The 20 Best Affiliate Marketing Niches (+How to Monetize Them)
Choosing the best affiliate marketing niches is one of the biggest challenges for any online business.
With the right niche, you can make a very good passive income.
But there is tough competition out there. So you also need to find a niche with little competition that still generates good revenue.
And that is exactly what I am going to show you.
In this post, you will learn:
- How to choose a niche for affiliate marketing
- The top affiliate marketing niches right now
- How to make money with affiliate marketing
Let’s dive in.
The advantages of niche marketing
- Less Competition. Since you will be focusing on a specific segment of the market, you will have less competition.
- Higher ROI (return of investment). Because niche marketing focuses on specific groups of users, they’re more likely to buy from you than someone caught in a mass marketing net. Having targeted customers will translate into a better conversation rate. You will have less traffic, but the one you have would have an interest in your product/service.
- Customer Loyalty. Because you are solving problems to a specific segment, customers coming to your site will have an interest in the topics you cover and will keep coming. That translates into engaged customers who are more likely to buy.
- Cheaper Ads. Since you are targeting less competitive terms, the price of runnings ads will also be lower.
How to choose a niche for affiliate marketing
If you are a beginner, my suggestion is you “choose the safe path” and go for a niche in this list, where you know money is flowing.
In this article, you will find some very lucrative affiliate niches.
The trick is to niche down to reduce competition.
Even though you will have less traffic because the volume of the keywords will be lower, you’ll also have less competition and a more targeted audience.
Probably, that would be the easiest way to start.
Also, you can always try another niche. But you will need to do some research to be sure it would be profitable.
Finally, if a niche has no competition or very little competition is a bad sign, at least it is something very new.
Summarising, in order to choose a niche you should:
- Make sure it is profitable
- Check it does not have a lot of competition already
- Find a market with a stable trend
- Niche down as much as you can to reduce competition and have a targeted audience
List of the 20 best affiliate marketing niches
- Make Money Online
- Pets.
- Self-help.
- Dating and Relationships.
- Beauty.
- Gadgets and Technology.
- Personal Finance.
- Weight Loss
- Health
- Gaming
- Wealth Building
- Gardening
- Home security
- Home Decor
- Travel
- Sports
- Maternity and Baby Products
- Nutrition
- Essential Oils
- Coffee
In order to better understand how this study is done and how you can do it, I suggest you take a look at this post where I explain how to do keyword research.
1. Make money online
Making money online is one of the best affiliate marketing niches, but it is also a very competitive one.
As the world keeps evolving, people rely more and more on online business.
Many want to be location independent; others might look for an additional income. Whatever the reason is, it is a market that is only growing.
If you can find a unique angle and work hard, I have no doubt you can make serious money with this niche.
You can see from the screenshot that the trend is very stable. Although it dropped slightly back in 2018, it still presents a good search volume.
But because it is a very profitable niche is also very competitive.
Some sub-niches ideas you could target based on related terms on this keyword are:
Top 5 making money online affiliate programs
2. Pet Caring
I had a dog and several other pets, so I am well aware of how much money people are willing to spend on their pets.
Food, health, toys, accessories, etc. All that explains why the pet market worth at least $72 billion. And the global pet industry is expected to reach up to $202.6 billion by 2025. So there is a lot of money at stake.
Although it is a competitive affiliate niche, there’s still plenty of space for new affiliate publishers with fresh approaches.
The trend shows it is stable, and the search volume is also good.
With such interest, if you manage to write well-written articles to drive traffic to your site, you can build a very profitable business.
Some sub-niches ideas you could target based on related terms on this keyword are:
Top 5 Pets affiliate programs
3. Self-help
This is a huge niche for making money online.
Whether someone needs to build self-esteem, increase their confidence, overcome issues… there is a self-improvement product or course out there.
You could find courses and programs, books, videos, online training, coaching.
Like any other niche, the trick is to focus on solving issues to people. You can do it in a form of a book, videos, authority website, etc.
With the interest going over the 75 line, this proves to be a very demanded topic and a trending niche.
Niches like this will have a lot of competition, but with these numbers, it also means there are also opportunities for self-help micro-niches.
Some sub-niches ideas you could target based on related terms on this keyword are:
Top 5 self-help affiliate programs
4. Dating and Relationships
Let’s face it- Nobody likes to be alone.
For some people, the job takes most of their time making it extra hard to find the time and energy to go out to look for a partner.
And that is exactly why all the dating websites and apps are very popular. They just make things easier.
But not only that. Every couple needs some inspiration and tips at some point to maintain a smooth and healthy relationship.
