Affiliate Programs, Keyword Lists, and Niche Research for Best Hosting
This niche is unique in that it does not follow the standard format that the majority of the niches I have reviewed in this niche research series have followed. The best hosting niche affiliate programs rarely pay a percentage for their commissions but rather a flat dollar amount, which when you add a couple of them together can be a nice wad of green in your wallet.
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For instance, one of the affiliate programs I have listed below pays out a maximum of a $300.00 commission for a referral. Imagine if you made two referrals who bought the highest priced hosting solution. That is a $600.00 commission payment coming your way, and from only two referrals.
Website hosting is not only a widely sought after solution but can be quite lucrative with the right service. One thing you need to consider is that web hosting serves everyone from the lone affiliate marketer like yourself, to small local businesses that want to get ranked in Google, and all the way up to major companies like Starbucks. Everyone who has or wants an online presence needs hosting services.
Though I do not necessarily advocate GoDaddy as an affiliate program to join, I just wanted to use the above graph to show you a familiar hosting company to demonstrate interest in web hosting in general. “Hosting” can mean many things outside the internet! As more and more people are getting blogs and starting online businesses, getting hosting is an absolute must. The growth of the internet means growth of hosting possibilities!
Now when it comes to hosting, many companies offer a variety of solutions at different price ranges and sizes to fit the needs and budget of the individual. As new technologies emerge so does the world of website hosting with popular upgrades to the general dedicated shared servers with the likes of VPS (Virtual Private Servers) and Cloud.
One of the fastest growing website platform demographics are those like myself who own multiple WordPress websites. Many from newbie bloggers, to veteran internet marketers, to big companies are using WordPress. Providing hosting solutions specific to WordPress is quite profitable for many reasons.
The above graph represents the worldwide interest in my number one listed affiliate program below. WP Engine is a well-known and respected WordPress dedicate hosting company. Though they are an exciting hosting site to join, and you will soon read why, at the end of this post I will be giving you my ultimate recommendation for a hosting service you will love.
Top 3 Affiliate Programs
My Thoughts
When it comes to selecting which affiliate program you wish to join I would advise you to do your due diligence because most if not all of the programs below offer the same thing – website hosting. And because all of the following programs provide hosting solutions to their customers, they do differ in some respects such as price and quality of service.
The majority of the following affiliate programs below may not seem familiar to you by name but that does not mean they are of low quality. On the contrary some of the names you probably have heard of do fall into that lower quality category. Companies like GoDaddy (which didn’t make the list) and Hostgator at #9 below are normally not one’s I would recommend.
Though they do tend to have prices that will attract those on a lower budget, sometimes their quality of service can suffer. Like the saying goes, you get what you paid for. Of the affiliate programs I have chosen below, the top three are my favorites for a few reasons. They have high commission payments, two of the three actually have cookie durations, and they have a big portfolio of clients.
WP Engine
- Signup URL: https://wpengine.com/affiliate
- Focus: Five different WordPress hosting plans starting from $29 per month, with 24/7 support, daily backups, firewall, malware scan, ever-cache, 1-click restore, SSL ready, CDN ready
- Commissions: $200 or 100% of the first month’s payment (whichever is higher)
Comments: Out of all the hosting companies I have listed in this part of the post, WP Engine is by far my most favorite. Perhaps it is because of their dedicated hosting of WordPress websites, generous commission plan, extremely high 180 day cookie (only one other program offers a cookie duration), or maybe it has to do with their slick looking website. Actually it is all of the above.
WP Engine provides best-in-class customer service on top of innovation-driven technology. This is why over 30,000 customers in 120 countries have chosen them for their WordPress hosting needs. They have great testimonials from many of their well-known clients like AMD, SoundCloud, Texas A&M University, and Yelp just to name a few.
The WP Engine website will be a great attraction for those with WordPress websites looking for hosting solutions. Individuals, small business startups, and established companies are using WordPress, which is a fast growing demographic in the internet space. I thoroughly enjoyed browsing their website and I feel that this would be one of the better programs to affiliate with.
