Thinking about becoming a webmaster but don’t know where to start? Did you dig up dull indicators about penny-sized profits from affiliating in the Russian segment of the Internet and aren’t sure you’re ready for the US? Yes, the USA are a Tier1 country, or rather THE tier1 country.
So expect some pretty stiff competition here. Many webmasters, after repeated attempts, gave up at trying to conquer the local audience and did not manage to get back the invested funds. Still, this direction should not be ignored. After all, there are even more free niches, as well as verticals.
The American market is constantly evolving and changing. What seemed hopeless yesterday has become a bestseller today. Any product can become a breakthrough, there are always promising directions.
In terms of capacity, this market has no equal – no one player has ever got close to a level where they could claim to be a monopolist. Even both China and India can’t rival America’s purchasing power, though they are catching up in terms of GDP (most products manufactured in China are destined for the United States market).
Yes, there are many difficulties and pitfalls. But they pale in comparison to the profit prospects. Besides, in the LeadBit partner network, we constantly monitor trends, we are well aware of most of the difficulties. We prefer long-term partnership. We will help you choose interesting directions, tell you about the most convenient payment models, traffic channels. In our article you will find out a lot of interesting things, even if you are an experienced webmaster or affiliate marketer.
Table of contents
What are Affiliate Marketing Programs
Affiliate Marketing is one of the ways to attract new customers, promote goods and services. Unlike traditional marketing tools, the seller (adviser) does not advertise himself, but transfers this function to partners (publishers) who are paid a percentage of the revenue. An alternative option is a fixed reward for a lead (action): registering on the site, installing an application, filling out a form and leaving contact info.
Affiliate marketing is beneficial for both parties:
- the advertising costs for the seller are reduced, it’s easier to plan the budget – the partner is paid a reward from an already concluded deal or for a certain useful action. You can easily calculate the efficiency of this scheme;
- for a publisher, this is a good source of income since there are no logistics or storage expenses. All you need to do is post an affiliate link on a blog or distribute it on forums, social networks.
Affiliate marketing allows all kinds of traffic sources. These can be banners or small links on a blog, contextual advertising on Facebook, Google, Amazon or other sites, YouTube channels, e-mail or messengers, a landing page and other sources. That allows you to earn on traffic arbitrage without wasting energy on website promotion.
Video on What is Affiliate Marketing and How Much Money Can be Made From it
Why the US?
There are concrete reasons to work with affiliate programs in the USA. It is the world’s largest economy. The GDP of individual American states, for example Texas or California, exceed that of whole countries (with the exception of India, China, Japan). You’d need a quantum computer to compromise fully all the potential this market holds. Over the year, the American economy produces goods and services worth more than $ 22 trillion (as of 2019).
But most importantly, the American market is like a prepared, fertile soil where any commercial grain grows quickly and gives good fruit. The salaries here are just enormous. Add to this a particular lifestyle, the American dream, which helped create a consumer society. Americans shop eagerly, constantly re-buying and updating their tech, wardrobe, cars. They also travel often. They use both personal and credit funds.
And the main argument is that affiliate marketing is very popular in the USA, the array of niches is almost endless. Here, every resident has access to the Internet. Americans eagerly shop online, view all sorts of reviews and catalogs that redirect users to the seller’s website. In 2017, affiliate programs brought companies about 16% of their revenue. Amazon alone has converted this into $10 billion.
The total turnover of Internet commerce alone is about $500 billion. Anything imaginable (and sometimes unimaginable) is bought and sold here. Each state is a separate country with its own interests and trends, the room for experimentation is inexhaustible.
So here’s the main question: Where is it better to drive traffic? What are the most profitable sectors?
TOP 15 affiliate programs for the USA
What do we know about the USA? Here are just a few facts:
- 330 million people live in the country;
- about 288 million of them have hard-line Internet, some households even have 2 or 3 separate lines;
- almost all 330 million have access to mobile Internet;
- 230 million are active social media users.
Yes, virtually every American has access to the Internet (even many homeless people). In a country where the average salary is more than $ 900 per week and even unemployment benefits are higher than the average salary in many Eastern European countries, including EU member states.
The USA is a heterogeneous country in terms of ethnic and cultural composition. There are almost 330 million people with different interests, hobbies, habits and worldviews. That’s why all kinds of affiliate programs have great success here. But there are the most popular ones that promise simple monetization with high income and minimal investment.
We constantly monitor the work of webmasters and publishers. We can highlight several areas where LeadBit members have been the most successful.
