Out of various ways to monetize your channels and earn a stable passive income, affiliate programs can be your top partner choice. Have you ever heard of pay per click affiliate programs that commission affiliates based on each advertisement click?
As easy as it sounds, there is much to learn about this type of program before you decide to hop on a random one in the market. Know where your website currently stands, along with other essential criteria in this article, to select a good PPC affiliate program and start making money from ads displayed right away!
5 Best PPC Affiliate Programs for Beginners
What makes an affiliate program suitable for beginners? And how do you define beginners in this case?
Many of the best pay per click affiliate programs approve new affiliates based on how much monthly traffic their websites generate. Consequently, newbies should apply for programs with low to no traffic thresholds, such as in this section.
Another factor to consider is a program’s minimum payout sum. If you do not reach this payout for months, there go the profits as well. That is why Google AdSense is not included in the beginner category despite being simple to work with.
As a beginner, you are better off with a few AdSense alternatives than trying hard to comply with their complicated regulations and $100 payout minimums.
Sovrn (formerly VigLink)
Sovrn has a specialized affiliate product called Commerce for publishers. The program can give your website an automatic scan and convert all product links into affiliate links, optimizing your online monetization.
Beginners will find its tool Signal helpful with the simple ad testing feature to play around and see which works well. Also, you will not have to worry about ad placement with Sovrn Commerce since the program automates this process to ensure high user engagement.
| Ads supported | Contextual ad links in content |
| Minimum traffic requirements | None |
| Payment models | CPC (flat rate), CPM, or CPA (commission-based) |
Payment structure:
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| Ad revenue per thousand impressions | N/A |
| Referral program | Yes. Available for the referral’s first 6 months. You earn 10% of their net revenue if the referral makes less than $900 and 25% for more. |
SkimLinks
SkimLinks is an optimal choice for affiliate marketers running a blog by scanning your website content and automatically inserting ads. The SkimLinks affiliate program collaborates with other affiliate programs and not only merchants, which optimizes advertisement for affiliate marketing pages.
Obviously, its own WordPress plugin can save newbies a big time in blog operation, not to mention that SkimLinks does all the traffic and sales tracking for your convenience. Keep in mind that this program does not work with Amazon offers.
| Ads supported | In-text, contextual ad |
| Minimum traffic requirements | None |
| Payment models | Revenue splits from SkimLinks (you will earn 75/25), RPM varies by niche |
Payment structure:
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| Ad revenue per thousand impressions | N/A |
| Referral program | Yes. Earn a 35% share of their commission in the first year. |
PropellerAds
The good news is that PropellerAds supports a variety of ads format (see below). Moreover, with the program being AdSense compatible, you can simultaneously display 2 ad types on your website.
Aside from the useful simplified ad creator, PropellerAds is able to detect and bypass common adblocking tech for you to earn 20% more of PPC affiliate profits.
With this program, a few publishers may view some ad formats, like popunders, as aggressive advertising. However, they appear behind your site and perform better than popups because visitors will not immediately close them.
| Ads supported | Direct links, banners, native ads, popunder ads, interstitials, push notifications for apps and mobile |
| Minimum traffic requirements | None |
| Payment models | RPM up to $7 |
Payment structure:
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| Ad revenue per thousand impressions | Up to $7 |
| Referral program | Yes. Receive 5% of all lifetime revenue referrals make. |
AdCash
You can select from a range of ads supported by AdCash, but the program works best for the gaming and entertainment industry. Consider opting for it if that is your affiliate marketing niche.
Furthermore, it offers extensive and real-time reports for publishers to optimize their content manually. This PPC affiliate program runs in 196 countries, meaning less concern about your language use.
| Ads supported | Popunder, banner, native, interstitial, and push notifications |
| Minimum traffic requirements | None |
| Payment models | CPM, CPC, CPA target |
Payment structure:
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| Ad revenue per thousand impressions | N/A |
| Referral program | Yes. Get a 5% of all your referrals’ lifetime profits. |
InfoLinks
Among top beginners’ affiliate programs pay per click, InfoLinks support more diverse ad formats than just in-text, such as video or display. Feel free to replace Google AdSense with this program; they can work well together.
Affiliate marketing bloggers will have a great time partnering with the program since it relies mainly on long-form textual content to run ads.