IX Web Hosting
- Signup URL: https://www.ixwebhosting.com/affiliate-program
- Focus: Shared web hosting, VPS, cloud hosting, WordPress hosting, Windows hosting, Linux hosting, domains, 24/7 support and live chat
- Commissions: $150 (1st 7 days of hosting is free)
Comments: IX Web Hosting has come a long way since their start in 1999 when they began supporting their first hosting customers on a server in someone’s living room. Since then they have grown into a global hosting company with clients all over the world. What does this say about IX Web Hosting? It says they are determined to make themselves one of the best hosting companies around and know how to operate at all levels of growth.
IX Web Hosting says on their website, “Every webhost offers a 30-day money back guarantee, but who offers completely free hosting? We do. For a full week, you can kick the tires, take her out for a spin, and see how she handles in the straights – for no charge. Seriously. We won’t charge your card until after the 7 day trial period, and if you cancel before it’s up – you will never be billed.” Now that, along with their 45 day cookie, gets my vote for the number 2 spot.
Lunarpages Internet Solutions
- Signup URL: http://affiliate.lunarpages.com/affiliates
- Focus: Private and scalable cloud hosting, WordPress, Windows, and Linux hosting, dedicated and managed shared hosting, and wide range of services for large corporate business hosting solutions
- Commissions: Up to $300
Comments: My number three selection is Lunarpages Internet Solutions and they got their start in 1998 establishing themselves as an enterprise-level IT Solutions company and global web hosting provider for established industry leaders, small businesses, and individuals. They have data centers in modern secure facilities located in San Diego and Irvine, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; Denver, Colorado; Chicago, Illinois; and Ashburn, Virginia.
Other than all of the hosting solutions offered, Lunarpages Internet Solutions has made the top three selections for two reasons. Of all 10 affiliate programs they have the highest payout commission. Normally that doesn’t matter too much to me, but in this particular niche and with the big name companies who use Lunarpages, I felt they deserve #3.
Their client portfolio is impressive with companies such as, Tupperware, Lockheed Martin, Sheraton Hotel & Resorts, CBS, Verizon, Nissan, Motorola, University of Michigan, Sony, and several others. With that kind of roster of big-named clients, I can see it being a plus for the affiliate marketer. People will be attracted to a hosting provider that services major corporations.
Other Affiliate Programs
iPage
- http://www.ipage.com/affiliate
- Up to $150
- WordPress, e-commerce, dedicated, and VPS hosting, domain, website, marketing, and email management services
SiteGround
- https://www.siteground.com/affiliates
- Up to $125
- Web, cloud and dedicated hosting plans, WordPress hosting on all plans with auto-updates, SuperCacher, WP staging and Git integration
HostRocket
- http://www.hostrocket.com/affiliates
- $75 to $150 based on amount of referrals + 10% of sales from any affiliates you referred
- Website, shared SSD, reseller VPS, reseller cloud, Windows VPS, Linux VPS, and dedicated hosting, domains and web design
Inmotion Hosting
- http://www.inmotionhosting.com/hosting-affiliate-program
- $50 to $150 + $25 Bonus
- Business, VPS, WordPress, managed, and reseller hosting, dedicated servers with free SSDs, web design services, domains
GreenGeeks
- https://www.greengeeks.com/affiliates
- $50 to $100 based on amount of referrals
- WordPress, reseller, VPS, and dedicated hosting, the most eco-friendly web hosting service in existence today
HostGator
- https://www.hostgator.com/affiliates
- $50 to $125 depending on amount of referrals
- WordPress, VPS, dedicated, reseller, and cloud hosting, Linux and Windows dedicated servers, domains, 4,500 free website templates
DreamHost
- https://www.dreamhost.com/affiliates
- $97
- Managed WordPress and VPS hosting, “DreamCompute” cloud servers with cloud storage and computing, domains
Best Hosting Keywords Breakdown
10 Low Competition Keywords (Searches/QSR)
- get free hosting for a website – 88/5
- the top website hosting services – 121/14
- top virtual private server hosting – 4682/25
- best web hosting small business – 753/36
- virtual private server reviews – 903/42
- website hosting design services – 203/43
- free wordpress hosting sites – 104/55
- small business website hosting services – 181/59
- yahoo business web hosting – 453/73
- best web hosting service – 4111/99
What’s QSR
10 High Traffic Keywords (Searches/QSR)
- hosting for a website – 8142/188
- best free web hosting – 5973/276
- web hosting sites – 5195/254
- top 10 web hosting – 4825/259
- cheap dedicated server hosting – 4185/255
- what is the best web hosting service – 4111/165
- free website building and hosting – 3296/135
- cloud hosting comparison – 3084/189
- web hosting reviews – 2925/265
- windows virtual private server hosting – 1017/164
Why Is This Different From Google’s Number?
