Intro
Top hosting affiliate programs offering the biggest affiliate commissions in the industry are very attractive for many bloggers and website owners. The bloggers may promote not very decent hosts. But it does not bother them much because they get good affiliate money. That’s why recommending better hosts is often not what they are interested to do.
In this post I’m uncovering this dirty side of bloggers. And I speak out about the things that most bloggers are afraid of writing (forgive me my blogger brothers! 😉 ).
Who can be interested in this article? First of all people looking for shared or WordPress hosting. And also bloggers, affiliate marketers, affiliate managers, hosting owners.
The core of this post is this comparison table.
What you can find here or what three aims I have in this article
1. I’ll uncover some secrets and give you some analysis why hosting companies take first positions in “best web hosting” charts. And you’ll see why many bloggers recommend these companies.
Yes, there are a lot of people who still do not know that ‘best hosting’ lists and recommendations are mostly based on affiliate commissions. It is top hosting affiliate programs, and not hosting quality what makes the most recommended hosts in the Internet.
2. I’ll show you in comparison how much some popular hosts pay to their affiliates and what it means for you as a client.
There’s a simple general rule – the bigger affiliate commissions anything else being equal, the more it’s likely that the hosts need to compensate it somehow. (E.g. the hosting service quality suffers or there are aggressive up-sells to the clients.) There are also some nuances that I explain in this post by analyzing some top hosting affiliate programs.
3. Since now and then I’m asked what I think of this or that popular host, I’ll publish some thoughts about the hosts.
As a blogger and affiliate myself I’ve been watching for hosting market since 2013. And I’m well aware of top hosting affiliate programs. With even a quick research it’s not difficult to make a judgment about a hosting company when you know what to look for and what details to pay attention to.
Of course, I’m not a know-all person in hosting field who knows both marketing and technical sides of hosting inside out. But compared to an average person, in many cases I can determine much easier and quicker if this or that host is more or less decent. And I’m sharing my thoughts with you.
Hosts and their affiliate commissions analysis table
You may open the affiliate data comparison table in a single window or tab for more convenience by clicking this link or the image below:
Click the image to open the full table
Some hints:
The less Aff Scores and Aff Order Ratios the better.
AffScores: 0-30% – very good; 30-60% – good; 60-100% – moderate; above 100% – aggressive.
Aff Order Ratios: 0-100% – great, above 1200% – aggressive.
Top hosting affiliate programs which have the biggest affiliate commission don’t always fall into aggressive category, because it depends not only on the commissions but also on hosting prices.
There are notes about what each column in this table means in this section below.
Also, see some useful notes below how to analyze hosts using this table data.
Some notes about this list of hosts and how I put some top hosting affiliate hosts together
My main idea was to pick out some well-recognized and popular hosting providers that have been around for several years (or even decades). I wanted to analyze them from affiliate commission point of view and review them very briefly.
Also, I added to this list some hosts that are probably not known by everyone, but provide high-quality hosting, have great reputation and have been in the business for at least several years.
Since the middle of 2013 I’ve used more than 100 hosts as a part of my work for clients. Most of them I’ve used for a year or longer. Although many of the companies I’ve used are cheap and not well-known (and not mentioned in this post), I’ve got a lot of typical and not typical hosting user experience.
Thus, some of my friends and readers of my blog wanted to choose hosts for their sites and have been asking for my opinion about this or that company. Very often they asked about hosts that have top hosting affiliate programs. And in this post I’m happy to share my thoughts also with you.
How to read the data in this hosting comparison table
This table contains not just original data, but also calculations, which make the pricing and affiliate commission data much more useful. These calculated data is useful as factors when analyzing a hosting company, especially those which have top hosting affiliate programs.
The data in each column is better taken into account in conjunction with other data in the table in the corresponding row. For example, it makes sense to analyze price not as a separate factor but against hosting specifications. Another example is that although high affiliate commissions are not a good sign in general, but compared against hosting price makes much more sense.