What makes InfoLinks unique is the real-time traffic analytical tool that places a targeted ad for a specific user at the time. You can display at least 3 ads on your page at the same time.
| Ads supported | Intext, intag, inframe, native, video, display |
| Minimum traffic requirements | None |
| Payment models | CPC with a 65% revenue share |
Payment structure:
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| Ad revenue per thousand impressions | Up to $5 |
| Referral program | Yes. Get 10% from each referral revenue for 1 year. |
5 Highest Paying Medium Pay Per Click Affiliate Programs
Suppose you are a bit more experienced with decent website traffic. You would want to look for PPC affiliate programs that provide more tools and pay more. The options listed below offer higher minimum payouts than the previous, and some apply traffic requirements.
Google AdSense
Out of numerous competitors on the market, Google AdSense is considered a brilliant program given its ease of use, various available advertisers, decent ad control, and lightweight platform.
Plus, AdSense comes with great data analytics tools, enabling compatibility with many other PPC programs so publishers can use Google’s tools to measure results.
Nevertheless, be careful with click fraud and get banned from the program. Beginners trying different routes should not start with it, and its supported ads are not so customizable if you want tailored solutions.
| Ads supported | In-feed, in-article, text and display |
| Minimum traffic requirements | None |
| Payment models | Earn 68% revenue recognized by Google for displaying ads |
Payment structure:
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| Ad revenue per thousand impressions | Up to $7 |
| Referral program | No |
Media.net
A highly recommended Google AdSense alternative for medium publishers is the Media.net affiliate program, with the Yahoo Bing network supporting its wide range of ad formats.
Although its access to Yahoo Bing search engines may not seem much compared to Google, you can still profit greatly from this program if used right. It also coexists with AdSense while allowing you to display a maximum of 3 ads per page.
| Ads supported | In-content, contextual, interstitial, mobile, display |
| Minimum traffic requirements | Majority from Canada, the US, and the UK |
| Payment models | CPA, CPM, CPL, and CPC |
Payment structure:
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| Ad revenue per thousand impressions | Up to $10 |
| Referral program | Available, but no information about the exact rates on the site |
Bidvertiser
Collaborating with Bidvertiser means advertisers will bid to gain ad spaces on your website. So if your page is already well-branded or recognizable, expect a lot of offers. However, this affiliate model may not serve everyone.
Since you are able to choose which advertisers to work with, it is a good opportunity to build direct and personal relationships with them rather than receiving PPC ads assigned by an algorithm.
The best part is? Its automatic approval procedure saves you much waiting time – the only requirement is that your site has to be at least 3 months old.
| Ads supported | Desktop and mobile, push notifications, XML, native, popunder, direct navigation |
| Minimum traffic requirements | Website has been running for at least 3 months |
| Payment models | CPM, CPC, CPA |
Payment structure:
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| Ad revenue per thousand impressions | N/A |
| Referral program | Yes. When a new publisher earns $10, you will be credited with $10. If that same publisher gains $50, your account receives an extra $40. |
RevenueHits
RevenueHits is a rather difficult pay per click affiliate program because it pays publishers only for CPA (cost per action). This means users need to complete a specific action after clicking your ads, which can be making a purchase, downloading something, or providing their emails.
Obviously, earning affiliate income from this program is more challenging, but it offers the advantage of higher RPMs than average. Thus, your site needs to have active and engaged traffic willing to take a further step than one click.
| Ads supported | Popunder, button, display banners, footer, floating banners, slider dialogue, in-page push, shadow box |
| Minimum traffic requirements | None |
| Payment models | CPA only |
Payment structure:
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| Ad revenue per thousand impressions | Up to $10 |
| Referral program | Yes. |
Outbrain
When it comes to a beneficial native ad network for a variety of users, Outbrain might be the first PPC program to be mentioned. It is well-known for being a professional and seamless program for publishers and affiliate marketers using native ads.
