An affiliate website earns a commission every time a reader clicks through to a partner brand or completes a purchase. The site owner creates the content that motivates the reader; the brand provides the product, handles fulfillment, and pays the affiliate a commission.
According to Performance Marketing Association, affiliate marketing generated $113 billion in ecommerce sales in 2025, and affiliate marketing spend increased by 49.8% from $9.1 billion in 2021 to $13.62 billion in 2024.
This guide covers what affiliate websites are, tips for both content creators and brands, and 18 successful affiliate website examples to use as inspiration.
Affiliate marketing websites publish content, such as reviews, comparisons, buying guides, and tutorials, that link readers to third-party products. When a reader clicks the link or makes a purchase, the affiliate website earns a percentage of the sale.
An individual content creator or a brand can build an affiliate marketing site to generate income from their existing audiences through affiliate commissions from brands they feature. All sides benefit when the affiliate partnership is a good fit. The affiliate website provides readers with trusted recommendations, the affiliate earns money through commissions, and the brand acquires a new customer.
For ecommerce brands, affiliate websites are a relatively low-cost customer acquisition channel. The brand sets the commission rate and only pays when a sale closes. Commissions can be pay-per-click or pay-per-action (also known as cost per action).
Each affiliate site below demonstrates a different content approach.
The Verge covers consumer technology news and shares product reviews alongside long-form buying guides. Their guides, such as “best laptops” and “best phones,” are updated frequently to provide the most up-to-date information for consumers, while also helping the pages stay relevant in search results. The Verge monetizes through affiliate commissions, display advertising, and subscriptions.
Acquired by The New York Times in 2016, Wirecutter built its reputation on rigorous, hands-on product testing across hundreds of categories. Their methodology—testing dozens of competing products before recommending one—creates authority that drives high conversion rates on affiliate links. Wirecutter reports its affiliate relationships transparently in every article.
Rtings.com spans several product categories, including computers, home entertainment, and kitchen. Its site is notable for the volume of quantitative data it publishes per product, like thoroughly testing each product they review. That depth attracts readers who are close to buying and want technical validation before committing to a purchase.
PC Part Picker focuses on hardware, providing comparison tools to build a custom computer. Its site is known for its PC builder tool, which allows you to pick your parts while comparing them. This deep technical capability can convert high-intent users by putting all your shopping considerations in one place.
NerdWallet started as a credit card comparison tool and expanded into other financial areas, like mortgages, insurance, and investing. Its affiliate model relies on financial products, such as credit cards, savings accounts, and brokerage accounts. Readers can explore the tools to compare them, then Nerdwallet links out to the third-party website so visitors can apply for products like credit cards or loans.
The Points Guy covers travel rewards, credit cards, and loyalty programs. Its content model targets readers who want to maximize credit card points, a high-value audience for card companies. The site now has a team of reporters and produces hundreds of pieces of content per month.
From CNBC, Millennial Money focuses on personal finance, with topics that include budgeting, investing, and earning a side income. Its affiliate content features brokerage accounts, high-yield savings accounts, and financial tools aimed at an audience earlier in their financial journey than NerdWallet’s typical reader.
Matt Kepnes built Nomadic Matt into one of the most-visited travel blogs by focusing on budget travel, a specific audience positioning that lends his booking affiliate links credibility. His site earns money through hotel and flight booking affiliates, travel insurance, and guided travel courses.
Kiki Rich’s The Blonde Abroad targets solo female travelers with travel tips, packing guides, and shopping resources. The site earns through travel gear affiliates, booking platforms, and brand partnerships in addition to its affiliate program work.
Matthew Karsten’s Expert Vagabond combines travel photography with adventure travel content. The site earns through gear affiliates (cameras, outdoor equipment), booking platforms, and travel insurance.
Apartment Therapy covers home design and décor for renters and small-space dwellers. Its affiliate content runs through product roundups, gift guides, and editorial shopping content that links to furniture, décor, and home goods retailers. The site generates affiliate revenue through its large monthly audience, which looks to the site for both inspiration and practical purchases.
The Spruce covers home improvement, gardening, cleaning, and décor. Its affiliate content is largely how-to focused, including articles that explain how to complete a home project and embed product recommendations naturally within the instructions.
Into The Gloss launched Glossier before becoming a standalone editorial property. Its affiliate model pairs long-form beauty editorial, such as interviews, product essays, and ingredient breakdowns, with product links. The site attracts readers who follow beauty trends closely and spend accordingly.