Gambling affiliate programs
Considering that there is not one, but several world gambling capitals in the USA, betting and casino affiliate programs is very popular. Americans are responsible gamblers. Here cases when people lose everything because they hit slot machine rock bottom are almost a fairy tale. Though, this does not mean that many Americans spend up to 15% of their earnings ($150-200 per week). For locals, feeling the thrill is a drug, another way to experience vivid emotions, to get the holiday spirit.
To feel the blood boil in their veins. Potential winnings are nothing but a nice addition to that. Americans are willing to pay a lot for pleasure. But hardcore gambling addicts are rare.
Considering the local salaries and the amounts that players leave over and over again (and not one-time, as is often the case in the CIS), online casinos pay generously to publishers for each client. There are sites where the rate is up to $ 200 per deposit or up to $ 20 per registration. Excellent conditions offer:
CHERRY GOLD online casino
This gambling company works legally. The machines have passed laboratory tests, the percentage of return complies with American law (more than 93% of the funds are returned in the form of winnings). The company operates under the Curacao Gaming License. Itc accepts players from all over the world. But it focuses on Tier 1 countries. Namely, the USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Italy.
CHERRY GOLD has a well-designed website (Real Time Gaming platform), and easy to use applications for PC, iOS and Android. Works with popular payment systems. Accepts Visa, Mastercard, AE, Bitcoin.
General information:
- website: https://www.cherrygoldcasino.com, advertiser provides ready-made promotional materials;
- payment per deposit – $195;
- minimum deposit – $25;
- allowed traffic sources: mobile ads, ad networks, email adds, social media, contextual ads, PopUp, ClickUnder, doorways, adult traffic, SEO, banners, brand traffic, Cashback, Push-notifications, Toolbar, teaser ads, Youtube;
- prohibited traffic sources: motivated traffic for a minimum deposit, brokered traffic.
MELBET
A bookmaker with a wide collection of slots. The list includes about 40 sports, you can also bet on political events and show business. MELBET is popular among Americans, since the site features the nation’s favorite sports and tournaments.You can bet on baseball, NHL, NBA, horse racing, dog racing or even on the presidential election.
Most of the slots have passed tests for compliance with the stated return percentage. A compelling argument for pragmatic Americans who don’t like to spend money without certain assurances. The list includes about 60 payment systems. Transactions can be carried out through bank cards, cryptocurrencies (the largest selection among gambling resources), electronic wallets. The website regularly holds contests with prizes up to $ 1,000,000, and gives a welcome deposit of 100%.
General information:
- website – melbet.com;
- payout – $16 per deposit + any further transactions within 2 weeks;
- hold – 14 days;
- prohibited traffic sources: motivated traffic for a minimum deposit, brokered traffic.
- does not pay – for multiaccounts and inactive players.
7Bit CASINO
A charming casino that fills Americans with the feeling of nostalgia. Here, modern technology and the best slots have merged with colorful neon signs and the Las Vegas atmosphere of the 60s – hippies, rock and roll and the American dream. В казино большой выбор слотов, есть копии легендарных автоматов из Вегаса. The casino has a large selection of slots, there are copies of the legendary machines from Vegas.
Good bonuses (50% on the first deposit up to $ 200), promotions and contests are held regularly. And this is one of the few sites with a no deposit bonus. There is a large selection of payment systems, but US residents can only conduct transactions through cryptocurrencies.
General information:
- website: 7bitpartners.com;
- payout – $110 per deposit;
- minimum deposit – 10 euros/dollars;
- hold – 14 days;
- allowed traffic sources: mobile ads, network ads, email ads, social media, contextual ads, PopUp, ClickUnder, doorways, ads in apps, SEO, banners, Cashback, Push-notifications, Toolbar, teaser ads, Youtube;
- prohibited traffic sources: adult traffic, motivated traffic for a minimum deposit, fraud, brand ads, bots, misleading ads.
SLOTS EMPIRE
An online casino focused on the USA and Canada. Players are attracted by a modern, fresh design, exclusive slots with proven returns, bonuses up to $ 12,000 (220% on the first deposit). The website accepts deposits by Visa, Mastercard, bank transfer, cryptocurrencies.
General information:
- сайт – slotsempire.com;
- payout – 150 долларов за игрока, сделавшего депозит;
- minimum deposit – $10;
- hold – 2 weeks;
- allowed traffic sources: mobile ads, contextual ads, social media, email ads, SEO, brand traffic;
- prohibited traffic source: motivates traffic for a minimum deposit, PopUnder, ClickUnder, doorways, apps, banners, adult traffic, cashback, teaser ads, Youtube, toolbar.