Most affiliate marketers would be familiar with this program, but if you are a publisher, such platforms are still useful for selling your ad spaces. Although it does not require minimum traffic, your website needs to have engaging, quality content to join the network.
| Ads supported | Video content, editorial content, sponsored content, publisher’s direct sold card, branded carousel card |
| Minimum traffic requirements | None (used to have high requirements) |
| Payment models | N/A |
Payment structure:
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| Ad revenue per thousand impressions | Up to $10 |
| Referral program | No |
5 Best Advanced PPC Affiliate Programs
Once you reach the top, it is time to make the most out of your channel. Advanced pay per click affiliate programs would be a perfect choice right now because you can offer much more after significant growth.
The next 5 programs are difficult to get in, but becoming one of their members will absolutely bring you tons of affiliate money.
Ezoic
Google has certified Ezoic as their publishing partner, so the program has full access to the Google Ad Exchange. But because of this, it will serve well as an AdSense supplement, not a complete substitute.
Its ad optimization tool – Ad Tester, runs on machine learning to activate smart split testing on its own. Experienced affiliate marketers would love this feature, not to mention the built-in tracking systems that measure beyond the basic RPMs.
Not many PPC programs can compete with Ezoic regarding its good payout, and it is a rare program in the advanced category that offers referrals affiliate income.
| Ads supported | In-image, link units, native, display, vignette, sticky sidebar, anchor, interstitial video |
| Minimum traffic requirements | 10,000/month on average |
| Payment models | CPM earnings per thousand visits |
Payment structure:
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| Ad revenue per thousand impressions | Up to $15 |
| Referral program | Yes. Earn a 3% earning when a publisher collects in their account. |
Mediavine
This is a real challenge, even for those with affiliate experience and high website traffic. Mediavine is known for requesting plenty of acceptance standards as it looks for high-quality advertisers and publishers. You will earn attractive payouts in exchange.
It would be nice if your page already has a good stand with Google AdSense since this program only works with such partners. Moreover, it mainly targets the lifestyle blogging industry, something a lot of affiliate marketers can take advantage of.
| Ads supported | Native and banner |
| Minimum traffic requirements | – 50,000 monthly sessions (around 60,000 page views)- Engaging long-form content, original in any niche as a lifestyle blogger |
| Payment models | Revenue share of 75% to you and 25% to Mediavine. Can go up to 85% with a requirement of ad impressions in 30 days. |
Payment structure:
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| Ad revenue per thousand impressions | N/A |
| Referral program | No |
AdThrive
This is another certified Google partner and recommended AdSense alternative among advanced affiliate programs that pay per click.
Like those in this category, the program demands affiliate marketers to have more than minimum traffic for qualification. You need to have at least 3 running ads on highly visible locations on each device.
Also, it comes with a generous bonus of a traffic booster and SEO support for extra help with your website.
| Ads supported | Content, In-image, header, sticky sidebar/footer, interstitial, interscroller, video, native outstream |
| Minimum traffic requirements | – 100,000 monthly page views- Installed Google Analytics- Traffic mostly comes from the US |
| Payment models | 75% straight to publishers |
Payment structure:
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| Ad revenue per thousand impressions | Up to $30 |
| Referral program | No |
AdBlade
Given the minimum traffic requirements of 500,000 monthly page views, some might feel overwhelmed about joining AdBlade. Nonetheless, it offers a unique ad style named Newsbullet that claims to boost your performance 3 times better.
This program is flexible with accepted verticals, but most of their ads look like articles or are news-story-based. Your blog/textual format website can benefit from this feature and its real-time, vast report.
| Ads supported | Banner ads and Newsbullet style |
| Minimum traffic requirements | More than 500,000 monthly page views |
| Payment models | CPM, CPC, real-time bidding |
Payment structure:
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| Ad revenue per thousand impressions | N/A |
| Referral program | No |
RevContent
In exchange for the difficulty in entering this network, the RevContent PPC affiliate program enables a higher engagement rate and allows you to collaborate with many large media brands.
This program focuses only on native advertising and is also a leader in this industry. You would be delighted to know that it comes with a 100% fill rate.
Furthermore, RevContent gives you complete control over running ads on your website based on image, keyword, site, category, and brand.
| Ads supported | Native widgets |
| Minimum traffic requirements | 50,000 monthly visits |
| Payment models | CPC, 20% CPM revenue increase |
Payment structure:
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| Ad revenue per thousand impressions | N/A |
| Referral program | No, but they used to |
What is a Pay Per Click Affiliate Program?