Though Google’s Keyword Tool has improved in recent years, it still gives inflated (inaccurate) traffic numbers. The keyword tool I use (link) takes data from a variety of search engines, not just Google. Remember that Bing + Yahoo own 30% of the search market.
Other Great Keywords (high traffic, low competition)
- windows vps hosting
- cloud virtual private server
- best web hosting sites
- top hosting companies
- wp engine hosting review
- best blog hosting sites
- virtual private server hosting windows
- managed cloud hosting
- best business web hosting
- small business website hosting
- low cost virtual private server hosting
- best free web hosting sites
- cheap linux vps hosting
- web hosting for business
Affiliate Marketing Action Plan For Best Hosting
Personally, I think there are three routes you could potentially go with this niche. One, is pretty obvious – just do a hosting review website, where you compare different hosting solutions for different type of needs. Not much to say about that one.
Another one, is teaching people how to build a website. For example, you can teach people how to make basic WordPress websites, then funnel people into your recommended hosting section. Though “hosting” isn’t your main niche, it can be a way to monetize your “how to build a website” website.
The last, and most creative one, is to teach people how to start an online business about a specific topic. For example, you could teach people how to start a foodie blog, or a fitness blog, and then funnel people to your recommended hosting. The cool thing about that is that a lot of visitors won’t even blink an eye when you recommend a hosting company that you use! You just have to say, “this is the company I use, so if you want to follow my footsteps, then sign up!”
When I ran my podcast last year, this is how the guy giving away free podcasting lessons did it, and he definitely made a commission from me signing up to his podcast hosting company. BTW, that’s a micro-niche to consider!
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Nathaniell
What's up ladies and dudes! Great to finally meet you, and I hope you enjoyed this post. My name is Nathaniell and I'm the owner of One More Cup of Coffee. I started my first online business in 2010 promoting computer software and now I help newbies start their own businesses. Sign up for my #1 recommended training course and learn how to start your business for FREE!
[Car Loan] Affiliate Niche Research
OHHveding
Hello Nathaniell,
this is a great site, thank you for taking your time to do that thorough research. I’ve been thinking about it, but you even took a step forward, lol.
I know a lot of people starting their websites get surprised when they have to pay for hosting as well. It looks like everyone knows you have to pay for a domain name, but many doesn’t know about hosting. Here you even cover different kinds of need of hosting, which makes it even more difficult to know what to choose.
You mention that you use Wealthy Affiliate for some of your websites. What kind of marketing would that be best for. Is it speedy, user friendly, amount of GB? Hope you could say some more about that. Looks interesting.
and again, thank you for a great article!
Nathaniell
I remember when I tried to create my first website I was put off by the idea that I had to pay for hosting, but now that I have some experience, I understand what it takes to store the files needed to run a website. The internet doesn’t pay for itself! $10-$20 a month isn’t expensive for hosting a website and running a business on it!
But the hosting at Wealthy Affiliate is free, so if you decide to start a website about hosting, it’s definitely one of the places you could recommend depending on the type of website and goals a person had.