Read more about this analysis to understand which hosting is more reliable from affiliate/pricing point of view in this section below.
Before all, this table contain data for analyzing the most basic (cheapest) plans which are suitable for hosting WordPress site offered by different hosts.
And here ‘s what the columns in this table mean.
Host Name. This is the name of the hosting company.
Stand. price, $/mo. This is a standard price per month without discount for the cheapest 1-year plan, which is suitable for hosting WordPress. It’s also a renew price per month after a discounted or promo period. Currency is US Dollar unless specified differently in the comments.
Promo price, $/mo. It’s the discounted or promotional price per month for the cheapest plan suitable for hosting WordPress when you pay for the first year. This price is valid for the first invoice only. However, it may be not the minimum price, because the minimum price can be even lower if you order for more than one year. You may visit the hosting company website to see details. Also, during holidays or special promotions this discounted or promo price can be different (you may visit company’s website to see special offers).
Min price, $/mo. Many hosting companies are interested in a long-term collaboration with clients, and offer good discounts if a client pays for a longer billing period upfront. This is the minimum price you can pay per month if you pay upfront for a long term. Note that this is the minimum price that in conjunction with the minimum possible billing term (i.e. longer billing terms may be possible, but the price will not be less that the price in this column).
This column goes in conjunction with the next column. This value is shown in US Dollars unless specified differently in the comments.
Most affordable contract, months. This is the minimum length of billing term (number of months) that allows to pay minimum monthly price. Note that longer billing terms may be also possible, but the price will not be less. This column goes in conjunction with the previous column.
Specs. This is the specifications of the most basic (cheapest) hosting plan. Bandwidth (transfer) is given per month.
Money back, days. This is a money-back guarantee (number of days) offered by the hosting company for the most basic (cheapest) hosting plan that allows to get full refund. In most cases full refund can be given only for hosting services, and not other services or add-ons such as domains, licenses etc. Read the hosting companies’ Terms of service carefully for details. Money-back can be two types in general: full and/or pro rata. Pro rata means that you may cancel your services any time and get refund for any unused periods (months).
Min order, $. This is the minimum amount you can pay for the first invoice for the most basic (cheapest) plan. This value is shown in US Dollars unless specified differently in the comments.
Min Aff Order Ratio (Minimum affiliate commission divided by the minimum order, %). This is the ratio which is calculated as minimum affiliate commission ($) divided by the first invoice for the most basic plan ($). Also, it’s a minimum percentage of a new client’s order that affiliate gets for referring this new client.
This ratio explains how risky the affiliate programs regarding the first billing period. In other words, If it’s less than 100% then the company does not risk to lose money if client quits after the minimum billing term.
At the same time, the higher the value, the more confident the company is that the client will stay after the minimum billing term. Also, the more the value is, the more confident the company is in its affiliate program that it will bring long-term customers.
The value between 100% and 1200% is not obvious and needs to be analyzed further (depends on affiliate hold period and minimum billing period).
The value above 1200% means an aggressive affiliate program (and probably worse quality of serivce and higher prices).
If very simplified: the less this value, the better for a client and worse for an affiliate.
Also see the section about Aff Order Ratios.
Min aff commiss., $. This is the minimum affiliate commission paid for a new customer who orders the most basic (cheapest) hosting plan. This value is shown in US Dollars unless specified differently in the comments.
If very simplified: the less this value, the better for a client and worse for an affiliate.
Max Aff Order Ratio (Maximum affiliate commission divided by the minimum order, %). This is the ratio which is calculated as official maximum affiliate commission ($) divided by the first invoice for the most basic plan ($). Also, it’s a maximum percentage of a new client’s order that affiliate gets for referring this new client.
This ratio explains how risky the affiliate programs regarding the first billing period. In other words, If it’s less than 100% then the company does not risk to lose money if client quits after the minimum billing term.
