An affiliate site earns when someone decides to buy something and you were the page that helped them decide. That single sentence contains the whole strategy, and it is why traffic volume matters far less than most people starting out assume.
The thing that separates sites that earn from sites that do not
Commercial intent. Two hundred readers comparing two hosts are worth more than ten thousand reading what hosting is. Write for the decision, not for the definition.
Set it up
- Pick hosting on four year cost
- Kadence vs Astra or Kadence vs Blocksy for the theme
- Rank Math for SEO, and Search Console on day one
- Kadence Blocks for comparison tables and callouts without a page builder
The content that actually earns
| Post type | Intent | Earns |
|---|---|---|
| X vs Y comparison | Deciding between two products | Best of anything |
| Best X for Y roundup | Shortlisting | Very well |
| Single product review | Researching one option | Well, if it is honest about flaws |
| Coupon and pricing pages | Ready to buy | Well, and ranks easily |
| Alternatives to X | Actively leaving a product | Very well, and low competition |
| What is X | Learning | Almost nothing |
| How to fix X | Solving a problem | Little, but builds trust and links |
Worked examples to copy the structure from: Kinsta vs Rocket.net, Rank Math vs SEOPress, Astra alternatives and the Elementor coupon page, which ranks by telling people the coupons do not exist.
Choosing programmes
- Recurring beats one off. Hosting and SaaS pay monthly for years. A one time 20 dollar commission pays once.
- Check the cookie window. Thirty days and up is reasonable. Seven days is a programme that does not want to pay you.
- Only promote what you have used. It is also the only way to write anything a reader cannot get from the vendor’s own page.
- Re-test your links twice a year. Programmes close and brands get acquired. Test by cookie, not by whether the link loads.
Disclose, and use the right rel attribute
Affiliate links need rel="sponsored" and a visible disclosure before the first link. Both are requirements rather than suggestions. Neither costs you conversions, and marking a link sponsored when it earns you nothing is its own kind of mistake.
Then monetise beyond affiliate
Affiliate income caps out because you are paid a slice of someone else’s price. Once the traffic converts, the same audience is worth more through your own product or a membership. The monetisation guide covers the order to add those in.
How long before an affiliate site earns?
Six to twelve months for search traffic to mature, assuming you are writing comparison and decision content rather than definitions. Sites that start with informational content take considerably longer because that traffic converts badly however much of it arrives.
How many posts before I see commissions?
The count matters less than the type. Twenty well researched comparison posts in one niche will out-earn two hundred general articles. Depth in a single topic is what makes a site rank for the commercial terms.
Do I need to disclose affiliate links?
Yes. A visible disclosure before the first affiliate link, and rel=”sponsored” on the link itself. It is a legal requirement in most markets and a search engine guideline everywhere.
Which affiliate programmes pay best?
Recurring ones. Hosting and software subscriptions pay monthly for as long as the customer stays, which compounds in a way a single commission never does. Check the cookie window too, because a seven day cookie on a considered purchase pays far less than the headline rate suggests.
Can I start an affiliate site with no money?
You need hosting and a domain, so roughly 50 to 120 dollars for the first year. Everything else, including WordPress, a capable theme and an SEO plugin, has a free version good enough to reach your first commission.
What is the difference between an affiliate site and a review site?
Nothing structural. The distinction that matters is intent: pages written for someone choosing between options earn, pages written for someone learning a concept do not, whatever you call the site.