People that would do best with WA hosting are the ones that will need help setting up their website, getting traffic to it, and learning how to make money from it. The hosting is free in WA, but you do need to be a premium member which is $47 a month. Hosting is included as a package deal. It’s technically an affiliate training center, so targeted at newbies that want to learn how to start an online business.
Bobby
You’ve done an excellent job with gathering and organizing so much relevant information to this niche. There are so many possibilities for affiliation programs out there, we don’t stop to think about some of the most obvious and necessary ones. You can’t have a viable website without hosting! Great article!
Nathaniell
Funny story – I’ve read a lot of ‘income reports’ from different businesses over the years, and hosting recommendations are almost always one of the top income earners. If you make a bit of money online, you can then sell your system, and along the way, recommend a hosting platform for someone else to make money. Recurring commissions add up!
Alec Terry
Very interesting article about affiliate programs for hosting websites. I hadn’t even realized that was a thing. It makes sense if you think about it though. The more domains registered with a hosting service the more power they have. I can totally see them paying top dollar for referrals in this age of increasing competition. In your opinion, what do you think would be the best way to market this? On a make money online site possibly?
Nathaniell
I would have loved to dig into more ways to market the hosting stuff, but I didn’t have the time when I wrote the article and didn’t want to do ALL the thinking for my readers lol. But some ideas I have off the top of my head:
hosting for small business websites
hosting for personal bloggers talking about [any subject you choose]
hosting for people with a network marketing business
hosting for people marketing their own services
Basically, pick your audience that needs a website, and you can use hosting as a thing to recommend on your site. I’ve seen that with podcasting, food blogs, and survivalists. They say like “Make your own resource just like me. Here’s how I got started!”. I wanted to do that with the beer and homebrew community too but never really took the time to follow up with the idea.
Sandy
Great review. You have covered most of the important web hosting companies I think. I have used a few of the companies you have reviewed over the years, both for myself and as an affiliate. Now I only use the Wealthy Affiliate, not only because of the great webhosting, but because of so many other great tools, and all in one place!
Nathaniell
Yeah, I didn’t even think to mention Wealthy Affiliate as a host. It was just a bit complicated to talk about all the other things they offer like online business building tutorials, live chat support for online marketing help, and peer website review. But they do have an awesome hosting setup. I think some people that are used to having access to cPanel might be turned off by no access to that area, but more and more hosts are doing this.
I have some websites at WebSynthesis and they don’t have cPanel access either! In fact, they don’t even give you access to certain things like your website code in the WP dashboard area. Everything is done via FTP like in Wealthy Affiliate.
But that’s definitely another hosting option, especially if you are building a business and want hosting, support, and training all in one package.
Jan
Hi Nathaniell,
I am happy I came across this page on your website and your thorough best hosting affiliate niche research.
The first thing that struck me was the high payout that hosting companies offer for referrals with some even welcoming sub-referrals. The 3 company graphics you show made me realise this is a continuously growing market with lots of opportunities.
And you are right, I at least wasn’t familiar at all with the majority of programs (e.g. WP Engine) mentioned in your list Top 3 programs.
But even better, you come up with two lists of high traffic and low competition keywords, as well as a great video, all of which make want to join this niche almost immediately!
Thanks a lot for your generously sharing this great research.
Best, Jan
p.s. Where can I find your last years’ podcast?
Nathaniell
High payouts are a great thing to look for with affiliate programs. Some affiliate companies pay as little as 4% (ie Amazon’s Affiliate Program). The nice thing about hosting is that there are always small companies popping up that you can review, and there’s plenty of things to compare. Everyone’s needs are different, so you can really narrow down the audience for each host, and find the perfect host for a person.
Some people just want cheap. Others NEED fast. Some like customization options, with many options available, and some people just want their hosting optimized for WordPress.
PS. My old podcasts are on YouTube, but I don’t think they are very good 🙁