At the same time, the higher the value, the more confident the company is that the client will stay after the minimum billing term. Also, the more the value is, the more confident the company is in its affiliate program that it will bring long-term customers.
The value between 100% and 1200% is not obvious and needs to be analyzed further (depends on affiliate redemption period and minimum billing period).
The value above 1200% means an aggressive affiliate program (and probably worse quality of serivce and higher prices).
If very simplified: the less this value, the better for a client and worse for an affiliate.
Also see the section about Aff Order Ratios.
Max aff commiss., $ (Maximum affiliate commission, $, official). This is the maximum affiliate commission that can be paid for a new customer who orders the most basic (cheapest) hosting plan. This value is shown in US Dollars unless specified differently in the comments.
‘Official’ maximum affiliate commission means that this is the commission that is officially disclosed in the hosting company’s affiliate terms of service. Some companies that manage aggressive affiliate programs offer even higher commissions agreed personally for high-volume sales.
If very simplified: the less this value, the better for a client and worse for an affiliate.
Min Aff Score. This is the minimum affiliate marketing score calculated for 1-year plan. It’s calculated as Minimum affiliate commission divided by a Standard (or renewal) price for 1 year hosting.
This shows how many MINIMUM years it needs to hold the client to cover affiliate costs which were used to attract this client. Or, from another perspective, this is how much of a yearly order price an affiliate can get for attracting a new client.
The less the value, the more conservative affiliate marketing. If it’s more than 100% then there’s more risk that the hosting might be of lower quality and very aggressive up-selling.
If very simplified: the less this value, the better for a client and worse for an affiliate.
Also see the section about AffScores.
Max Aff Score. This is the maximum affiliate marketing score calculated for 1-year plan. It’s calculated as Maximum affiliate commission divided by a Standard (or renewal) price for 1 year hosting.
This shows how many MAXIMUM years it needs to hold the client to cover affiliate costs which were used to attract this client. Or, from another perspective, this is how much of a yearly order price an affiliate can get for attracting a new client.
The less the value, the more conservative affiliate marketing. If it’s more than 100% then there’s more risk that the hosting might be of lower quality and very aggressive up-selling.
If very simplified: the less this value, the better for a client and worse for an affiliate.
Also see the section about AffScores.
Avg Aff Score. This is the average between maximum and minimum affiliate marketing scores calculated for 1-year plan.
Note. Some notes about the hosting company. My opinion on it. Other information.
How to analyze the hosts using this table with prices and affiliate data
Useful introductory notes and assumptions
Above all, there’s an obvious fact that almost all so-called “top web hosts” and “best web hosting” lists that you can find in the Internet are based on how big affiliate income they offer (i.e. top hosting affiliate programs). In order to find what hosts offer the biggest affiliate commissions, click “Min aff commiss., $” and “Max aff commiss., $” column header to order the list by its value.
The core of the analysis using this data is quite straightforward.
Affiliate commission is the money that a hosting company must pay out, whereas it could spend the money on improving hosting services. Of course, it’s not that simple, and affiliate programs are good way for hosting business development.
However, there should always be a balance between how much money is spent on affiliate programs, hosting prices and quality of hosting. Also, it matters how much profit a company wants for their owners or shareholders:
There’s a perspective that the more affiliate commission compared to hosting prices (see AffScores columns), the worse the quality of hosting services. It’s the rule that does not always work, but it often does work.
Why does this rule often work?
Very simple. The more money a hosting company spends on attracting new customers using affiliate program, the less money it has left on improving hosting quality (upgrade hardware, educate staff and hire professionals, improve support).
That’s why hosts with top hosting affiliate programs often mean not the best quality for the given price.
And why does not this rule always work?
Big affiliate payouts is not the only factor in hosting business development. There is at least another one – the profit that hosting owners or shareholders take.
