10 Affiliate Marketing Website Examples Making Real Money (With Verified Numbers)

Most people who want to start affiliate marketing get stuck in the same spot: they know the idea makes sense, but they have no mental image of what success actually looks like in practice. Ten thousand a month from a blog? A hundred thousand? It sounds like a rumor until you see the income reports, the keyword rankings, and the specific niches with your own eyes.

In the video above, Alston walks through ten real websites that are generating serious monthly income using affiliate marketing. Some of these sites focus on food, some on travel, one is entirely about hot tubs. What they share is a repeatable structure: pick a niche, create content around keywords people are already searching, and earn commissions when readers buy the products you recommend. This post breaks down each site, the numbers behind it, and the practical moves you can study right now.

What You’ll Walk Out With

Ten real affiliate marketing websites with verified income numbers, so you can see exactly what is possible
A niche-selection framework showing why food, travel, hot tubs, and lifestyle blogs all work equally well
The keyword difficulty strategy Alston uses in Ahrefs to find low-competition opportunities any beginner can target
Specific keyword examples with real search volumes pulled from each of the ten sites
The “replicate and improve” method for studying top-performing posts without copying them
Why consistent publishing over a long period of time matters more than any single tactic
How to combine affiliate links with ads, courses, and digital products to multiply your income from one site
A free tool to match you to the right starting point: finder.platformproof.com

Site 1: The Savvy Couple, $43,000 in One Month

The first site Alston pulls up is savvycouple.com, and as of April 2021 they reported earning over $43,000 in the previous month. That number comes from a combination of affiliate marketing, digital products, and physical products, which is exactly the multi-stream approach that makes a site resilient. You are not betting everything on one type of commission when you build a site this way.

When Alston plugs their domain into Ahrefs, the site ranks for 75,000 keywords. Some of the top terms include “online jobs,” “monthly budget template,” “work from home jobs for moms,” and “amazon hack.” Filtering to keywords with a difficulty score of five or less turns up terms like “camping cabinets” and “watch trailers for money,” both of which pull real search volume each month. The lesson is not that you should copy those exact keywords. The lesson is that opportunities at this difficulty level exist in almost every topic area, waiting for someone consistent enough to publish content around them.

Site 2: Two Wandering Souls, $14,000 a Month from a Travel Blog

The second site is twowanderingsouls.com, a travel blog run by a couple from Minnesota. Their income report from 2019 shows $14,000 earned in a single month. Alston points to this site specifically to make a niche-selection argument: you do not have to write about health, wealth, relationships, or technology to earn good money with affiliate marketing. A travel blog about authentic food and local experiences works just as well when you execute it consistently over time.

Their keyword profile in Ahrefs shows rankings for “things to do in Portland,” “things to do in Seattle,” and various destination-specific queries. At difficulty five or less, they show up for terms like “cali trip,” “winter in Japan,” and “activities in Turkey.” They rank number one for many of these terms, and each article links naturally to travel gear, booking platforms, and local experiences that carry affiliate commissions. The niche is narrow enough to build authority quickly and broad enough to sustain hundreds of articles across many years.

Site 3: 40 Aprons, $31,000 a Month from a Food Blog

Site three is 40 Aprons, a food blog that reported $31,000 in income for the month of July 2019. Food is one of the most competitive content spaces on the internet, and Alston acknowledges that directly. But he also shows that competition at the top of a niche does not mean the category is closed to new entrants. The site has a store, promotes cookbooks, and runs display ads alongside affiliate links to kitchen equipment, creating multiple income streams from a single piece of content.

In Ahrefs, 40 Aprons ranks for terms like “hibachi instant pot chicken,” “chicken and rice instant pot,” and “frozen chicken instapot.” The Instant Pot wave created a wave of low-competition recipe keywords that this site rode aggressively during its growth phase. Filtering to difficulty five or less surfaces terms like “gravy for ham,” “whole 30 taco seasoning,” and various branded recipe searches. Every one of those articles is a natural place to recommend a cast iron skillet, an Instant Pot, or a set of kitchen tools, each earning a commission when someone clicks through and buys.

Site 4: A Lifestyle Blog in the Anxiety and Mindfulness Niche, $2,007 a Month

The fourth site is a lifestyle blog focused on mindfulness, anxiety, and self-improvement. The income report from October 2019 shows $2,007 earned that month, which might look small next to the previous examples, but this site was earning that amount from a niche most people would not think of first when they hear “affiliate marketing.” The monetization comes from affiliate links to courses on mindfulness and confidence, plus email marketing to a warm audience that already trusts the creator.

