Is it difficult for you to choose an affiliate marketing program to start your online business? I believe you have to spend a lot of time with this. This following should be useful for you.

In this article, I am going to show you the top ten affiliate marketing programs (2020 updated) which are popular for online marketers. You are able to compare these programs, in terms of product pricing, commission, cookie life, marketing tools, and also alternative programs. This will help you select a proper affiliate program for your online business.

Top 10 Affiliate Marketing Programs

#1 Google AdSense

Google AdSense is an advertising program operated by Google, founded in 1998 with over 83 billion visitors a month. You can make money online by placing ads, called Google’s AdWords, on your website, blog, or YouTube channel, and then get paid when visitors click on the ads.

There are many types of AdSense Ads, including text, images, video, or audio. This can be one of the fast ways to generate income from the Internet.

Google Adsense Affiliate Program

Product Offers: Google’s AdWords advertising
Commission: Cost-Per-Click (CPC) – approx $0.20 to $15
Payment Schedule: Monthly
Payment Method: Checks, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), Wire Transfer, Western Union Quick Cash
Alternative Programs: Media.net, PropellerAds, RevContent, PopAds, InfoLinks, VigLinks

The Google AdSense is free to join the program, You can also place ads on several websites by using one AdSense account. This is good for you to generate more income. However, you have to exactly understand and follow its rules. Google can terminate your account if you break the rules.

#2 Amazon Associates

Amazon Associates, run by Amazon.com in 1998, is one of the largest and most successful online affiliate marketing in the world with around 5.3 million visitors a monthly (over 2.5 billion monthly visitors on Amazon website). In 2020, more than 1,000,000 members join and make money online with Amazon affiliate program.

Amazon is well-known for buyers worldwide. People trust this marketplace. There are huge numbers of products you can promote. In addition, Amazon has many sales tools to help you in selling the products.

It’s free, and an easy way to monetize your blog or website. You can apply for an Amazon Associates member, and then put Amazon product links or Amazon advertising banners with your affiliate account on your blogs or websites. You will earn referral fees or commission (4 to 10 percent, depending on product and sales volume) when visitors click the links and purchase products from Amazon.

Amazon Associates Affiliate Programs

Product Offers: Toys & Games, Electronics, Books, Clothing, Home & Kitchen, Automotive, Tools, Sports, Appliances, Baby Products, Office Products, Software, and more.
Associates Program Commission: 4%-10% for specific product categories.
Affiliate Cookie Life: 24 hours
Amazon Associates Tools: Site Stripe toolbar, Product links, Stylish graphical banners
Affiliate Support: Phone, 24/7 Live Chat, and email.

If you are an Amazon affiliate member, you have to be clear the Amazon Terms of Service (ToS). Amazon will ban your account if you break the rule. Study more about this.

#3 ClickFunnels

ClickFunnels, founded in 2014, offers a professional landing page and sales funnels platform, with the growth of 19 million monthly visitors in 2020. More than 37% of visitors come from the United States.

ClickFunnels is one of the most lucrative affiliate programs for many online marketers. But to gain this benefit, you really need to have a good recognizing all the opportunities that it provides.

As a member of the ClickFunnels, you can create high-converting sales funnels and email automation quickly. It also provides a free domain, free training, ready-made drag & drop funnel builder templates, and professional services.

ClickFunnels Affiliate Program

Product Offers: Landing Page Builder, Sale Funnel Platform
ClickFunnels Prices Models: Start-Up Plan – $297 per month or Etison Suite Plan – $97 per month
Commission: A monthly recurring commission of up to 40 percent
Cookie Life: Sticks Cookies – NO time limit.
Marketing Tools: Affiliate Links, Sign-Up Page Swipe Files
Affiliate Training: Funnel University, Webinar, ClickFunnels Community
Affiliate Support: Unlimited Chat, Email Support

What’s your dream car: Tesla, Corvette, Ferrari, Lamborghini, or something else?

As a member of the ClickFunnels affiliate program, you are automatically enrolled in our “Dream Car” contest. Are you ready to achieve your dream?

#4 Bluehost

Bluehost, started in 1996, is one of the biggest website hosting service providers. Monthly visitors is 8.1 million.