For example, let’s assume there’s an ambitious hosting company, which works very hard to deliver the hosting quality of the highest standards. The company staff and the owner are very motivated and put clients before making money. In this case the quality of hosting will be superb regardless of the high affiliate commissions. Clients will be happy to be with such a company.
Another example is companies like EIG. Their primary goal is to make money and please shareholders. Such companies cut costs and diminish hosting quality by overselling and overloading its servers and cheaper support. Often having top hosting affiliate programs, the EIG hosts keep growing. Growth for them through affiliate programs is just a way to make more money. Such companies do not like investing in improving hosting services. Clients suffer with such companies.
How to understand which hosting is likely better
Here are the simple guides for the analyzed parameters in the comparison table above. Use them to analyze hosts to find a better one.
- The less MinAffScore
the better; - The less MaxAffScore
the better; - The less AvgAffScore
the better. - The less MinAffOrderRatio
the better. - The less MaxAffOrderRatio
the better.
The ‘better’ means higher quality of services with lower prices.
Notes for specific values of these parameters see below in this section.
Min Aff Score, Max Aff Score and Avg Aff Score (AffScores to be short) are the most important factors in this hosting analysis. See above their description and how they are calculated to understand and feel them better.
AffScores show how much of yearly hosting payment the company gives out to affiliates. The more it gives out, the less money is left for other business, including improving hosting quality. However, this is just one aspect.
Another aspect is that each company decides on its strategy regarding its growth.
If the growth of the number of clients for the company is the driving force (e.g. a host is very scalable), then AffScores will be higher. If a company does not want to grow rapidly (e.g. prefers steady growth), then AffScores will be lower.
Thus, this is about the balance between how many new clients a host wants to get and how many clients a host can handle to provide good enough hosting quality. Although ‘good enough’ quality is individual for each host.
One more aspect is that if AffScores are high it may mean that the host may up-sell (but not necessary) additional services to its clients and this way the host gets enough money for its business.
Hosts with top hosting affiliate programs often have high AffScores.
AffOrderRatios are not as indicative as AffScores, but they can be used as an additional step for hosts comparison and analysis. The reason why AffOrderRatios are less useful than AffScores is because AffOrderRatios are suitable for analyzing not all hosts, but only those hosts which have low and high AffOrderRatios values. The hosts with the between AffOrderRatios values are not very clear without further analysis.
That’s why I recommend looking first at AffScores and only then at AffOrderRatios.
Some practical thoughts on AffScores (Min Aff Score and Max Aff Score)
If AffScores are less than 30%, then there’s nothing to worry for you as a client, because the host’s affiliate program is very mild. In this case it’s likely that the host gets new clients via other marketing channels (perhaps, cheaper ways) rather than through its affiliates. Also, a host with very low Min Aff Score and Max Aff Score may have smaller prices for the same services or may have not invested a lot of resources in its affiliate source of clients.
If the values are less than 60%, then there’s not much to worry for you as a client (from affiliate costs perspective), because the host’s affiliate program is moderate.
The more the values are above 60%, the more important role the affiliate program plays in the hosts business.
The closer the values to 100%, the more aggressive the affiliate program is.
100% is the level that clearly distinguishes that the hosts manages its sales or affiliate program very carefully and/or aggressively. 100% means that all the money that a new client pays for 1-year hosting plan goes to the affiliate who has brought these new clients to the host.
Value above 100% means that affiliate gets more money that a client pays for 1-year hosting plan. This can be okay, if the client pays for more than 1 year. Or if the client stays for longer than 1 year. Or if the client buys more add-on services or products from the host (e.g. domains, SSL, security products, backup products, SEO services etc).
Thus, if AffScores are more than 100% then it may be not bad, but you, as a client, need to pay additional attention and see how the host can afford paying out to its affiliates more than you pay to the host for 1 year.
If both Min Aff Score and Max Aff Score are more than 100% then it means that in order to make money, you need to be its client for more than 1 year. Or you need to buy additional services from them.