The Ahrefs data shows rankings for “bad mental health day” (keyword difficulty four, 500 monthly searches), “stress reliever kit,” “I’m a strong woman quote,” and “stress relief kit DIY.” These are not high-volume commercial terms. They are informational searches from people who are hurting and looking for answers. Matching that search intent, building trust through honest and specific content, and then recommending a relevant course or product is a model that works whether the niche is food, finance, or personal growth. The niche here happens to be anxiety and self-esteem, and it pays real money.

Site 5: Tub HQ, an Entire Online Business Built Around Hot Tubs

Tub HQ, found at tubhq.com, is one of the most instructive examples in the video because it is maximally focused. The site talks about one thing: hot tubs. Every article, every keyword, every affiliate link points toward the hot tub purchase journey. Hot tubs on Amazon can cost $950 or more, and even if the commission rate is only three to four percent on that product category, two or three sales a day adds up to real income very quickly.

Ahrefs shows the site ranking for “blow up hot tubs,” “best portable hot tubs,” and “in-ground hot tub cost.” That last term sits in the tenth position in search results, draws roughly 3,000 searches per month, and sends consistent buyer-intent traffic to the site. Tub HQ does not appear to run display ads at all, meaning the entire revenue stream comes from affiliate commissions on an expensive product. That is a clean, high-commission model any beginner could study and apply to a different product category with a similar price point and purchase intent.

Site 6: Top10Reviews.com, How a Review Site Covers Everything

Top10Reviews.com takes a different approach than the niche sites above. Instead of going deep on one topic, it covers a wide range of product categories through structured review content. Alston points out that the site reviews everything from headphones to patio heaters to patio furniture, and each review article includes affiliate links to the products being compared. Patio furniture is a category worth noting because individual pieces can be expensive, and higher price points mean higher commissions in absolute dollar terms even when the percentage is small.

The keyword data shows “best dishwasher 2021” among the competitive rankings, but filtering to difficulty five or less reveals terms like “cassette to mp3 converter.” Alston mentions that a well-known affiliate marketing content creator talks frequently about converter-type products because they have a proven search audience, low competition, and a clear product to recommend. Create an honest comparison article, include your affiliate link, and collect a commission when someone clicks through. That is the review site model in its simplest form, and it scales from one product category to many over time.

Site 7: CNET, What Scale Looks Like at the Top

CNET is included in the video as a scale example, not a beginner template. It started as a tech publication and has grown into a site that ranks for nearly every consumer category imaginable, from vacuums and stimulus checks to PS5 games and HBO Max subscriptions. When Alston clicks through to a GoPro Hero 10 review on the site, the article includes “buy it on Amazon” links that he is 98 percent certain are affiliate links. A site this large earns affiliate commissions in addition to display advertising and sponsorship revenue.

The practical lesson from CNET is not to copy its scale, but to use its keyword data to find opportunities. Searching CNET’s domain in Ahrefs and filtering to keyword difficulty five or less reveals niche ideas that a beginner could actually target. When a large publication is ranking for a low-competition keyword without specifically optimizing for it, a focused, well-researched article on a smaller site has a real chance of outranking it. Large sites are sloppy at the bottom of their keyword profile, and that sloppiness is your opening.

Site 8: Girl Boss Bloggers, Teaching People to Start a Blog

Girl Boss Bloggers is a site in the “make money blogging” space. The creator publishes content about starting an online business, being an internet entrepreneur, and how to write blog posts that attract consistent traffic. Her Ahrefs profile includes rankings for “ivory mix stock photos,” “inspirational blog post ideas,” and “motivational blog post topics.” These are terms that beginner bloggers search when they are just getting started and need direction on what to create.

The monetization model involves walking readers through how to start a blog and recommending hosting providers, themes, email marketing platforms, and stock photo tools as affiliates along the way. At difficulty five or less, she ranks for “Pinterest hacks,” “holiday blog post ideas,” and disclosure-related terms that people search when setting up a monetized blog for the first time. This niche has strong earning potential because web hosting affiliate programs, one of the primary recommendations in this space, can pay $65 to $130 per referral, which means even modest traffic converts into meaningful income.