Bluehost offers free domain names for the 1st year, free SSL certificate, and also free Site Builder with templates. Its starting price is just $2.95 per month (Special intro offer and 30-day money-back guarantee). But the renewal price is higher than average.

Bluehost offers a wide range of hosting service plans with tons of features for the small to large online business with 24/7 customer support. Its products are shared hosting, Cloud hosting, WordPress hosting, WooCommerce hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting, and reseller hosting.

To do business with Bluehost, you can join the Bluehost affiliate and refer visitors to BlueHost website. You can earn a one-time payment of $65 for each qualified sign-up. Because of the high payout, it’s attractive to many affiliates promoting the services.

Bluehost Affiliate Program

Product Offers: Hosting Products – Shared hosting, Cloud hosting, WordPress hosting, WooCommerce hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting, and reseller hosting
Pricing Plans: Basic $3.95/mo, Plus $5.95/mo, Choice Plus $5.95/mo, Pro $13.95/mo
Commission: $65 for each qualified sign-up
Payment Schedule: 45-60 days
Payment Method: PayPal
Cookie Life: 90 days
Marketing Tools: Banner, Product Links, Text Links
Affiliate Training: No official affiliate training
Affiliate Support: 24/7 customer support
Alternative Programs: GoDaddy, NameCheap, Wealthy Affiliate, FlyWheel, WP Engine

Many affiliate marketers like Bluehost affiliate program because of high-paying commission, $65 for each sale. The cookie lifetime, 90 days, is also longer than others. But if you want to withdraw the commission fee, you must have a threshold of at least $100 USD.

#5 WP Engine

WP Engine, founded in 2010, is a WordPress hosting service provider for small business to global enterprise. In 2020, there are approximately 5.4 million visitors per month.

WP Engine Affiliate Program

Product Offers: WordPress Hosting Services
Pricing Plans: Startup $35/mo, Growth $115/mo, Scale $290/mo, Custom – call
Commission: $200+ for WP Engine Sales, 35% of StudioPress theme sales, $50 for 2-tier referral
Payment Schedule: Monthly
Affiliate Network: ShareASale
Cookie Life: 180 days for WP Engine, 60 days for StudioPress theme
Marketing Tools: Online document
Affiliate Support: 24/7 Dedicated affiliate team
Alternative Programs: Flywheel, Bluehost

WP Engine pays a commission of up to $249, a very high number compared to competitors. This attracts online marketers to join the WP Engine affiliate program. Another benefit is the lifetime cookie. You will get a commission whenever the customer referred buys any product.

#6 VigLink

VigLink (Sovrn //Commerce), founded in 2012, specializes in in-text advertising and marketing. VigLink provides outbound-traffic monetization service for publishers, forums, website owners, merchants, bloggers, and affiliate marketers by converting normal outgoing links into affiliate links.

VigLink Affiliate Program

Product Offers: Outbound link monetization tool, VigLink Convert, VigLink Insert, VigLink Anywhere
Commission: 75% of all commission
Referral Program: 35% of the first year referral’s commission
Payment Schedule: Monthly
Payment Method: PayPal, ACH (USA only), Check (USA only), and Bank Wire
Cookie Life: 1-60 days (depend on individual affiliate program’s policy)
Supported Platforms: Blogger, WordPress, phpBB, Tumblr, Typepad, and vBulletin
Alternative Programs: Google AdSense, Skimlinks, Infolinks, Vibrant, BeContext, Amazon Associates

By using VigLink, you as affiliates really don’t need to add links manually. This makes you save a lot of time managing your websites or blogs. However, you can’t control the type of affiliate links. VigLink will automatically add the relevant affiliate links based on your content.

#7 Wealthy Affiliate

Wealthy Affiliate is one of the most well-known affiliate marketing training platforms and communities that help people learn how to start an online business. Wealthy Affiliate did not promise you get-rich-quick, but they teach you to build a sustainable online business.