Also, the more AffScores (especially if the values above 100%) the more it’s likely (but not always necessary) that the quality of the hosting suffers.
On the other hand, can it be that Min Aff Score and Max Aff Score are above 100%, but the host is great and does not up-sell? Yes, if most of its clients stay with the host for longer than 1 year. Or the host got financing and actively looking for more clients.
Besides, the hosts that have AffScores more than 100% are likely to manage the affiliate programs carefully in order to avoid being abused by its affiliates. In other words, it’s not necessary that a host with AffScores more than 100% is always a bad hosting.
Similarly, it does not mean that a hosting company with low AffScores is always a good one. It just means that its affiliate commissions do not eat out much company’s income and the company is able to invest more resources to its development, support and upgrades if other sides of the host’s business operates cost-effectively. For example, low AffScores may mean that the host’s business is not very effective and it operates on its profit margin (e.g. there’s no money left for business development or improving).
However, the general simple rule is that the lower AffScores the more it’s likely that the host provides higher quality of services with lower prices.
Some practical thoughts on AffOrderRatios (Min Aff Order Ratio and Max Aff Order Ratio)
Although I find AffScores more useful for analysis, Min Aff Order Ratio and Max Aff Order Ratio (in short, AffOrderRatios) can also give you some information.
AffOrderRatios explain how risky the affiliate programs regarding the first billing period.
In other words, if it’s less than 100% then the company does not risk to lose money if client quits after the minimum billing term.
At the same time, the higher AffOrderRatios, the more confident the company is that the client will stay after the minimum billing term. Also, the more AffOrderRatios are, the more confident the company is in its affiliate program that it will bring long-term customers.
AffOrderRatios between 100% and 1200% is not obvious case and it needs to be analyzed further (it depends on affiliate hold period and minimum billing period).
AffOrderRatios above 1200% means an aggressive affiliate program (and probably worse quality of service and higher prices).
How to choose a host using this price and affiliate data comparison table
Before all, this comparison table was not made for the purpose of advertising the companies to choose from. The aim is to give you one more angle of comparison and to uncover companies’ affiliate marketing side of their business.
However, this hosting list with analysis is pretty useful to take into consideration when choosing a hosting. In addition, there are my short notes regarding each host.
Besides, in the Notes column I emphasized the hosts which I like.
Also, you may want to check out my list of personally recommended hosts. This list is not big, but may satisfy your needs. The recommended hosts are also included in the comparison table in this post and noted appropriately in the Note column.
Here’s a simple guide how to use the comparison table to choose a host to use:
- Order table values by clicking the table column titles.
- Read my comments in Note column.
- Don’t use EIG host (EIG hosts have corresponding comment in the Note column). EIG hosts are generally of lower quality and more expensive than their alternatives.
- Hosts with lower AffScores and AffOrderRatios are generally more preferable from a client point of view because their affiliate marketing is less expensive. It means that these companies may have fewer prices for equal services, because the companies do not need to spend a lot of money on affiliates. It’s a general approach which is not always true, but in many cases it works.
- You can consider my thoughts above about specific values of AffScores. AffScores are the most important parameters in this analysis. Quick tip: AffScores above 100% are likely not good, below 100% may be not bad, below 60% are likely good, below 30% are likely great. (Why do I say “likely” and not “surely”? Because it’s not the verdict but the evaluation.)
- You can also consider my thoughts above about AffOrderRatios. These parameters are additional assistance for host comparison and analysis. Quick tip: AffOrderRatios below 100% are likely ok, above 100% are likely not ok. (Why do I say “likely” and not “surely”? Because it’s not the verdict but the evaluation.)
- Read my notes against the hosts. I’ve put them together after analyzing the real users’ reviews and the opinions in web hosting community.
- Visit host’s website to make your own judgment: check out their Terms and Services (yes, I know, it may be tough). Check out if you can easily find renewal prices for the hosting; contact their support to ask questions you may have and to check how they respond (however, keep in mind that a pre-sales support is a different thing than a technical support).