Not sure which niche fits the skills you already have?

Find your specific starting point in two minutes at finder.platformproof.com.

Site 9: Midwest Blog, a Food Blog with 69,000 Keyword Rankings

The ninth site is midwestblog.com, a food blog that earned over $1,000 in the income report Alston references from 2019. The more compelling number here is not the monthly income but the keyword footprint: Ahrefs shows this site ranking for 69,000 keywords. That is the result of years of consistent publishing on a focused topic, building up a content library large enough that search engines trust the site across an enormous range of food-related queries.

The keyword data includes “pork dumplings,” “cast iron pizza,” “avocado cream sauce,” “meat and cheese board,” and “walking taco casserole recipe.” Each of those articles is a natural opportunity to recommend a cast iron skillet, a specialty cutting board, or high-end kitchen tools through Amazon Associates. Filtering to difficulty five or less shows terms like “Mediterranean lasagna” and “pasta with blue cheese sauce,” both pulling thousands of searches per month from people who are already in the mindset of buying ingredients and equipment. Recipes are the entry point; the affiliate recommendation is what converts a reader into revenue.

Site 10: The $281,700 Month, How a Blogging Site Reaches the Top Level

The tenth and final example is the one that gives the video its title: a site that generated $281,700 in a single month. The revenue comes from multiple sources at once. Affiliate commissions from web hosting providers like Bluehost make up part of it. Recurring commissions from business software recommendations, including tools like Crowdfire and Rebrandly, contribute ongoing monthly income. Sales from the creator’s own course add a third revenue stream on top. When you layer all three of those together on a site that is ranking for thousands of keywords, the numbers compound quickly.

In Ahrefs, this site ranks for “best YouTube to mp3 converter,” “best 3D printing software,” “Thinkific versus Teachable,” and “how to start a blog.” It started in the blogging and making-money-online space but expanded over time into tech comparisons and software reviews as the audience grew. At difficulty five or less, keyword opportunities include niche comparison terms like “ClickFunnels versus Instapage” and “playwriting software,” both carrying real monthly search volume and minimal competition from dedicated sites. The numbers prove that blogging still works in 2021 and beyond, and you are seeing exactly how much it can pay when someone sticks with it long enough.

The Keyword Strategy Every Beginner Should Use First

Across all ten sites, Alston uses the same keyword filtering move in Ahrefs: set keyword difficulty to five or less. This single filter changes everything about how you see a domain’s traffic profile. Instead of staring at a list of terms with difficulty scores of 60, 70, or 87 that a new site has no chance of ranking for, you see the actual opportunities that a small, new, or growing site can compete for right now without years of domain authority behind it.

The strategy works because large sites often rank for low-competition keywords without specifically optimizing for them. They published a piece of content that happened to match the query, and they are holding that ranking passively. A focused, intentional article from a smaller site, one that covers the topic more specifically and helpfully, can challenge that ranking. Finding those keywords across competitor domains and writing the best article on the internet about each one is how beginner sites grow their traffic without needing millions of backlinks or years of age on their domain.

How to Apply the Difficulty-5 Filter Step by Step

Enter a competitor’s domain in Ahrefs under Site Explorer
Click Organic Keywords in the left sidebar to see every term the site ranks for
Set the KD (keyword difficulty) filter to a maximum of 5 and apply it
Sort by volume to surface the highest-traffic opportunities within that low-competition range
Click through to the actual ranking article and study what it covers, how long it is, and what products it recommends
Write a longer, more specific, more helpful version of that article with affiliate links embedded naturally in the context of genuine recommendations

Find Your X

Ten websites. Ten different niches. Ten different income levels. The common thread is not the topic, the platform, or the exact monetization method. It is the decision to pick a direction and publish consistently until the traffic and income compound on top of each other. The hard part is knowing which direction to pick, because starting in the wrong niche for your interests and schedule will make consistency feel impossible to maintain over the months it takes to see results.

The Platform Proof Finder matches you to the right starting point based on what you already know, what you are genuinely curious about, and what your actual schedule can support. It is free, it takes two minutes, and it gives you a specific recommendation rather than a list of possibilities to sort through on your own. Start at finder.platformproof.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to be an expert in a niche to start an affiliate marketing blog?