These days are tons of dating websites which provides a lucrative affiliate per sign-ups, so that could be a great opportunity for you.
As you can see, there is a pretty stable trend for this niche. And what is even better, it has a great search volume.
It would seem that people have more interest in dating overall. So finding a sub-niche for this topic looks like a good starting point.
Some sub-niches ideas you could target based on related terms on this keyword are:
Top 5 dating and relationships affiliate programs
5. Beauty
Beauty is a very broad term. But that also means there are many opportunities if you manage to niche down to less competitive sub-categories.
This can be a very profitable niche because beauty has been a top trend for years.
Also, in modern times more and more men are becoming an important part of this sector which grows exponentially.
So I’d say beauty supply is one of the best affiliate marketing niches.
Some ideas on how you can tackle this niche are; Podcast sharing beauty tips, youtube videos with tutorials, a droppshipping website, etc.
The stable trend for this topic shows is a safe bet.
Some sub-niches ideas you could target based on related terms on this keyword are:
Top 5 beauty affiliate programs
6. Gadgets and Technology
There has never been a more active time in terms of technology and gadgets than the one we are living in now.
Think about it- whether it’s a tablet, smartphone, smartwatch speakers, earphones…you name it!
People love technology and their gadgets, and what is even more interesting from the affiliate marketer point of view- People always want the latest!
I have some friends in this niche, so I know Amazon affiliate program can be very lucrative.
Dropshipping is another great option for this niche.
When looking for the trends for this topic, we can see a very interesting graph. Technology is a broader term that has always been there. Whereas gadgets are more specific and are more recent. That would explain the number of search differences
However, when we look for related terms, we can see gadgets is where the trend is going.
Some sub-niches ideas you could target based on related terms on this keyword are:
Top 5 gadgets and technology affiliate programs
7. Personal finance
Banking is changing more than ever, and people need help managing and securing their savings.
They need to be in control of their personal finance. Otherwise, it can provoke a very stressful situation. They might need to consult about a mortgage or to pay a debt at the lowest interest possible.
In any case, you could help to connect them with the experts and promote information products as an affiliate marketer.
Like everything related to finance, it has some ups and downs.
The important here it has a stable trend.
Some sub-niches ideas you could target based on related terms on this keyword are:
Top 5 personal finance affiliate programs
8. Weight Loss
I am just looking great! Said nobody ever.
The U.S. weight loss market is now worth a record $72 billion, so it can be a very profitable niche if done properly.
Gaining weight is just a natural thing that happens to all of us. Without exercise and a healthy diet combined, it can be really tricky to stay fit.
That is why helping people with their weight loss can be one of the best affiliate marketing niches. No matter what, we’ll always need to keep the balance or weight loss at some point.
And no because of your image, but because it can be dangerous for the health.
Bear in mind that people have busy lives. So the solution to their problem needs to be something “easy”.
Some ideas could be 15 minutes of workouts. Or cooking healthy in 10 minutes.
This just proves that this niche is not going to lost interest any time soon.
This is a curious trend. It always starts with a peek at the beginning of each year and then it decreases slowly towards the end.
New year resolutions if you ask me 😉
Some sub-niches ideas you could target based on related terms on this keyword are:
Top 5 weight loss affiliate programs
9. Health
With lots in common with weight loss, health is another solid affiliate marketing business.
With the internet, people tend to invest some time in researching things like healthy habits, healthy diets, supplements, etc.
In this niche, anything that will promote a healthy lifestyle that helps avoid disease and makes you live longer is a win-win.
The opportunities to profit here are endless: books, supplements, information products, physical products, coaching, etc.
You need to stay on top of trendy products to have your chance. Right now, medical marijuana and CBD oils are an emerging trend.
It is safe to assume that health makes one of the best affiliate marketing niches because is one of those niches that will always be of interest.
Some sub-niches ideas you could target based on related terms on this keyword are:
Top 5 health affiliate programs
10. Gaming
It doesn’t’ matter age or gender; everybody enjoys games.
The portable devices are making the gaming industry to grow exponentially.
One of the advantages of the gaming niche has is that users always want new games. Also, some of them would buy premium upgrades on their favorite games.
You can clearly see in this graphic how this niche is only growing. In fact, in 2020 is bigger than ever
One of the best opportunities within this niche lies in gaming products. (see below)
Some sub-niches ideas you could target based on related terms on this keyword are:
Top 5 gaming affiliate programs
11. Wealth Building
One of the most common ways to build wealth is through capital investments. But the tricky part is to know what to invest in.
