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Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to earn income from blogging or content creation in general, people earn thousands of dollars a month using some of the websites that I will mention below.
As a travel blogger myself, I can personally say that I use every program from the list that you will see and I have been extremely happy with the results over the year that I have used them.
There are a couple of factors that I consider very important when choosing the right affiliate program.
Cookie duration is the most important one, in my opinion, cookies are a piece of data that is generated when a person clicks an affiliate link, this is how companies track and pay commission to you.
Cookie duration varies from company to company and can be from a session (the person has to buy that product/service in that season that she/he is on the website) to 60 days (If a person clicked your link and then left without buying if she/he returns to that page in 60 days since they clicked your link and they buy something you will earn the commission from that purchase).
Commission rates are percentages that companies pay you once somebody buys their service/product, as you can imagine a higher commission rate means a better affiliate program.
A lot of programs have tiered commissions, so if you bring in 10 customers you will earn 15% commission, but if you bring in 25 customers you will earn 25% and so on, which is amazing if you have a website with lots of traffic.
This blog post combines the best cookie duration and commission rates so you do not have to explore the web and think a lot about which one is the best for me.
ShareASale is one of the best and well-known Affiliate networks in the world, they have over 3,900 affiliate programs, and every day they have more.
There you can choose from various categories and preferences that you want and they will give you the best suggestions. ShareASale features Skyscanner, Rebook, SemRush, Etsy, and more.
ShareASale is free for everybody to enter, but some programs have some requirements.
CJ Affiliate is one of the most popular affiliate networks outside the US, they have over 1,500 companies and some of the best affiliate programs out there. They feature companies such as GoPro, Intercontinental, Skyscanner, and more.
CJ affiliates is free for everybody to enter, but some programs have some requirements.
The only Affiliate network that is solely devoted to traveling. They have the widest range of affiliate programs meant just for travelers.
They have over 60 options for you to choose from so you will surely find something in every category, hotels, flights, cars, rentals, and more.
Travel Payouts is free for everybody to enter, but some programs have some requirements.
As you may know, Amazon is the largest e-commerce website in the world, and due to that I think it is pretty much a must to sign up for their affiliate program, their commissions and cookie length are not great, but when taken into consideration that you can find almost any product here to put in your blog I think it is worth it.
Amazon Associates is free for everybody to enter, and you can immediately start linking products from Amazon to your website.
Skyscanner is known to be a number one site when it comes to airline prices and searching for that one deal. Skyscanner offers flights from all around the world and it is pretty easy to book them also.
Their affiliate program depends on where you are located (Europe, the USA, or any other country), but they offer a decent commission, from 20% for all referrals that you make. So if Skyscanner makes $20 you will earn $4.
The great thing is, if you are registered in CJ Affiliates you can sign up for the Skyscanner affiliate program through there.
Expedia has a popular affiliate program that is great for travel bloggers. Their program offers a 6% commission rate per sale with great tools such.
You can join the Expedia Affiliate program with CJ affiliates.
Priceline is an affiliate program that not only offers transportation but a bunch of other things, such as packaging, hotels, flights, cars, and much more.
Their Commission is around 3 to 4%, and their cookie duration is 30 days.
Probably the most well know and spread out accommodation booking site in the world, booking due to being so large can help you earn a decent amount of money through it.
The site has over 2 million properties worldwide that you can choose from, commission varies on the amount of booking that you do, and here is the breakdown.
The commissions are all based on a percentage of the commission that Booking.com receives:
Important things to know
Cookie Duration – reservation-based (if a person does not do the reservation immodestly you will not receive a commission)
A lot of tools to promote on the website – Search box, Find offers, Deep-links, WordPress plugin
Airbnb is one of the most popular and largest accommodation booking sites in the world, they have an affiliate program and a referral program.
The affiliate program is for bloggers that have at least 1 million monthly page views (as of now 2021, Airbnb does not accept new affiliates at the moment). The program has no fixed structure of the commission, but their commission is measured and decided by their account managers.
A referral program is something that anybody can enter, from your friend that does not have a blog to you. Here you do not earn cash, but you earn credit on each booking with your referral code, and that is counted in your wallet in Airbnb that you can use on your booking around the world.
You can earn up to $95 per booking and a maximum amount of $5000 in credit.
Agoda has one of the best Accommodation affiliate programs out there. Their program is open to everyone, but it is mandatory to have a website in order to apply.
The application process is pretty easy and takes usually from 48-72 hours.
Important things to know:
If you are a world traveler you know how VPN is important, especially in Asian and African countries where some websites can be restricted from the government.
That is where NordVPN comes in, not only because it is amazing and I use it almost on where trip that I go to, but it also offers some may be the best affiliate programs out there.
Important things to know:
TransferWise has become a number on banking service when it comes to travelers. Their Transferswise Borderless account card lets travelers take out cash without the additional currency exchange fee.
Also, their card can be opened from anywhere in the world, and you can easily transfer money.
Get Your Guide has one of the best affiliate programs when it comes to booking tours and activities around the world, from cooking classes in Indonesia to exploring Los Angeles with a local travel guide.
They offer a base commission of 8% with increases as time goes with more bookings.
Important things to know:
World Nomad is one of the largest and most well know digital nomad travel insurance companies.
They offer an amazing amount of flexibility and their insurance is available for anybody in the world.
Of course with that, they have one of the best affiliate programs for insurance out here, with commission starting at 10%. Every person that travels needs good travel insurance, so this way you can promote an amazing product and with that earn a decent amount.
Important things to know:
Hello! I’m Sara, a Croatian native. I’ve traveled all over the world and have knocked out some amazing cities and countries off my bucket list.
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