Top 5 Pay-Per-Click Affiliate Programs for Bloggers

Bloggers are always in search of good Pay-per-click affiliate programs to monetize their blog. In old times, Amazon was the most favorite but now there are lots of options available. In this post we will discuss some of the best programs and their pros and cons:

Google Adsense

The first one is really a no brainer. As every blogger wants to start his/her affiliate journey with Google Adsense or simply known as Adsense. The most preferred search engine Google owns and runs this high revenue generating affiliate program network. You have to sign up for the program if you want to get ad units as a publisher. This way you can use your publisher account to generate income through the ads posted by the search engine on your blog/website.

Once you sign up, you will get a unique ID. This is used to make ad codes for your website so you can start earning money. There are many reasons which make Google Adsense to rank at first number in the Pay-per-click affiliate programs’ list. Here are some of its pro and cons:

Pros

1. Requires Low Traffic:

If you post good quality and plagiarism free content on your blog or website, you will not face any trouble in getting approval. Its minimum traffic threshold is 100 or more unique viewers per day which is easy to achieve. This requirement is applicable even if your blog has a sub level domain.

2. Supports Multiple Languages:

This is the only publisher network which supports posting ads in different languages. To be exact, ads can be posted in over thirty languages.

3. Multiple Monetization Choices:

When you sign up as a publisher, Adsense does not restrict you to generate income only through posting ads directly on your blog or site. You can make money through mobile site, online games, search, videos and feed etc.

4. Ads show up very quick:

The best thing is you don’t have to wait. Google AdWords has been working with a huge number of advertisers so ads will show up in the ads space as soon as you enter the ad code on your website or blog.

5. Ad Formats Options:

There are various formats in which you can publish Adsense ads on your blog or website for earning money such as display ads, text ads, link ads, video ads and rich media ads.

6. Publishers have highest revenue share:

If you choose Google Adsense, you will generate greater share in revenue as compared to others. You will earn 68% of revenue share in content and in case of search you will earn 51%.

7. Different countries, different payment methods:

Google Adsense allows its publishers to receive payments depending on their countries. This means your payments are readily available for your use.

Cons

1. Strict uniqueness rule:

Not even single of your posted blog or article should be flagged for plagiarism otherwise your Adsense account will not be approved. This is also applied to the content which was yours and later it was copied by someone else.

2. High payment threshold:

You cannot withdraw your earnings until they reach $100 which can be hard to achieve for small businesses.

Commission Junction

Now it has become C Affiliate, it is one of the most wide-ranging Pay-per-click affiliate programs available. Even those who have indulged in affiliate marketing for short period would have used it. Commission Junction is like one-stop shop in this niche as all major sellers are working with it. Publishers have greater control as they can use numerous creative sizes. Following are its pros and cons:

Pros

1. Extensive Network:

Currently it is working with over three thousand different merchants. Also it offers flexibility with regard to creative sizes and affiliate links. All of these features make this network capable of providing you the most appropriate as for your blog or site.

2. Payment Security:

Commission Junction uses net-20 payment system. Every month, you will receive the payment on time.

3. Comprehensive Reporting:

Its reporting system has amazing capabilities which means you can perform optimization tweaks with your ads’ configuration.

Cons

1. Difficult for Beginners:

The above-mentioned reporting features are not easy to comprehend for the bloggers who are new in the game.

2. Not enough customer support:

In case of any query, you have to fill a contact form and full scale customer care is not provided.

Amazon Associates

It is the most extensive affiliate network of all with 1.5 million merchant. Amazon Associates mechanism is easy to understand and user friendly which makes it ideal for beginners and non-tech persons. Some publishers think it cannot generate high revenue but that’s not true. Amazon Associates is one of the best affiliate programs. Here are some of its pros and cons:

Pros

1. Easy to grasp:

The user interface is uncluttered and intuitive, ideal for pros and beginners both.

2. Maximum flexibility:

Every day, millions of products are sold on Amazon which means you can select from numerous ads/links to place on your blog.

Cons

1. Low rate of commissions:

The starting threshold for commissions is merely 4%, which shows that you have to make lots of sales through your ads before the affiliation is viable.

2. Pay cycle is extended:

Amazon employs the net-60 model which means you will only get a payment for a sale if it becomes two months old.

LinkShare

It is one of the pioneers in affiliate marketing industry. LinkShare has some features which makes it different from other affiliate networks. The multiple versions of ads would be automatically rotated. All you have to do is to put a one code snippet. These are some of its pros and cons:

Pros

1. Deep linking flexibility:

You can select the web page of the seller’s site that the ad link is directed to. This allows you to better gauge the best way to funnel purchases.

2. Ads are rotated:

Some would say it is a minor feature but it can prove handy in streamlining how much time and efforts you would spend in management/optimization.

Cons

1. Small Affiliate Network:

LinkShare is much smaller than most of its competitors. You will have fewer opportunities to get a profitable program.

2. Payments are unpredictable:

You will get your share once the commission is collected by the seller, which leads to erratic payments.

ClickBank

If you are selling digital products along with blogging, then you should consider opting for this affiliate program. It has an excellent history of in time payments. You can easily configure your affiliate programs and payments as it’s a payment processor. Its pros and cons are given below:

Pros

1. Huge number of products to promote:

Once you have registered in this program, you don’t have to register for each product separately.

2. Timely Payments:

Checks are directly deposited to every affiliate after one or two weeks. You will get your payment even if the seller’s business goes bankrupt.

3. High commission rates:

ClickBank primarily deals in digital products which mean you will get high commission than other programs.

Cons

1. Payment Threshold:

Like Adsense you will have to meet a certain payment threshold before your first pay-out.

2. Product Scams:

Sadly, this is a possibility on ClickBank so don’t opt for those products which have more than 10% return rate.

All of these are the best Pay-per-click affiliate programs for bloggers.

Join one of these and start making money!

Image credits: media.licdn

Yasir Zeb

Digital marketing enthusiast and industry professional in Digital technologies, Technology News, Mobile phones, software, gadgets with vast experience in the tech industry, I have a keen interest in technology, News breaking.