That is why people recur to experts advice, so they can have some guidelines and reduce the risk when investing in stocks, bonds, etc
This is a market that has been working for a long time because, when done properly, it can provide the money than any other niche couldn’t.
So if you think you can help people out investing and earning good money, this can be one of the best affiliate marketing niches for you.
In these times of uncertainty, it seems the interest in this niche is growing.
Some sub-niches ideas you could target based on related terms on this keyword are:
Top 5 wealth-building affiliate programs
12. Gardening
According to Grand View Research, gardening has a market value of $83 billion in 2020.
People love gardening, and they do recur to the internet to look for tips, services, and products. Which means several micro niches are offering a great opportunity.
And that’s without taking into account the growth in homesteading and urban farming.
So if gardening is your passion, you should consider turning it into your business.
From the graphic, you can appreciate there is a peak during the summer season. But also, you can see how it has increased during the last year.
Some sub-niches ideas you could target based on related terms on this keyword are:
Top 5 gardening affiliate programs
13. Home Security
The home security systems market was valued at USD 53.6 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 78.9 billion by 2025.
Having your home broken into can be a horrible experience. But the truth is that nobody is exempt from that.
Also, with the new era of dropping parcels at the front porch, many people are experiencing petty thieves.
So it is important to take home security seriously.
These days, there are many affordable security systems you can even buy at amazon and install by yourself.
So looking for affordable security systems from Amazon, could be a great affiliate marketing strategy for your website.
This graphic shows you this is a stable niche with great possibilities.
Also, the products and services you could offer make this, one of the affiliate marketing niches with the potential to make money.
Some sub-niches ideas you could target based on related terms on this keyword are:
Top 5 home security affiliate programs
14. Home Decor
Home decor is a great choice as one of the top affiliate marketing niches because it is evergreen, and there is always demand.
People build new houses all the time. Also, when they rent a house or want to renovate it, they will need some redecorations.
Although the niche can be a competitive one, it is a great affiliate marketing niche to promote products if you can niche down.
With a great number of searches over time, it looks is higher than ever in 2020.
It also seems a good idea to start a dropshipping business for this niche.
Some sub-niches ideas you could target based on related terms on this keyword are:
Top 5 home decor affiliate programs
15. Travel
Globally, travel and tourism directly contributed approximately 2.9 trillion U.S. dollars to GDP in 2019.
In the same year, the United States’ travel and tourism industry directly contributed the highest amount to global GDP, with a total of 580.7 billion U.S. dollars. That is BIG.
2020 might not be the best time to promote travel because of COVID-19. But the truth is that travel is a huge market and at some point is going to peak again.
Because everybody loves traveling.
In fact, the big demand provides a great offer with affordable economy class tickets almost anywhere.
And people are traveling now more than they have ever before in history.
Travel has always had a steady interest over time.
It was during the pandemic when travel-related searches spiked. However, they were not with commercial intention but with information intention.
Although international travel is taking off slowly, domestic travel is going up.
Some sub-niches ideas you could target based on related terms on this keyword are:
Top 5 travel affiliate programs
16. Sports
Sports are many people’s hobbies. And we can be very generous at spending money on our hobbies.
Although selling sports products online can be a very profitable affiliate marketing business, you’ll need to niche down to something specific.
Alternatively, you can see some profitable niches with low competition here.
Another idea would be checking into the top sport affiliate programs below, and build your site around some lucrative affiliates.
This might be one of the trends with the highest numbers we have seen so far.
What makes this a great candidate to be one of the affiliate marketing niches more profitable, are the numbers.
But that is why the competence is so fierce. Where there are numbers, there is money (and competence)
Also, the related keywords suggest people are looking for sports information. So one of the best ways to monetize a site with a lot of traffic is with ads.
Some sub-niches ideas you could target based on related terms on this keyword are:
Top 5 sports affiliate programs
17. Baby Products
Maternity and baby products are with no doubt one of the latest trends in blogging.
Taking into account that bay care products is worth $73 billion and is growing, it is indeed a good affiliate marketing niche to dig in.
Now think about the number of diapers, wipes, accessories, toys, and many other things a baby needs. Then think about the service life of these items. It is not much. This means parents (and familiars) are constantly buying new baby products.
That is the reason baby products can make one of the best affiliate marketing niches.
The numbers might not seem high. But that is because you will be looking for the product directly instead of “baby products”.
Yet, it has a stable trend and as long as there are babies, baby products will always be needed.
Some sub-niches ideas you could target based on related terms on this keyword are:
Top 5 baby products affiliate programs
18. Nutrition
The same way health it is on the list of the best affiliate marketing niches, nutrition couldn’t be out of it.