IRISH LUCK
An online casino with a huge selection of licensed slots, where there are both already established and exclusive games created specifically for the site. Accepts players from all over the world, but the main GEO are the USA, Australia and Canada, as well as other TIER1 countries: New Zealand, France, Sweden, Norway, FInland. (Players from the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Poland, India, Hungary, Belarus, China, Romania, Costa Rica, Malaysia do not participate in the partner program).
One of the trump cards of online casinos that attracts players is the loyalty program. There are two bonuses: 235% on the first deposit and 295% (available only after activating and wagering the first one).
General information:
- website: casinoirishluck.com;
- payout – $195 per deposit;
- minimum deposit: $25;
- target audience: from 20 to 45 years of age (both sexes) – 70%, 45+ – 20%;
- prohibited traffic sources: motivated traffic for a minimum deposit, brokered traffic.
BOVEGAS
Another website where you can dive into the world of gambling. A young but ambitious project (operating since 2016) was created on the Real Time Gaming platform. Stylized to look like modern Las Vegas. Here you can enjoy cutting edge graphics and a pleasant gaming experience.
The website works without lags both on PC and mobile apps. There is a well thought-out mobile application, compatible with different types of devices. But the main feature is the collection of exclusive slots with confirmed return rates. The site offers a welcome bonus of up to $ 5,500 and regularly distributes promotional codes that help publishers attract more customers.
General information:
- website – bovegas.com;
- payout – $195 per deposit;
- minimum deposit – $25;
- prohibited traffic source: mobile ads.
Adult dating affiliate programs
This area is pretty popular almost in any country. But focusing on TIER1 countries, especially the USA, allows you to earn significantly more. In the USA, the industry is legalized, it brings huge profits. Unlike Indians or CIS countries’ residents, Americans not only register on such websites but also spend a lot of money there. That’s why website owners are ready to pay ten to twenty times more for clients from the United States.
In the US, with its frantic pace of life and little personal time, dating, webcam and one night stand sites are extremely popular. There are many single people in the US. Most Americans are in no hurry to chain themselves down with a wedding ring – careers come first. The audience is made up of tens of millions of single people under 30-35 years old who are actively registering on dating and other adult websites. The conversion rate is impressive, some affiliates reach 80%. Pornhub is in the top 10 popular websites in America for a reason, you know.
Popular offers:
MASTURBEAUTY
An adult webcam site where you can watch naked or semi-naked girls, chat with them. Accepts users from all over the world, provides free registration, free access to rooms (you can watch for free). But in order to make girls perform desired actions, users must make gifts in domestic currency. The website pays the most for generous Americans.
General information:
- payout per registration (SOI): $3.74 for desktop users, $1.87 for mobile traffic;
- hold – 15 days;
- allowed traffic sources: mobile ads, contextual ads, ad networks, teaser ads, PopUp, ClickUnder, doorways, apps, Adult traffic, SEO, banners, brand trafic, Push-notifications, Toolbar, Youtube;
- prohibited traffic sources: chats, email ads, spam, proxy, VPN, bots, SMM.
BONGACAMS
A webcam website. A large selection of chat rooms, there are free and VIP rooms, where the best girls are. Less popular than the previous entry. Therefore, it gives more opportunities for earning – the chances are higher that a new user will follow the link, and not the one registered earlier. Plus Americans love to experiment, try something new.
The project originated in Asia. But now it is promoted inTIER1 countries. As with other websites, you can send money to the girls so that they fulfill your wishes.
General information:
- payment per registration (SOI): social media traffic: $1.7 -desktop, $0.85 – mobile. Other traffic sources: $3.74 – desktop, $1.7 – mobile.
- hold – 30 days;
- allowed traffic sources: mobile ads, contextual ads, teasers, ad networks, ClickUnder, PopUnder, doorways, apps, adult traffic, SEO, banners, brand traffic, Push-notifications, Toolbar, Youtube;
- prohibited traffic sources: chats, email adds, any form of spam, proxy, VPN, bots.
ANASTASIADATE
A long-term relationships dating site affiliate program. Here, wealthy Americans look for a wives from other countries, such as Asia, Latin America, Russia or Ukraine. Such offers find a good response. Americans are always trying out new things (or girls, Many of them want a woman not only with a slender body, but one that can also provide home warmth, a keeper of the hearth of sorts, as opposed to the local businesswomen who think only about their careers.
You can either just search for a girl and chat with her or make her perform certain tasks like on a webcam site.