- Read this post to the end.
- Do your own research on the host you like. You may find out something that others didn’t notice.
Possible issues and pitfalls of the comparison:
The quality of hosting is much more versatile matter than several columns in the data table. That’s why this analysis may not be 100% precise. But it can be a good means to evaluate the quality of hosts and bring in some clarity, especially about hosts with top hosting affiliate programs.
Here are some more thoughts for you to consider when making a decision which host is better than others.
It may sound obvious, but people often choose hosts by some parameters such as price, disk space, bandwidth etc. But they also need to pay attention to other more important factors which may be not easy to measure objectively such as reliability, ethics of the host and how they operate their business (including affiliate strategy).
Hosting quality for different hosts is not equal, even if their parameters and features are equal. For example, even if two hosts have the same parameters (e.g. 5 GB of disk space for the same price), you can get very different user experience with the the hosts, because they use different HDs or SSDs, hardware, network infrastructure and management. All the parameters are just parts that you can take into consideration.
Price of hosting also depends on what options and what scope of service the hosting offers. For example, backups, enhanced security, qualified and fast support, server and network infrastructure etc often slip the attention of potential client, who may not even know that these things can be different at different hosts.
That’s why not just monetary and quantitative factors are important (such as price, disk space etc), but also something hidden, which can be understood only after long and tight experience with the host or by analyzing such experience of other users. I make my list of the best hosts by these criteria.
Finally, the most important is your own experience that you get as a client. Even clients of the same company may have absolutely different opinion on this company.
Some practical thoughts about unlimited hosting plans
Above all, you should read “unlimited” as “don’t worry if you have a typical website or a blog”. But if you have a popular or big website, then there’s no “unlimited” for you. But people love the feeling that the word “unlimited” gives them. And hosts just put down what people wish to hear. But the hosts do not mean it.
Shared hosts’ basic plans are not supposed to be for clients with hundreds of visitors per day, even if they say it’s “unlimited”. The same is about disk space. It depends on price and other limited plans (if any) offered by the company. But I would not expect to store more than 10-30 GB on shared hosting for the same default price.
Usually, if your websites utilizes more disk space or bandwidth, then you are contacted by the hosting company to upgrade your account. For some reason, people don’t expect it on “unlimited” plans. So, it makes sense to contact company’s support and ask them about how limited their “unlimited” plans are 🙂
Note that it may turn out that “unlimited” plans of some hosts can be even more limited than limited plans of other hosts. (Hope I did not confuse you with this play of words 🙂 ) . You may just contact a hosting company which offers unlimited plans and ask it directly on how much resources you can count on.
Conclusion
Some bloggers in order to make good affiliate income sign up with a crappy host that pays out big affiliate commissions (host with top hosting affiliate programs). And then the bloggers promote the hosting company saying that “I am with them! It’s a superb hosting!” LOL, but it works 🙂 Their fans and visitors trust the bloggers and sign up with the hosting too, bringing very good bucks to the bloggers.
The comparison table in this post will help you more rationally look at the hosts and hosting recommendations, including so-called “top web hosts” lists.
This comparison table does not answer the final question what hosting company is the best, but it helps you make a good step forward this answer.
Hosting world in many ways depends on affiliate programs, and basically it’s not bad because it’s just how the Internet works. The bad things happen when manipulation driven by greediness of both hosts and bloggers result in awful hosting user experience.
This post is the attempt to bring in more clarity to the hosting world and help you, as a hosting client, to get better hosting services.
BTW, I respect your privacy, and of course I don't send spam, affiliate offers or trade your emails. What I send is information that I consider useful.
A very informative blog, and I would suggest to also have a look at Cloudways web hosting affiliate program, with which their affiliate’s can earn up to $4,140 per month, they even give a straight bonus of $25 when a referral first signup’s and becomes a paying customer. Regards
Thanks for the suggestion, Hasan.
