What are the most successful affiliate websites and how can we imitate these websites to build our own online success? Affiliate marketing allows anyone to promote and sell someone else’s products and services online. This model means we can build massive websites and send customers to products we don’t even own! Even better, for some of these products we can earn 50% of their cost in affiliate commissions! It’s no wonder that so many people are looking to affiliate marketing as a means to escape their daily grind, 9 to 5 or nightmare boss for a more fulfilling and happier life. So let’s have a look at some of the most successful affiliate websites and also at what makes them successful.
Most Successful Affiliate Websites – #1
Money Saving Expert .com – Martin Lewis’s affiliate website moneysavingexpert.com is definitely one of the most successful affiliate websites offering thousands of visitors expert tips on how to save money on anything and everything. Martin Lewis was a financial journalist and started the website in 2003. It now ranks as one of the biggest consumer websites in the UK and has around 15 millions views every month.
“In September 2012 he sold the website to the Moneysupermarket.com group for up to £87m, while remaining editor-in-chief. The deal saw Lewis receive £35m cash upfront in addition to 22.1m shares in Moneysupermarket.com and £27m in future payments. He simultaneously announced intention to gift £10m to charity, of which £1m would go to Citizens Advice.” Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Lewis_(financial_journalist)
What Makes This Website Successful?
Money Saving Expert provides ethical and up to date information for the average consumer. In a market which is fueled by unscrupulous wheeler-dealers, Martin’s website stands out as an ethical source of information which can be trusted.
Trust
Trust is something to be valued on the internet. This is especially true because so many people have a voice online and there are so many people willing to provide bad or poor quality information for a quick profit. Money saving expert is funded solely by affiliate links as explained on its how this site is financed page. The site doesn’t accept advertising or subscriptions. Again, this help build trust because you know there is no big company benefiting from the advice given on the site. The site also makes money from coupons, guides and calculators.
Some Take Away Tips From This
MSE has a few major strategies which helps it stand out from the rest:
- A strong code of ethics – moneysavingexpert is based on good, sound knowledge and advice. Even the affiliate links they use are identified. See their code of ethics.
- Building a brand like this is a marathon not a sprint. By putting the customer first, the site maintains its integrity: Â “The editorial stance shall remain independent from commercial objectives.” This builds trust for the long term.
- The Design of the website is very well organised – there are main ‘hub’ pages for major search terms like “credit cards” for example.
- Pages leads to actionable steps – such as calculators or deal finders. These steps involve affiliate links or guides but help the customer in the process.
- The information given on the site is based on sound knowledge – Martin Lewis worked in a financial communications consultancy before he started his website in 2003. Information is unbiased as mentioned in its code of ethics.
Most Successful Affiliate Websites – #2
The Wirecutter.com is a comparison site (of sorts) offering a description of the best goods within a particular niche. Rather than comparing many items, the wirecutter simply tells you which “the best” is of any given category. Have a look at “the best” cameras here.  Started by its creator Brian Lam, it makes affiliate commissions mostly from Amazon.com by recommending single products. An article by the New York Times recently put its sales at $50K a month and doubling every quarter.
What Makes This Website Successful?
- Passion, interest and knowledge. Again, looking at it’s owner, Brian Lam has a depth of knowledge in gadgets and “gismo’s” having worked for Gismodo for 5 years and WIRED magazine before that, writing about gadgets.
- The wirecutter.com chooses products the team would genuinely would buy themselves and recommend to friends and family. They’re not making a ‘quick buck’ and they are being honest and upfront about who they are and what they do. Again, like in the previous website moneysavingexpert.com, trust goes a long way online – especially when you are in competition with those less scrupulous than yourself. Learn more about the wirecutter.com here.
- They do the testing themselves – Brian and his team do the testing of products which they recommend on their website. This shows an interest in what they actually do. Many affiliate sites fail simply due to lack of this background knowledge and interest.
- There is a strong ethical stance on what they are doing. Here’s a short exert from their stance on the ethics of affiliate links:
“..the most important things to the health of this site are its reputation and its relationship with readers.”
You can read the whole passage at the bottom of this page.
Some Take Away Tips From This
- Again the same ethos is shared with Martin Lewis’s Money Saving Expert site. There is a customer focus and an ethos of sharing information which puts the customer in front of profits.
- This builds trust – a rare commodity on the internet.
- The website design allows easy navigation to any category from the main landing page.
- Actionable steps allow you to find products straight from reviews.
- The site is genuinely recommending well tested and award winning products they would recommend to a friend or family member.
 
Most Successful Affiliate Websites
Both these sites have been built off the back of knowledge and enthusiasm, but the owners haven’t done it all by themselves. They used a team of people to help them. Not everyone has the same contacts, knowledge or ability to build a website like these two examples. If you are thinking of starting your own online business but lack the know-how, you can start with a simple system which takes you step by step through the affiliate marketing process.
You will get:
- Training platform
- E-commerce platform
- Email follow series
- Video customiser
- Lead capture page creator
- Social media image manager
- Tracking
- One click WordPress install
- Unlimited hosting
- Domain management
- Custom URL shortener
- High ticket products to sell
- Access to live training events and webinars
Access FREE training here or click the banner below or watch this video for more information on building your own affiliate website business .