No, but you do need to be willing to research thoroughly and write honestly. The sites in this video cover hot tubs, food, travel, and anxiety, and none of the creators started as certified experts in those areas. They became the resource people turn to by consistently publishing accurate, helpful content on topics they were genuinely curious about and willing to keep learning. Deep expertise helps, but genuine curiosity combined with good research habits is a workable starting point that many successful sites have been built on.

How long does it take to earn money from an affiliate marketing blog?

Most beginner blogs take six to twelve months to generate their first meaningful affiliate commissions from search traffic. Google’s algorithm tends to give newer sites less visibility until they have published consistently for several months and built a baseline of trust signals. Alston mentions this directly in the video: expecting significant money in the first two or three weeks leads to disappointment and people quitting too early. The sites earning $10,000 to $281,000 per month all have years of content and consistency behind them.

Can I build an affiliate blog in a competitive niche like food or travel?

Yes, and the evidence in this video proves it. 40 Aprons built a $31,000 per month food blog. Two Wandering Souls built a $14,000 per month travel blog. Both niches are highly competitive at the top terms, but the keyword difficulty five or less filter reveals dozens of low-competition terms in any competitive niche that a new site can target from day one. The move is to ignore the high-traffic, high-competition terms at the start and build authority gradually from the less-contested keywords that your competitor sites are ranking for without much effort.

Do I need to use Ahrefs specifically for keyword research?

Ahrefs is what Alston uses in the video, and it is one of the most complete keyword research tools available. It does require a paid subscription that can be several hundred dollars per month. Free alternatives include Google Search Console (once your site has traffic), Ubersuggest, and the free tier of Keywords Everywhere. None of them give you the same depth of competitive data for analyzing competitor domains, but they are enough to validate a niche idea and find initial topics before you commit to a paid tool subscription.

Is it better to focus on one niche or cover many topics?

The clearest examples in this video are the focused sites, particularly Tub HQ, which ranks exclusively for hot tub keywords and earns affiliate commissions on expensive products. Focused sites build topical authority faster, which helps with search rankings in Google. The broader sites like CNET and Top10Reviews.com cover many topics, but they built that breadth over many years and with substantial resources. Beginners almost always get better results by going narrow first, establishing authority in a tight area, and expanding later as the site grows.

How do these websites actually make money when someone clicks a link?

Most of the sites in this video use Amazon Associates as their primary affiliate program, which pays a commission when a reader clicks an affiliate link and completes a purchase within 24 hours. Some sites also use software affiliate programs, which tend to pay higher percentages, sometimes 20 to 40 percent of a subscription price, and some of those pay recurring commissions every month for as long as the referred customer remains a subscriber. Web hosting affiliates like Bluehost can pay $65 or more per referral for a single sign-up.

Can I combine affiliate marketing with selling my own products on the same site?

Yes, and several sites in this video do exactly that. The Savvy Couple sells digital and physical products alongside affiliate links, and the $281,700 site sells its own course while also earning commissions from software and hosting referrals. Starting with pure affiliate marketing is smart because it removes the complexity of product creation and customer service while you are still building your audience. Adding your own digital product later, such as a guide, template, or course, is a natural next step once you have an audience that trusts your recommendations and wants more from you specifically.

What if my niche is very small and specialized?

Small and specialized is often an advantage in affiliate marketing, not a limitation. Tub HQ is entirely about hot tubs, and that narrow focus helps it rank for the specific high-intent terms that hot tub buyers search before making a purchase decision. A small niche means less competition for keywords, which means a new site can earn rankings faster than it could in a broad category. The important thing is to confirm that the products or services in your niche carry enough commission value to justify the traffic you earn, either through high price points, recurring commissions, or high conversion rates on the affiliate offers you are promoting.

Sources

savvycouple.com income report, April 2021 ($43,000+ month)
twowanderingsouls.com income report, 2019 ($14,000 month)
40aprons.com income report, August 2019 ($31,000 month)
Lifestyle blog income report, October 2019 ($2,007 month)
tubhq.com keyword data via Ahrefs (in-ground hot tub cost: 3,000 monthly searches, position 10)
top10reviews.com keyword data via Ahrefs
cnet.com keyword data via Ahrefs
midwestblog.com income report, 2019 ($1,000+ month, 69,000 keywords ranked)
Affiliate marketing site income report showing $281,700 in one month
Ahrefs keyword research tool (ahrefs.com)