Pay per click affiliate programs is a popular business model where advertisers pay for the number of clicks on a link or ad displayed on your website. As you publish these ads on your social channels, you can earn revenue from visitors and simultaneously promote more website visits for the advertiser.
In pay per click affiliate programs, affiliates get paid as they drive traffic to the advertiser’s website via their unique affiliate links. The referred visitors need to perform a particular action, such as filling out a form, signing up for a service, or making a purchase. The affiliate earns money based on these completed actions.
The PPC program creates a network for affiliates like you to select among multiple programs, thus, identifying the offer that matches best with your site. You can also have this process automated with optimization algorithms to ensure optimal results.
Types of Pay Per Click Affiliate Programs
Google AdSense
When an affiliate marketer wants to join a PPC program, Google is usually the first place that comes to mind. Theirs is called Google AdSense, one of the most prominent and reliable programs to kick off your affiliate game.
Although it is a great beginner program, not everyone can effortlessly become an AdSense member. Why?
Apart from being extremely difficult to get into, staying in the program for a long time is equally hard. On top of that, their pay rates are less attractive than they used to be, with a fairly high $100 minimum payout that might take you a while to gain profits.
Generally, the Google AdSense affiliate program is suitable for various advertisers and publishers. However, it works better for marketers with huge capacity than small website owners.
That is why you should consider opting for its alternatives, not necessarily replacing AdSense entirely but finding similar programs alongside it.
PPC Program for Publishers
Despite building websites or blogging out of interest, most affiliates are motivated by the profits they may earn from these channels. If you have a successful website with high traffic and conversions, a pay per click affiliate program can bring even more profits.
Pro tip: Never flood your site with ads, as it will annoy or scare off viewers. Instead, allowing affiliate content that matches your niche and is not overly intrusive can boost your earnings.
When a publisher works with a PPC affiliate program, they are responsible for promoting someone else’s products or services. You earn a commission after people click on your affiliate links and fulfill a specific action.
In other words, your job is to drive traffic to the advertiser’s page and generate sales/leads through assigned links. Your referred visitors need to take the required action for you to get paid.
PPC Referral Programs
If you plan to be or already are a PPC affiliate program member, you might also join their referral programs. A good way to earn passive income is to recommend these pay per click programs and get other publishers to sign up via your referral links.
PPC Affiliate Program Levels
PPC affiliate programs often come in different forms, as well as various requirements and difficulty levels. So what criteria separate the ranking of affiliate marketing programs that pay per click?
First is the register requirement, such as specific criteria for traffic sources or minimum traffic. Most programs include a monthly page view threshold or initial conditions, for example, requiring all your content to be original. Beginners may find it difficult to join a few programs because of this.
Secondly, the affiliate program itself, including its tools, support, dashboard, and community. Each PPC program will assist you differently based on your expertise and needs. Newbies usually look for ease of use, while professionals want their dashboards to reveal in-depth analytics.
Last but not least, your potential earnings from such programs. You can definitely make more money with an advanced website. When checking this criterion, review their revenue share, RPM (revenue per mille), and key measures like CPC vs. CPA. Plus, get to know its payment timeframe and minimum payout sum thoroughly.
The table below sums up the general requirements to qualify for each PPC program level:
| Beginner | Medium | Advanced |
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Main Components of a PPC Affiliate Program
Ads Format
Most PPC programs support a particular kind of ad display, but some may specialize in more special formats like native or video. A few even provide focused ads for affiliate marketing that analyze your website content to enable targeted affiliate advertisement.
Minimum Traffic Requirement
The good news for beginners is that many pay per click affiliate programs do not require a minimum traffic. However, there are exclusive programs that require not only high monthly minimum traffic but also other standards about your traffic geo and content quality.
Payment Models
Payment models in PPC programs are quite similar. But the program’s exclusivity will decide how it pays affiliates.
- RPM: “Revenue per mille” represents how much you earn per 1,000 impressions. This is a great method to measure profits since many PPC affiliate programs measure your performance based on impressions. Note that it does not apply to every PPC program, so not all include RPM.
- Revenue share: After the ad server reports to advertisers and networks, they will pay you a revenue share as part of gross proceeds.
- Key measures: The metrics that determine which action you will earn money from, such as CPA (cost per action), CPL (cost per lead), CPC (cost per click), or CPM (cost per mille).