Much appreciated and thank you for input!
No problem!
Thank you, I’ve enjoyed your thorough research on this topic, Michael.
I’m currently looking for a managed WordPress hosting in New Zealand in particular, and came across wpnet.nz and wordpressdesign.co.nz. I wonder what your thoughts are on those?
Hi May,
Unfortunately, I have not heard anything of the companies that you mentioned.
However, what I can tell you is that I can see wpnet.nz manages servers in NZ.
And wordpressdesign.co.nz does not look like a hosting, it’s more like a design agency. Looks like they don’t have their own servers (at least I could not find relevant information on their website). Perhaps, they resell hosting from some other hosting provider and probably adding some additional WP management services.
And just in case, if your visitors are not from New Zealand, then you don’t actually need a NZ hosting.
Thank you for great posts.(including the comparison table and recommendations)
If I may personally comment on web hosting(although I only have few years of experience in three different web hosting), I agree to your recommendation that Siteground is a great hosting for beginners and I am very satisfied with their support so far(I’ve been with Siteground since late 2015). It is so far the best hosting company among three(one of them with EIG) in my personal opinion and I have been using all three hostings for both work and personal 🙂
I am also thinking of getting a reseller hosting and I am considering hawkhost based on your recommendation 🙂
Cheers and have a great day!
Hey Jay!
Thanks a lot for sharing your experience.
Also, I appreciate you reading my posts 🙂
HawkHost and StableHost are indeed very popular among beginner resellers because of affordable prices and good quality-for-money.
Feel free to contact me any time if you have any questions!
I badly want to understand this article and benefit from it. It’s so busy and full of life that it’s unreadable. Anyway to cut through the bullshit from the getgo?
Thanks!
Thanks Bill for your comment and your interest in the topic.
In order to have answers to some questions you need to articulate the questions very clearly first of all for yourself. My article does not have answers to all questions on this topic, but it can motivate you to think in the right direction with some data provided.
Also, it’s only you and your experience who can give you specific answers to some questions.
Anyway, I’m here to help as much as I can by sharing my experience and thoughts. Feel free to ask questions if you like 🙂
I like the thoroughness you had in this evaluation. I don’t think the ratio of the affiliate payout relative to the yearly hosting price is a good proxy for host quality though.
For one thing, larger hosts seem to be a lot more likely to have high paying affiliate programs. Large hosts also experience extensive economies of scale which make the marginal cost of an additional customer pretty low. It makes sense that these hosts are able to offer high payouts.
As an example, we both agree SiteGround is great. It is also a large host with a high paying affiliate program.
Thanks Chris for your thoughts.
Indeed, the correlation between the hosting size and the size of affiliate payouts takes place.
And as I see, many big hosts maintain not superb quality (EIG is an example).
Do not forget about (cut off) affiliate program. More info here: See (cut off).
Edited: Michael Bely. Reason: not related links
Thanks, but this is totally unrelated.
Hey Michael, Took some time to understand your table and argument points. The AffScores and AffOrderRatios are somewhat inaccurate in my opinion (good in picking the good; not good enough to filter the bad) but your ideas (and the table) are very refreshing.
In an ideal world, the clients should be better off with a host with a high AffOrderRatios as the host is spending more money in acquiring their customer hence spending more effort in keeping them happy and stay onboard.
But we both know our world is everything but ideal 🙂
Thanks for the good article.
Thanks Jerry for your opinion and your comment, I appreciate it.
I agree with you. AffScores and AffOrderRatios are not enough to make a final judgment on a host. It’s just another perspective to have a look at the things. Although in my opinion this approach definitely adds value to hosting evaluation.
When calculating the data on the hosts for this article and the table, I did not really know the results. And it was a surprising journey for me.
Thanks again for diving in into the matter of the article and the table 🙂