowing. In fact, powered in part by the vast numbers spending more time at home under pandemic measures, Minecraft saw a 25% increase in new players earlier in the year, and a 40% spike in multiplayer sessions.
But Microsoft isn’t the only one licking its lips as new gamers roll in, hungry for extra content and customised items. Players who run their own servers, which enable Minecraft’s giant community to interact and communicate with each other in a single game world, can also offer new and unique experiences.
It’s an enticing opportunity for any content creator, and even for hobbyists and students who may find they have extra time on their hands and wish to monetise their creations by selling in-game items to fans and followers.
The problem is that handling the admin behind content – processing payments, integrating APIs, and managing security just to name a few issues – can be a slow and strenuous process.
The good news for Minecraft server owners, as well at those involved with other games like Rust, CS:GO and Ark, is that new platforms designed to offer a store-front experience are now available to handle the virtual hard work.
These stores are pre-integrated with leading payment partners, so server owners can have them up and running and taking money in a matter of minutes. What’s more, they have anti-fraud features built-in to ensure that payments are not at risk.
As we head towards what is expected be a very digital-based winter in the UK and the UK, audiences for Minecraft and other server-based games could grow further still.
Despite the challenges of COVID-19, one positive for any content creator is that there is a huge audience ready to be entertained. Similarly, a positive for any player is that there is a massive amount of content ready to be explored. Let’s connect the two with a simple and secure platform, ensuring many memorable gaming experiences for this year and beyond.
How we tested the best affiliate marketing software
We analyzed many affiliate marketing platforms to narrow down the best ones.
To start with, we looked at the ease of registration — whether the registration was free or paid, and if it required your website to receive a certain amount of traffic. We looked at the product catalogs and assessed their diversity and quality. We considered the payout thresholds and commission rates across numerous product categories to determine which platforms offered the best rates.
We also looked at the interface of the platforms to check how easy they were to use, and whether they offered comprehensive tutorials and learning programs.
Read more on how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar.
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