General information:
- payout – $140 per deposit;
- accepts – men over 25;
- hold – 30 days;
- allowed traffic sources: organic SEO, native ads, push-notifications, banners, teaser ads, ad networks, adult traffic;
- prohibited traffic sources: doorways, PopUnder, ClickUnder, email ads, spam, social media.
JUCY DATE
An adult dating website. Used for finding one night stands. Has a setting to show potential partners “in your area”. Sites like this one have high conversion rates, since US users eagerly register and fill out the necessary form.
General information:
- payment per registration (filling out the form – SOI) – $2.55;
- conversion – 1 click, subscription to push-notifications;
- pays for: desktop, mobile (only Android);
- prohibited traffic sources: ClickUnder, PopUnder, cashback.
Gaming affiliate programs
Video games have become popular in different countries. But hardly as popular as in America and Japan. It is enough to know one fact – the USA is first in terms of sales of game consoles, in fact, more of them are sold here than in all other countries combined. The largest game developers are located in the United States or focus on the North American market.
Wealthy Americans can afford expensive gadgets and spend at least two hours a day playing games. This applies to both teens and the older generation, for whom games are one of the ways to cope with stress and forget about work for a while.
Popular offers:
WORLD OF TANKS
A popular multiplayer online game where you can become a real tank crewman and plunge into the world of tank battles. The Belarusian project became a real breakthrough. Since its inception, it has gone through several updates that have made the game world and the mechanics very realistic. Following the success of WORLD OF TANKS, the game WORLD OF WARSHIPS was developed, where the player is in charge of a warship.
Both projects have been heavily promoted. New users look for the game on their own to register, which guarantees high conversion rates. The player chooses one of the two options:
WORLD OF WARSHIPS:
- payment per registration and confirmed application (DOI) – $6;
- hold – 30 days;
- prohibited traffic sources: bots, fraud, motivated traffic, brand traffic, doorways, email ads, spam.
WORLD OF TANKS:
- payment per registration and confirmed application (DOI) – $4.8;
- hold – 30 days;
- pays – only for desktop players;
- prohibited traffic sources: bots, fraud, email ads, spam, brand traffic, doorways, adult traffic.
RAID: SHADOW OF LEGENDS
A fantasy type turn-based RPG strategy game, where you simultaneously control several characters. The game is similar to the famous Heroes of Might and Magic. This is technically a free game: you can install the app, create a character and play for free. But in order to level up and actually compete with other players you’ll have to purchase in game bonuses for real money.
Over the past year and a half, the project has been conducting an aggressive advertising campaign and sponsoring many YouTube channels. So, the audience has definitely already heard of this game. There has been a large increase in registrations in recent months. Therefore, we expect a high conversion rate.
General information:
- payout per registration;
- payment size – $4;
- allowed traffic sources: ad networks, teaser ads, social media, contextual ads, apps, SEO, banners, brokered traffic, brand traffic;
- prohibited traffic sources: Cashback, mobile ads, email ads, PopUp, ClickUnder, doorways, Adult traffic, motivated traffic, Push-notifications, Toolbar, Youtube.
Nutra
Health and beauty products are one of those always-in-demand categories. Products for weight loss, potency improvement, and personal care products are quite popular in the United States. Because of the quarantine personal hygiene products, antiseptics, masks are in demand.
PROTECTIVE FACE MASK
Offer: the sale of medical masks and other personal medical protective goods. Delivery to different regions of the USA, as well as Canada and Great Britain.
General information:
- payout – $19 per confirmed application;
- prohibited traffic sources: motivated traffic, brokered traffic, cashback, toolbar.
KETO BODYTONE
Weight loss pills. It is the most popular keto (low carb) fat loss supplement in the United States. Intended for a 30 day course. FDA approved and marketed at trusted sites such as Amazon. Shipping within the United States only. The offer is available only for America, if you want to work with other markets, look for an offer in the list for the selected country.
General information:
- payout – $90 per confirmed application;
- applications from all devices are accepted;
- prohibited traffic sources: motivated traffic, contextual ads, toolbar, cashback.
Best ways to direct traffic at the USA
Before launching your campaign, be aware of the key differences between Americans and other peoples. There are many differences in terms of income, culture, mentality. Americans are open. They start conversations with strangers easily, communicate by phone, unlike the residents of Eastern Europe,where businessmen prefer to communicate mainly through online chats.
Cheerful, energetic people live in the United States, many are actively involved in the cultural, social, and political life of the country. At the same time, there is a significant amount of pragmatism – Americans carefully plan their budget. Paradoxically, this does not prevent them from making impulsive purchases. The amount Americans allocate for random little things can exceed the total income of people from other countries. For some it reaches several thousand dollars.