There is a trend towards people being more aware than ever of the food they consume.
People are now willing to spend more if that means they get to eat healthier and more nutritious meals.
This leaves the market wide open to opportunities like the numerous subscription boxes companies emerging now.
The numbers about interest over time in this niche speak by themselves.
With a few ups and downs but mainly over the 75 line, makes this a very trendy niche.
Some sub-niches ideas you could target based on related terms on this keyword are:
Top 5 nutrition affiliate programs
19. Coffee
Coffee lovers drink at least 3 cups of coffee a day and the average costs at least $3.
Now take that and multiply it by the number of people in the world that drink coffee. That is why revenue in the coffee segment amounts to US$67,663m in 2020.
If you add to the equation the different products for coffee lovers like coffee machines, capsules, grinders, etc, we are talking about one of the best affiliate marketing niches to promote products.
With the hectic lives in these modern times, it is no casualty the numbers just keep going up.
Some sub-niches ideas you could target based on related terms on this keyword are:
Top 5 coffee affiliate programs
20. Essential oils
Every year, I see more and more websites about essential oils.
It was only when I saw the market value of $4 billion when I understood it. And is expected to grow to about $27 billion! That is insane
That justifies the growth in popularity. And it is also a projection of how profitable can this niche be.
Many people use them for aromatherapy, a form of alternative medicine in which healing effects are ascribed to aromatic compounds. Others just to induce relaxation.
Focus on a segment like essential oils for aromatherapy, and choose the affiliates with the best commissions to create your profitable website.
The trend and interest over time show well for this niche.
By the end of 2018, it decreased a bit in popularity but it is quite steady.
Some sub-niches ideas you could target based on related terms on this keyword are:
Top 5 essential oils affiliate programs
How to make money with niche affiliate marketing
So you have already decided on your niche, and now you want to know how to make money with affiliate marketing.
If you follow these steps, you should be able to start making money with your affiliate marketing business
This is what you need to do:
Find the issues people are facing in your niche and solve them.
For instance, if your blog is about vegan recipes, there might be people which only can eat gluten-free recipes. Your job would be to create vegan gluten-free recipes for that segment.
You need to spend some time doing research to make sure you target keywords with low competition. Following the previous example, if you research “vegan recipes” you’ll see it has a lot of competition. Whereas if you target “Vegan gluten-free recipes” you have much better chances to be found and still have a good search volume.
Check the top affiliate programs included in this post and sign with the best matches. You don’t need to sign up for all the affiliate programs, but the ones that better align with your ideas and the topics you are going to cover. It is better to focus on 2 or 3 good affiliates (that convert wells and have good commissions) than using many different ones.
Write blog posts where people click on your links.
- Google the keyword you are targeting and write a better blog post than the top 3. Try to cover topics they don’t or simply add more useful information the other posts don’t cover. That will increase your chances to be on Google’s page 1.
- Make people click on your affiliate links using natural links. If you want people to buy products from your link, you really need to think like a potential buyer when placing your links.
- For instance, let’s say you are writing your post about “gluten-free vegan recipes” and your affiliate is a book with “ The 1000 best vegan recipes for gluten-sensitive people”.
This is what you should NOT do: […] if you want more vegan recipes click here […] - This is what you should do: […] if you are suffering from coeliac and want to access 1000 creative vegan recipes for gluten-sensitive people you’ll want to check this book.[…]
- As you can see in the second example you point to the problem and then provide a solution. That is a great strategy to follow when placing your affiliate links to get more clicks (and money)
- Review the full blog post to make sure it reads well. It should be easy to read, structured, and clean.
Promote your content.
It is not enough with publishing your article and hope people find it. Take a proactive approach and use social media and forums to get to people who could be interested in your blog post.
If you wrote a blog post focusing on a problem, you could look in forums like Quora on Reddit for people asking questions about this topic and provide them with your article.
You should also share it on your social media networks. If you do have a bit of budget, placing a Google Ads or Facebook Ads can dramatically help you to reach more people.
Repeat the process.
If you want to appear on Google you need to focus on building an authority site.
Meaning you should cover all the different angles from the niche you have chosen to prove to Google you master the niche.
A good way to stay ahead of the competition is by promoting the newest trends and products in your niche.
Are you ready to start your affiliate marketing niche website?
There you have it: The 20 best affiliate marketing niches and how to make money with them.
Affiliate marketing can be a great passive income when done well. So I urge you to take your time and go thoroughly through this list of these lucrative affiliate niches.
If you need more help, I suggest checking how to create a niche website from scratch
Thank you for your reading.
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Originally published at https://thenicheguru.com on October 8, 2020.