Anyone in the online space is no doubt familiar with web hosting. From e-commerce sites to hiking blogs, every single website on the internet is hosted somewhere.
It may not be obvious at first, but web hosting is more than just a necessity to get your website going; it can also be a huge source of income via affiliate marketing.
How?
Think about it. Web hosting is immensely popular. With billions of websites worldwide and millions of new ones created each year, the demand for web hosting isn’t going anywhere–in fact, it’s increasing. It’s not cheap, either, and web hosting can cost businesses thousands of dollars per year.
High popularity coupled with high prices, in the case of affiliate marketing, means high commissions. Affiliate marketing through web hosting services can be a great way to generate income, but it can get confusing due to the hundreds of web hosting affiliate programs out there.
We’ve sorted through the best and worst of them to give you the definitive list of the top ten web hosting affiliate programs in 2019.
Bluehost
There’s a reason why Ryan Robinson, one of the internet’s most popular bloggers, is affiliate marketing with BlueHost. It’s a wildly popular and reliable platform that hosts millions of domains. On top of that, the commissions are solid, and the affiliate program is easy to use.
All in all, BlueHost is a great option due to its popularity and ease-of-use. The BlueHost affiliate program should be one of the first that affiliate marketers consider when browsing through web hosting affiliate programs.
- Sign Up: https://www.bluehost.com/cgi/partner/signup
- Commission: $65 for potential with increase to $120, depending on referral numbers.
- Cookie: 60 days
Siteground
Similar to BlueHost, Siteground is a giant in the web hosting space. It’s one of the most popular options out there, which makes it extremely attractive to affiliate marketers. A great commission means nothing if there’s no chance that anyone will use the service.
Taking advantage of Siteground’s popularity to generate income through affiliate referrals is a brilliant way to take your marketing game to the next level, and this affiliate program is likely one of the ones that will end up landing you the most referrals.
Siteground’s commission structure is unique; like BlueHost, it operates on a dynamic commission structure that increases your payouts as you make more successful referrals.
- Sign Up: https://www.siteground.com/affiliate/signup.htm
- Commission: $50 to $100+ per sale, depending on how many referrals you’re making.
- Cookie: 60 days
Cloudways
Up there with the best of them, Cloudways’ affiliate program is not to be overlooked. It pays well, and packs an intuitive and aesthetic user interface to boot. The commission structure is one of our favorites, because it allows affiliate marketers to choose from one of two commission tiers based on what works best for them.
The slab method of payment is an upfront, flat-rate fee. Similar to other affiliate programs, you get a flat fee when someone signs up for the web hosting service as a result of clicking your affiliate link. That’s all, and it works well for many affiliate marketers.
With Cloudways’ hybrid method, however, a smaller upfront fee is paid ($30), and you’ll receive recurring commissions as long as the user stays with Cloudways. According to their website, the hybrid method will earn more over time, and the slab method will earn more upfront. It’s up to you to decide!
- Sign Up: https://platform.cloudways.com/signup
- Commission: $50-125 per sale with the slab method, $30 plus a 7% royalty with the hybrid method.
- Cookie: 90 days
Kinsta
When it comes to usability and functionality for an affiliate program, we absolutely love Kinsta. They’ve committed to making the affiliate marketing process easy and smooth, and it really is.
On top of that, the commissions with Kinsta are fantastic. The potential is there to make up to $500 per sale, and you’ll receive a 10% recurring royalty if the customer continues to host with Kinsta.
No, they’re not quite as popular as mega hosting sites like Siteground and Bluehost. However, their hosting services are great, and it’s growing in popularity. With the sky-high commissions, Kinsta is a web hosting affiliate program you can’t miss.
- Sign Up: https://affiliate.kinsta.com/register
- Commission: $50 – $500 per sale + 10% recurring
- Cookie: 60 days
WP Engine
It’s true that WP Engine is, hence the name, only a web host for WordPress sites. That said, over half of the websites on the internet are with WordPress, and that number continues to grow. We think it’s safe to say that you won’t have a problem finding people willing to host with WP Engine, especially because of how fast and reliable their hosting is.