Residents actively use social media. 70% of the population (230 million people) has an account. Only Japan and South Korea have a bigger social media presence (71%). Though because of their active lifestyles, the majority browses their news feed and chats with friends on the go using a phone.
Read about affiliate programs for Australia in this article.
Best traffic channels in the USA
Americans are active, they spend a lot of time on their phones, so mobile traffic has the best impact.
These types of ads have the best effect:
- contextual ads, targeted Google ads, Facebook ads (allows to place ads in Instagram as well). Additionally, you can test ads on Amazon, Yahoo, Bing Ads;
- ads in mobile apps;
- YouTube ads.
If all goes well, you can try Twitter or Snapchat. They aren’t as popular as Facebook but they’re in their own right. If you have your own Youtube channel supply it with the proper content. The level of quality of a video that earns you hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of views in CIS countries won’t get even a couple thousand in TIER1 countries.
We recommend testing teaser networks (Exoclick, MediaVenus, MGID, Plugrush). But keep in mind, the requirements for advertisements in TIER1 countries are much higher and not all types of products pass moderation.
Video Overview of Traffic Sources for Affiliate Marketing
Payout models
The payout model depends on the specific offer. There’s often no other option but to use the one the offer has:
- For gambling offers “payment per deposit” is preferable to “payment per deposit and further activity”. This almost does not affect the size of payments, but in the first option the ROI will be much higher. Taking into account the size of payments (up to $ 200), you can set up a stable income even if the flow of traffic is modest.
- Some gambling websites offer successful webmasters a percentage of the loss of the attracted gambler. There aren’t that many of them for now, but this is basically a marriage proposal that guarantees a stable passive income for the webmaster.
- Here the most convenient payout is per lead (for a certain action: registering, filling out an application). In the USA PPC (pay-per-call) has a high conversion rate, since Americans would much rather call the manager themselves than leave their contact info. An alternative option is payment after the delivery is made;
- Dating and webcams. Payment for registration is common here, although the rates are small compared to other types of offers, but the flow of customers and the KPI is much higher. In terms of profitability, these dating and webcams affiliate programs are one of the best.
Best creatives for America
Different types of creatives find a good response in the US: banners, landing pages, ClickUnder, PopUnder, teaser ads, stickers, contextual ads. Many types of creatives even originated in the United States. But take into account America’s mentality.
For example, Americans would much rather contact the provider by phone themselves than message them via an online chat. Many don’t want to wait for an email response to come. In advertising applications, landing pages, be sure to indicate your phone number. Likewise, application forms with feedback aren’t ubiquitously used.
Teaser ads are usually successful – Americans are curious and ready to try new things. But the quality of the promo materials must be higher than, for example, when promoting in the CIS countries.
When we create banners, gambling landing pages, we take into account that the most important thing for Americans is the feeling of thrill and the opportunity to experience emotions, gambling is anything but a way to earn money and pay off a loan. Here pre-landing pages with “newspaper stories about successful players who stopped working for their uncle” do not find such a response as in the CIS. But mini-games are a great choice.
How much can you earn?
This is question # 1. It all depends on experience, time and, of course, the investment. But even with a budget of $100-200, ROI can exceed 300%. With long-term strategies, for example, when dealing with the dating sector, the ROI of experienced webmasters sometimes reaches 1000%. Let’s give an example using a gambling offer, which have gained in popularity during the quarantine.
The 7Bit CASINO offer was chosen with a payment for a deposit of $110. Although there are offers with higher pay, here the minimum deposit is only $ 10 and there is a wider choice of allowed instruments. Therefore, a higher conversion rate was expected. When promoting, the emphasis was made on PopUnder ads. Traffic was driven with a bid of about $3.5 – after testing it turned out that the $2.1 bid was quickly suppressed by competitors, until the ads became intrusive.
It was decided to raise the rate (now the bid is $6, but that’s another story). Clients were attracted with a big welcome bonus and a Big Win one. Pre-landing pages with alerts were used, which made it possible to increase the conversion rate. They were changed from time to time, so as not to annoy the audience, and the conversion rate didn’t drop.
After three days, it was possible to evaluate which platforms were uselessly eating up traffic. We stopped pouring traffic into Amazon. Only converting placements remained. Here are the basic settings: targeting all axes, using mobile traffic, cutting off devices with old versions of android (up to 5.2). Ads were all in English.
Results. The campaign lasted 10 days. Expenses: $143. Revenue: $770. Profit: $637.
A selection of affiliate programs with good conversion from LeadBit here.