How to Select the Right PPC Affiliate Program?
Earning passive money while you sleep is an attractive scenario, and this is totally achievable with the right PPC affiliate program. So how do you know which program to register for when so many fish are in the sea?
The following factors will help you decide on a suitable partner to elevate your pay per click affiliate income.
Google AdSense Compatibility
As mentioned earlier, Google AdSense is a fantastic program for affiliate marketers and publishers worldwide. But since it is not easy for everyone to join especially beginners, you should look for other functional alternatives that can work in sync with AdSense.
Again, your chosen PPC program does not have to be compatible with AdSense or able to replace this program, but it would be ideal to partner with one that does. You will save much more time in managing your PPC marketing efforts.
Your Website Performance
It is almost impossible to find pay per click affiliate programs without website since this is your primary monetization channel. In fact, PPC programs are divided into 3 main categories – beginner, medium, and advanced based on your website’s performance stats.
Review crucial factors on your page before choosing a PPC affiliate program, specifically monthly traffic and content quality, to see if they respond to the program’s minimum requirements. Besides, you should check its supported ad formats to decide which suits the site best.
Payment Models and Structure
Regarding affiliate payment in this context, do not necessarily choose the highest paying affiliate program (measured by RPMs) since there are other important details to look at.
As said about the key measures above, each program offers different types of payment models (CPM, CPC, CPL, etc.) Your visitors must complete that action to count as a successful affiliate result.
At the same time, the payment structure includes the minimum threshold, payment methods, and payout time. You can consult our recommendations below to understand each factor better and filter out which PPC programs are the most promising and suitable for your affiliate career.
FAQs
What metrics are used to pay affiliates?
Affiliates are typically paid based on actions like cost-per-click (CPC), cost-per-acquisition (CPA), cost-per-lead (CPL), or cost-per-sale (CPS). The advertiser and affiliate agree on the commission structure.
How much commission do PPC affiliates typically earn?
Commission rates vary widely, but often range from $0.25-$1.00 per click or up to 40% revenue share on conversions. High-volume affiliates can negotiate higher commissions.
How do affiliates get paid in PPC programs?
Most programs pay affiliates monthly by check, PayPal, wire transfer, etc. once affiliates reach a minimum payment threshold set by the advertiser.
How competitive is the PPC affiliate space?
PPC affiliate marketing is highly competitive. Affiliates are bidding against each other for ad placement and keywords. Having a unique value proposition and targeting less competitive niches can help affiliates succeed.
What skills do you need to be a successful PPC affiliate?
Strong research skills, knowledge of PPC platforms like Google Ads, understanding conversion optimization, data analysis skills, and tracking/reporting abilities are key for PPC affiliate marketing. Familiarity with the advertiser’s industry is also valuable.
How much can you make with PPC affiliate programs?
Earnings vary greatly based on competition, niche, advertiser payout, traffic levels, optimization, and other factors. Some top affiliates easily earn 6-7 figures annually, while others make a few hundred to a few thousand per month. Consistency is key.
What are the alternatives to pay per click affiliate programs?
While PPC programs pay you a commission based on the number of ad clicks, these approaches use different metrics. With pay per impression, you get paid for the number of views (impressions) of a displayed ad on your website. Pay per sale, Pay per lead, Pay per call and pay per install.
What is the difference between CPC and EPC?
Regarding performance metrics, CPC (cost per click) and EPC (earnings per click) are related but different. They help measure how online advertising campaigns are generally doing.
CPC equals the amount spent for each advert click by a user, showing whether your ad is effective when it comes to cost efficiency.
On the other hand, EPC measures how much you earn for each click. This metric indicates the profitability of your ad and decides which ad campaign is successful in generating revenue.
How much can you make from pay per click?
Many factors contribute to how much you get paid per click, including the advertiser, the type of ad, the website, and also the ad’s located country. The PPC rates can generally range from $0.01 to over $50/click, although they are worth a few cents per click on average.
Note that the rates are variable over time and by industry, so your actual PPC rate for an ad relies on multiple factors.
Conclusion
We hope you have now known whether your affiliate marketing website should work with pay per click affiliate programs. One thing is for sure, this direction is both financially beneficial and suitable for your website growth in the long run.