WP Engine is a little bit more expensive than some of the other options, which may deter potential customers away from using it as their hosting platform. To make up for it, though, WP Engine offers a $200 commission for each new customer you refer, or 100% of the first month’s payment (whichever ends up to be more). This is spectacular, and given that you can successfully refer customers to the hosting service, you can make some big bucks with the WP Engine affiliate program. The 180-day cookie doesn’t hurt either.
- Sign Up: https://www.shareasale.com/shareasale.cfm?merchantID=41388#register
- Commission: $200 for every new customer, or 100% of the first month’s payment, whichever is higher. Also earn 35% of StudioPress Theme sales.
- Cookie: 180 days, 60 days for StudioPress Theme Sales.
A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting is incredibly popular and has been recommended by hundreds of reputable bloggers and business owners online. It has great commissions for affiliate marketers, which makes it a very attractive option.
If you’re looking for a popular web hosting service that has commissions a little bit higher than SiteGround and BlueHost, the A2 Hosting affiliate program may be the option for you.
Commissions increase as successful referrals increase. To get to the highest commission tier, you’ll need to be converting at least 31 sales per month, which is a lot. That’s a lot, but A2 is a great host and it’s definitely possible to get to that tier.
- Sign Up: https://affiliates.a2hosting.com/affiliates/signup.php#SignupForm
- Commission: $85-140 per sale.
- Cookie: 90 days
DreamHost
As a web hosting solution officially recommended by WordPress.org, DreamHost is a dreamy option for a web hosting affiliate program. Quick payment turnaround, a beautiful site interface, and great web hosting make DreamHost a solid affiliate program choice.
The commissions are great, and if you’re looking for an alternative to some of the more mainstream options, DreamHost is a program to consider.
- Sign Up: https://affiliates.dreamhost.com/
- Commission: Up to $200 per referral
- Cookie: 45 days
WPX Hosting
Growing in popularity and used by plenty of well-known blogs and websites, WPX Hosting is yet another excellent affiliate program option. It has an industry-standard 60-day cookie, and commissions can reach up to $100.
Among the hundreds of web hosting solutions, WPX Hosting stands out as a diamond in the rough. It won’t be very difficult to refer customers to WPX, because the service delivers high speeds along with a host of other benefits.
- Sign Up: https://wpxhosting.com/affiliates/signup/
- Commission: Up to $100 per referral
- Cookie: 60 days
HostGator
A sister company to BlueHost, HostGator is a booming web hosting company boasting plenty of benefits and a great affiliate marketing program.
The service itself is lesser-known than its big sister BlueHost, but HostGator still packs a punch, and it is becoming more and more popular due to its reasonable pricing and high-quality services.
The commissions with HostGator aren’t quite as high as you’ll see on some of the other affiliate programs, but it’s a popular and trusted platform.
- Sign Up: https://app.impact.com/campaign-mediapartner-signup/HostGatorcom.brand?execution=e1s1
- Commission: Up to $125, starts at $50
- Cookie: 60 days
iPage
Believe it or not, iPage is also a sister company to BlueHost and HostGator. And, just like them, iPage offers superb web hosting services at affordable prices. It’s an intuitive and well-crafted service that many bloggers and businesses are using to host their sites.
iPage has a great web design and support system, both of which are immediate attractions for potential customers. This can translate to potentially a higher conversion rate for your affiliate marketing business.
The commission rates for iPage are very similar to those of BlueHost and HostGator. The main difference to note here is that there are four different plans, most of which offer different commission rates. The lowest is $65 and the highest is $150.
- Sign Up: https://members.ipage.com/affiliate/signup.bml
- Commission: $65-150, depending on the type of plan they get
- Cookie: 120 days
Choose Best Web Hosting Affiliate Program Wisely
One of the biggest keys to affiliate marketing is understanding that it’s not just about getting the customer to click on your affiliate link; the product or service you’re recommending should be top-notch. If it’s not something you’d consider using yourself, recommending it to your readers tears down trust and reputation.
The web hosting affiliate programs listed above all offer popular, high-quality web hosting services. They’re all used and recommended by thousands of well-known websites and blogs. These programs also all are trusted, reliable affiliate programs with great rates and cookie durations.
Whichever web hosting affiliate program you choose (or if you end up going with more than one), know that you’ll be well on your way to generating some extra income–and making some customers very happy with top-notch web hosting solutions!