Best Web Hosting Affiliate Programs
Web hosting is a highly productive and lucrative niche that you can tap into if you’re in the right field. If you are a seasoned affiliate marketer, you probably know that digital products, whether courses in the education space or actual plugins and web services, can make you a lot of money.
In today’s article, we’re looking at some of the best web hosting affiliate programs out there. For each and every one, we will specify the cookie duration and the commission rates you can expect.
If we come across any other additional information, such as how these companies pay or the frequency of the payments, we’ll make sure to include those details, too. So, without further ado, here are our web hosting affiliate program reviews.
Top web hosting affiliate programs
Bluehost web hosting affiliate program
This platform has become very popular over the course of the past several years as the brand is well-known for offering budget-friendly hosting options that actually work well.
The commission rates you can expect if you become a Bluehost affiliate range between $65 and $120 per sale. As for how they pay their affiliates, you don’t have to worry about anything in this respect.
The company uses Paypal to process all payments, which is why you can be based anywhere in the world and still be able to withdraw your money without any hassle. We have to note that there is a 45-day waiting period and a $100 threshold.
HostGator
We created a separate review of HostGator in the past, so if you have some time on your hands, we strongly suggest you give it a read. You’ll find all the information regarding the affiliate program there, including what you should know about the cookie length and commission.
But since you’re here, we’ll tell you in short. You can make as much as $125 per referral, and the cookie lasts for 60 days. If you get lots of people to try the brand’s products, you might be able to earn higher commissions.
Cloudways
This one is without a doubt one of the highest-paying web hosting affiliate programs out there, and that’s because they offer commissions that can go up to $200 per sale.
They have a somewhat tiered process where based on your performance; you can make anything between $30 and $125/sale, or you can pick a hybrid version or a custom one depending on what you believe would yield the best results.
One thing we have to note about this program is that while it is self-managed (so you will have to sign up and handle everything on the company’s website), it does have affiliate managers that can assist you throughout your journey.
Liquid Web web hosting affiliate program
Is this the best-paying web hosting affiliate program currently available? We don’t know for sure since many of these brands change their requirements, commissions, and restrictions all the time. But we’d say that it is at the top of the list.
And the reason for that is that while they pay different commissions based on whatever products your audience chooses, the rates are pretty high. For example, for dedicated hosting, depending on the features your referral picks, you can earn as much as $7,000 per signup.
The lowest commissions are for VPS hosting, which will get you anything between $150 to $300 per sale, but other than that, all of their services will make you pretty good money.
The cookie length is 90 days, which is not bad at all considering that of other options we have showcased here. But you will also have to wait for a period of 90 days before being able to withdraw your commissions, which can be frustrating for some affiliates.
Hostinger
While it might not make you the big bucks like some of the other programs we’ve mentioned here, we say that Hostinger is still worth your attention. And that’s because it is extremely versatile and the company’s services are also pretty good.
The cookie lasts for 30 days, which could be a lot worse, and the commission rate that you can expect is somewhere around 60% of the value of any product that your audience chooses. That doesn’t sound bad, either, right?
Finally, we’d also like to note that you can become a Hostinger affiliate and manage everything through a number of networks — which automatically sets Hostinger aside from its competitors. And these platforms are CJ Affiliate, Impact, as well as Tune. So, if you already use any of these, check Hostinger out.
Read more: Best SAAS affiliate programs
iPage
This free web hosting affiliate program has some of the highest commission rates that we have come across. While the maximum rate is $150 per referral (tops), the minimum one is $105, which means that this one is quite generous with its affiliates.
The downside is that this one isn’t run through any affiliate network. And there’s another caveat — iPage will accept affiliates based anywhere in the world right now, but the payment will strictly be made in US dollars.
The program itself is pretty easy to get into, but all of the promotional materials can only be found on the company website. Maybe in the future, something will change about this, and the brand will begin working with a number of networks.
Kinsta
The best thing about this web hosting affiliate program is that it has recurring commissions over an endless period. Yes, you read that right – Kinsta has 10% monthly recurring lifetime commissions.
Your earnings as a Kinsta affiliate will vary depending on the exact plan that your audience chooses. For example, the Starter plan will earn you just $50 while the Business one will get you $150.
As for the tracking cookie, it lasts for two whole months, but it also takes two months for your earnings to be approved and then sent into your PayPal account.
Rocket
Rocket sells managed WordPress hosting, so if you’re in the WP niche and write about hosting, managing a site, or plugins, this one should be right up your alley.
