Target Affiliate Program Review

Is the Target affiliate program worth joining, or should you opt for a different monetization method for your blog or website? This is the question that we’ll answer in today’s post, so keep on reading. 

Target affiliate program review

1. The basics

If you want to become a Target affiliate, you should be the owner of a family-friendly site, and most of your traffic should come from the US. You are allowed to use the affiliate program for several different sites, but all of them have to be in compliance with Target’s rules. 

In most cases, you can apply and get approved in a timely fashion, but if you are in niches like gambling, drugs, or you post adult content on your blog, you basically have no chance of being accepted. 

Target sells a variety of products from pet supplies and electronics to clothing, home decor, sports items, luggage, kitchen appliances, and anything else that might have crossed your mind. Granted, the range of products isn’t the same as that of Amazon, but it’s still pretty decent. 

The nice thing about this affiliate program is that it has a 7-day cookie, which automatically puts it above Amazon Associates, where the cookie lasts for just 24 hours. 

2. Target affiliate program commission 

The commission rates vary largely from one type of product to the next. For example, in the apparel category, you can make anything between 5 and 8% of each sale, but for beauty and health products, you’re going to get just 1%. 

The same goes for home and outdoor furniture, for which you can earn a commission also between 5 and 8%, but baby gear & furniture is between 3 and 5%. 

The best thing is that the commission rates vary as per the monthly net orders that you refer to. For example, if you refer just 10 orders, you’ll get the smallest commissions, meaning 5% for apparel, 5% for home and outdoor living, 3% for baby products, and 1% for health and beauty. 

But if you refer between 50 and 300 orders, your commissions are going to be 6.5% for apparel, 6.5% for home and outdoor living, 3.75% for baby products, and the same 1% for health and beauty. 

And if you’re lucky enough to refer over 10,000 orders, your commission rates are going to be the maximum ones, so 8% for apparel, 8% for home and outdoor living, 5% for baby gear, and the same 1% for beauty and health. 

Right off the bat, Target’s affiliate program is better than Amazon Associates both in terms of the cookie length and in terms of the commission value. 

As for payment, Target pays its affiliates via Paypal, so that’s one less thing to worry about. 

3. Target vs. Walmart vs. Amazon Associates affiliate programs

We’ll take the minimum amounts for all of these so that you can get a picture of what each of them pays. 

• Target:

Apparel & accessories – 5%

Home & outdoor living – 5%

Baby gear & furniture – 3%

Health & Beauty – 1%

• Walmart:

Apparel & accessories – 4%

Home & outdoor living – 4%

Baby gear & furniture – 4%

Health & beauty – 4%

• Amazon: 

Apparel & accessories – 4%

Home & outdoor living – 3%

Baby gear & products – 3%

Health & Beauty 3%

You can draw the conclusions yourself, but we’d say that unless you’re in the health and beauty niche and you have zero monetization opportunities with Target, it’s better than both Walmart and Amazon Associates. 

However, there is something that you should be aware of and it’s that for some products in some categories, you do not get any commission at all (which obviously isn’t the case with Amazon Associates or Walmart). These are the following:

• Groceries
• Pets
• Electronics
• Toys
• Sporting goods
• Books
• Movies, video games, and consoles & others

4. Pros and cons

As it is to be expected, the Target affiliate program has both advantages and disadvantages. On the upside, it’s a huge brand, so people aren’t going to feel wary of ordering anything. The commission rates are decent, and so is the cookie period. 

On the other hand, if you’re in specific niches such as the ones that we’ve just mentioned or your site deals with health and beauty, this is not the right program for you. Also, if you get visitors from Canada, the UK, or Australia, you aren’t going to be able to convert them. 

5. Is it worth it?

If you’re in the right niche, it’s worth it. You can probably make better money than what you would with Amazon Associates or the Walmart affiliate program, two other very popular options. 

If you want to learn more about affiliate marketing and SEO, feel free to get in touch. We have different plans available and can tailor them for everyone.

Craig Campbell

I am a Glasgow based SEO expert who has been doing SEO for 22 years. In this time I have gained extensive knowledge in the subject of SEO and have build up a wealth of experience in SEO and other digital marketing services.

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