Wealthy Affiliate Program

Product Offers: Affiliate marketing training programs
Pricing Plans: Starter $0/month, Premium $49/month (Join Free)
Commission: $23 Monthly Recurring, $175 Yearly Recurring (Join Free)
Payment Schedule: Monthly
Payment Method: PayPal
Cookie Life: Lifetime Cookie
Marketing Tools: Affiliate Links, Banners
Affiliate Training: Video Training, Online Entrepreneur Certification, Affiliate Bootcamp
Affiliate Support: 24/7 Help Center, WA Community, Live Chat, Webinar
Alternative Programs: Chris Farrell Membership, Amz Training Academy, CB Passive Income 4.0

Wealthy Affiliate is one of the best affiliate community-centric platform in the world. Marketers can access a wide range of affiliate training courses, research tools, and the WA community. However, to maintain this, you have to pay for a recurring monthly fee.

==> Get In-Depth Wealthy Affiliate Reviews <==

#8 Fiverr

Fiverr, founded in 2009, is one of the world’s largest online marketplace for digital services. In 2020, more than 55 million people visit the Fiverr website per month.

Fiverr offers a wide range of services in over 100 subcategories, including graphics and design, digital marketing, writing and translation, video and animation, music and audio, programming and tech, business consultants, and more.

Fiverr Affiliate Program

Product Offers: Marketplace for digital services
Pricing Plans: Services start from standard $5 to PRO $1000+
Commission: $150 for every first-time purchase (FTB)
Payment Schedule: Monthly
Payment Method: PayPal, Fiverr Revenue Card, Bank Transfer, Direct Deposit (the USA only)
Cookie Life: 30-day cookie
Marketing Tools: Text links
Affiliate Support: Professional support, tutorials, dedicated affiliate manager
Alternative Programs: Gigbucks, Fourerr, Upwork, Freelancer, PeoplePerHour, Guru, TopTal

One of the advantages of the Fiverr affiliate program is the flat rate commission. Fiverr pays fixed commissions of $15 to $150. However, they apply to first-time buyers only.

#9 Shopify

Shopify, established in 2004, offers an eCommerce platform for selling products online. There are over 66 million people (32% of the traffic come from the United States) visit their website in 2020. Shopify can generate annual revenue of more than $637 million in 2017.

Shopify Affiliate Program

Product Offers: eCommerce platform, website builder, point of sales software
Pricing Plans: Basic Shopify $29/mo, Shopify $79/mo, Advanced Shopify $299/mo
Commission: Average of $58 for each sign-up
Payment Schedule: The 15th of the month
Payment Method: PayPal (USD)
Cookie Life: 30-day tracking cookie
Marketing Tools: Affiliate text links, banners
Affiliate Training: eCommerce University
Affiliate Support: 24/7 support, Help Center, phone, email, live chat, affiliate manager
Alternative Programs: Volusion, BigCommerce, OsCommerce, Magento

Shopify Affiliate Testimonial

“I have worked with dozens of companies over my 11 years online, and I have to say that Shopify has been one of the best to work with! Their affiliate managers and program have made it easy for me to promote their product, make money, and provide value to my community”, Ezra Firestone, Smart Marketer

#10 StudioPress

StudioPress, founded in 2007, offers one of the world’s most popular mobile-responsive themes and design frameworks for the WordPress platform. The products are great for website designers, developers, and bloggers.

In 2020, there are more than 269 thousand people visiting their website. They claim over 200,000 customers worldwide be happy with the StudioPress product.

StudioPress Affiliate Program

Product Offers: Premium WordPress themes and plugins
Pricing Plans: Content $24/mo, Commerce $33/mo
Commission: 35% on every sale, 5% sub-affiliate (2-tier) commission
Affiliate Network: ShareASale
Cookie Life: 60-day tracking cookie
Marketing Tools: Text links, Banners, Emails, Datafeed
Alternative Programs: Astra, GeneratePress, Schema, Divi Theme, Voice Theme, X Theme

Conclusion

I hope that this has given you helpful information about the top ten affiliate marketing programs, starting with the top three affiliate programs: Google AdSense, Amazon Associates, and ClickFunnels.

Now it’s your turn, pick an affiliate program you like, do more research, sign up (join) the program, promote its offers, and then earn your commission revenue.

If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to leave your messages below. Thank you very much.

Top Ten Affiliate Marketing Programs – 2020 Updates