In terms of the brand’s program, it’s really not bad. What we do have to add with regard to it is that the cookie duration depends on the network you use for managing everything. If you are a Rocket affiliate through ShareASale, you’ll get a tracking period of 90 days.
If you use Tapfiliate, the cookie length will be just 60 days by comparison. In any case, the commission rates you can expect in both cases go up to $150.
SiteGround
This one has been around for quite some time now, and while the service might have experienced some technical issues in the past, that’s all resolved now.
The Siteground affiliate program is pretty decent in that you can make anything ranging from $50 to $125 per referral, depending on your performance. For example, you’ll get the lowest rate if you generate just five sales, meaning $50. If you get as many as 20 conversions, you’ll make $125 per referral.
Another aspect that sets SiteGround aside from the rest of the big names listed in this article is that this one pays its affiliates weekly. There is a 30-day waiting period for your commissions to be approved, but even that’s shorter compared to what other brands can offer.
WP Engine
If you’re in the right niche, this affiliate program might be right up your alley. It can make you as much as $200 per sale, and the best thing about it is that you will be paid on a monthly basis through your ShareASale account.
So yes, this program is managed through an affiliate network, which can only be an advantage if you are an affiliate of several different brands.
One thing that we found rather impressive about WP Engine is that while other programs offer cookies that can last for just 30 days (or less), this one can offer you a tracking duration of 180 days.
And while the commissions are not recurring, at least you will be able to make some even if your referrals have a hard time deciding on a product and make a late purchase.
Shopify
As you probably know by now, this one isn’t a web hosting service in itself — it’s more geared toward people who want to build their own online shop. But the truth is that the platform is extremely easy to utilize, and since it’s anything but cheap, you are likely to earn pretty decent commissions with the program.
The rates go up to $200 depending on the plans that your blog readers will be picking, and the cookie duration is 30 days. This is an affiliate program that’s fully managed by Shopify itself, so you are not going to find it on any platform.
Weebly
This company takes the hassle out of making a website and helps users that have pretty much nothing in common with technology build their own beautiful-looking blogs or sites.
The Weebly affiliate program is a pretty good choice in our opinion as the commission rate is a standard 30% on all products. The cookie is definitely worth writing home about since it lasts for 120 days.
And finally, the best part of everything is that you can manage your affiliate account through ShareASale.
A2 Hosting
This one is yet another decent option if you’re looking for higher commissions. The rates range from $85 to $140, so the lowest ones aren’t as low as would be the case with other affiliate programs.
The trick is that you need to make at least $100 in commissions every month to be able to withdraw your money during that specific month. Otherwise, you will have to wait for yet another month.
Another positive of this affiliate program is that the cookie lasts for 90 days.
Flywheel
There’s not a lot to say about this program strictly because we couldn’t find a lot of information about it. It was acquired by WP Engine a couple of years ago.
Flywheel runs its own referral program, so you aren’t going to find this name on any affiliate platform. What we can tell you about it is that the commission rate can go up to $500 depending on the services your audience picks.
GoDaddy
We had to leave this one toward the end because it both has some of the lowest commission rates in the industry, but also a pretty shady reputation. GoDaddy services aren’t really praised by the users, and if you need any clarification about that, you can simply look for several reviews.
While the affiliate program does have its own merit since it’s managed through CJ Affiliate and has a cookie length of 45 days, the 15% commission rate is downright laughable compared to what other companies showcased here offer.
How to promote web hosting affiliate programs
First of all, you have to be in the right niche. For example, if you own a pet blog, you could suggest your audience try out a web hosting product as much as you want, but the chances of them actually purchasing that product or trying that service are going to be very slim.
But if you are lucky enough to be in the right niche, you can use your affiliate links here and there. There’s also the option of you writing actual reviews of services that you yourself have tried in the past, but you need to make sure that they are trustworthy and unbiased.
If your audience already knows how you write and your personality — and this is probably the case if you manage a blog, not a website — they are not going to respond well to you recommending products that are bad or that you haven’t even tried.
We also feel compelled to point out the importance of research in this situation, both before creating your website and once you’ve decided to recommend some of these services.
Look at what your competitors are doing and see which keywords they are targeting. Using tools such as Ahrefs or SEMRush, you can get a lot of in-depth information about your competition and realize what you are supposed to do to get an advantage.
Not all affiliate websites are successful, and that can happen for several different reasons. One of them is their owners being discouraged by the fact that they are not seeing results in the first few months after creating the site.
No matter what happens, keep updating your blog or site based on a keyword research and competition analysis plan, and you’ll see results at one point.
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Craig Campbell
I am a Glasgow based SEO expert who has been doing SEO for 22 years.
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