TheSkimm covers wellness, fitness, and beauty with a focus on evidence-backed health content. Its affiliate model includes supplements, fitness equipment, and skin care, targeting an audience willing to pay a premium for products they trust.
Byrdie is a beauty site that targets a broad beauty audience with reviews, tutorials, and buying guides. Its SEO strategy focuses heavily on ingredient- and product-specific searches, capturing readers who are actively researching before purchasing high-end beauty products.
Serious Eats publishes recipe development and kitchen equipment reviews with a testing methodology that parallels Wirecutter’s. Its equipment reviews of products like stand mixers, knives, and Dutch ovens generate affiliate revenue on high-ticket items that readers are likely to research before buying.
Kate Taylor’s Cookie and Kate is a recipe blog with a loyal audience built over more than a decade. The site earns through kitchen equipment affiliates embedded in recipe posts—linking to the tools used in each recipe rather than maintaining a separate reviews section.
Tieghan Gerard’sHalf Baked Harvest combines food photography with recipe content and the power of more than five million followers on Instagram. The site demonstrates how affiliate revenue can extend across platforms: Affiliate links appear in both blog posts and the bio links of Instagram and TikTok profiles direct back to the site.
For ecommerce brands, affiliate websites can be a low-cost customer acquisition channel, since you set the commission rate and pay only when a sale closes. Here’s how to partner with creators to set up an affiliate program.
Brands typically pay a 10% to 15% commission on sales driven by affiliate partners, says Lauren Kleinman, founder of the PR agency Dreamday, on Shopify Masters. Aim for a similar number that doesn’t cut too deeply into your margins while still incentivizing content partners.
Affiliate networks like Shopify Collabs, Awin, and CJ Affiliate handle discovery and tracking.
Scarlett Chase founder Sandra Powers Murphy says on Shopify Masters that Awin drives conversions alongside its paid Meta ads. Store owners who want an additional channel without managing affiliates directly can also use the Shopify Product Network, which displays complementary products from other Shopify stores and pays a commission when those products sell.
Look beyond follower counts and find creators with audiences similar to yours who are primed to love your products. Three Ships cofounder Laura Thompson gives products to creators, and if they post about it organically, she sets them up with an affiliate code to earn commissions. “That works very well because it’s authentic,” Laura says on Shopify Masters.
Track which affiliates drive purchases, not just clicks. If you find that some of your most valuable partnerships vastly outperform the rest, build a commission structure or bonus system that incentivizes them to create more for your brand.
For example, Polysleep CEO Jeremiah Curvers promotes everyday customers into affiliates. Those who successfully make enough referrals get invited to Polysleep’s affiliate program.
Creating an affiliate website begins much like launching a blog, with the added steps of finding partnerships either on your own or through affiliate networks and partnership programs.
Most affiliate sites run on a blog platform. To build your own, you’ll need a domain, hosting, and a content management system (CMS). Select a platform like Shopify that offers all of these capabilities under one umbrella for ease of use.
Serve a specific audience with a clear interest so you can provide consistent value and develop authority in the space. “Outdoor gear” is a niche; “ultralight backpacking gear for weekend hikers” is a narrower niche. Finding your niche can help you stand out amongst creators who are trying to cater to everyone.
Sites like Wirecutter build trust by being transparent and rigorous in their product evaluations. Disclose your methodology clearly in each article so readers can understand your point of view and trust that they’re getting an honest opinion.
Content creators can join affiliate programs through affiliate networks, such as the Amazon Associates program. Many individual brands also run direct affiliate programs, including the Shopify Affiliate Program, which pays creators and entrepreneurs who successfully refer new businesses to Shopify.
The single best affiliate program depends on your niche, budget, and goals. Shopify Collabs is one such platform that connects brands with affiliates and offers customizable affiliate links and codes.
Affiliates get paid a commission when a referred visitor completes a defined action, which is usually a purchase, but sometimes a sign-up or lead submission, like for a credit card. Payment methods vary by program; direct bank transfer, PayPal, and check are common. Most programs pay on a monthly cycle after a holding period (typically 30 to 60 days) to account for returns. Shopify Collabs handles commission tracking and payments automatically for store owners running their own programs.
The most frequent affiliate errors are promoting products the creator hasn’t used, which readers detect quickly and that chips away at trust; targeting mismatched keywords with no purchase intent, which drives traffic that doesn’t convert; and failing to disclose affiliate relationships, which violates Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines in the US. For store owners, recruiting affiliates based on follower count rather than audience fit leads to high traffic with low conversion rates.
