5 Best affiliate programs and networks in the world

With the massive increase in online business and  thus the subsequent development of fierce competitions among business owners, many companies have come up with different means and ways -both dubious and genuine- to attract and retain customers so as to increase their sales. The online market is equally becoming competitive at an alarming rate probably because many people are opting for it considering the fact that it is much easier to make money without breaking a sweat or developing a sour relationship with fellow co-workers.

It is due to this competition and the raising need  for goods, services and a quicker service delivery, that let other smart entrepreneurs to start what is now known as affiliate programs or networks with the main purpose of helping merchants market their products and services online through individual affiliates. Some companies and major websites have their own affiliate programs though.

Affiliate programs bring together merchants and affiliates who promote their goods and services for commissions. Affiliates sign up for this programs and promote a range of products from the merchant sites either on social networks or on their own blogs and websites.
But you have to be very careful with the kind of affiliate programs you sign up with. Some are simply scam sites who either want to exploit your efforts, make profits and leave you memorizing the 'Hyena learns a lesson' folktale or scam you of your hard earned cash or even worse hack your site. That kind of stuff is happening all over and many affiliates have ended up loosing millions and even their entire career just because they made a simple mistake- signing up for a scam affiliate program. These sites promise you fortunes and they don't find it hard duping upcoming affiliates into thinking that they are legit.
Of course there are thousands of affiliate programs and networks out their and signing up in any of them is easier than scratching your own back. But are they all legit? I guess you would love to find out yourself.
But just to lessen your search for legit affiliate programs, I have combined a list of the five best affiliate programs out there that every smart affiliate is using.

I understand some or all of these programs are in every list on the internet but the point cannot be emphasized enough- they are simply the best. But because I wanted my list to be unique and not write the same stuff everybody else out there is writing, I did my own research before finally settling down to write this post. I considered the following aspects;

•  Amount of traffic on the site
• Number of affiliates and merchants presently operating
• Variety of good and services available for promotion by affiliates
• Customer relation and support
• Commissions paid 
• Accuracy in tracking sales by their affiliates
• Global ranking and support

But because it is rather not easy to rank these sites in order of superiority, considering that they compete on different lines and one can have something better than the other and another thing worse than the other, my list is random. Not actually following any criteria because I believe that the best criteria can be created through your own experience. So my job is to suggest the program or network then you go and asses them yourself and come up with your own judgement.

      1. Amazon Associates

This is by far one of the best and oldest affiliate program with a rating of 4.25 out of the total 5.  I can comfortably guarantee that Amazon Associates is the best kind of affiliate program for any newbie affiliate because unlike other programs, it does not look at where you are going to promote their products. If you are just starting out and your site has little traffic, Amazon Associates will definitely give you something to promote. They have a large variety of products that can fit into any niche ranging from electronics, digital products to baby under wears so there is just no way on earth you are going to miss something to promote.
Their commissions are a bit low starting from 4% but if you are serious about this affiliate thing, you could as well scoop out a fortune. The payout vary based on product type and sales volume, so the more effort you put in, the more the commissions.
Amazon Associates operate in PPS ( Pay Per Sale) and they have a special feature which allows its affiliates to open an Amazon store where they can sell products they choose and therefore increase their earning potential.
You have to be careful though because this program is illegal in some countries. So be sure to check out the list of countries allowed on Amazon before signing up for their affiliate program

       2. Clickbank

Clickbank is a well known online market place for digital products ranging from Ebooks to software products, making it very popular among bloggers and website owners. Just like Amazon Associates and other popular affiliate programs and networks, Clinkbank affiliates are spoiled  for choice.
Their commissions are as high as 75% and they accept payments in 13 different currencies and the affiliates can promote their products in four different languages. They pay every Wednesday of the week using different methods including direct deposit.
But before you decide to join Clickbank,  make sure that you have enough traffic to your site because it just does not tolerate low traffic. This coupled with its harsh payment terms which include charging you if don't make any sales, makes it hell for new affiliates.

        3. Commission Junction

Commission junction is a household name when it comes to online affiliate marketing, considered the largest in North America by business analysts. It is owned by ValueClick Inc. and is based in California.
 It was ranked second place in the 2012 Blue Book of top 20 affiliate marketers for best relationship between the merchants, the network and the affiliates. It regularly operates on a pay-per-action affiliate program and is considered one of the best by affiliates.

        4. ShareAsale

Founded in 2000 by a young entrepreneur Brian Littleton, ShareAsale is one of the best and probably oldest affiliate networks. It is considered one of the best affiliate networks in the United States, boasting of over 700,000 affiliates. It has a large array of products for affiliates to choose from and almost every niche is catered for.
It offers a pay per click, pay per per lead and pay per sale options but just like Clickbank, it does not allow low rated sites with poor traffic to promote their products.

5. LinkShare

LinkShare took the second position in the 2012 Blue Book of Top affiliate networks for quality customer support, platform strength and international capabilities.  It prides of over 10 million affiliate partnerships and over 2,500 affiliate programs.
LinkShare, gives its affiliates the option of having their affiliate channels managed or they could manage them themselves using the site's services and support.
It allows a $1 payout threshold for U.S residents but $100 for affiliates from other countries.

Keep in mind that this listing do not follow any particular order. I have listed this affiliate programs and networks randomly but it is now upon you to test each one of these programs and networks and decide which one works best for you. Again this is not the final list. There are other affiliate programs and networks that are doing equally fine  and are worth giving a try. I will be dealing with different and more detailed categories in my other posts- this one is somewhat general- to see to it that I give you as many options as possible to choose from.

            See also: 6 Affiliate programs in Kenya  that can make you money

                          To your affiliate success!!