13 Best Pay Per Click Affiliate Programs for Increasing Revenue

Passive income is the ultimate dream for most affiliate marketers these days. Although there's no such a thing as total passive income in the marketing world, pay-per-click affiliate programs come pretty close. 

Pay per click is what it sounds like: 

1. You attract traffic and readers
2. Your readers click on the ads
3. And you earn money. 

Sounds great, right? 

No matter where you're at in your affiliate marketing or publishing journey, you can find a PPC affiliate marketing program that will work for you. 

Each platform has different specifications and requirements, and each pays a bit differently. Still, they all exist to help you monetize your website and send targeted traffic to the advertisers. 

Let's take a closer look and go over 13 of the best pay-per-click affiliate programs to increase your revenue, whether you have ten visitors per month or 500k+, there's a program for you.

What is a Pay Per Click (PPC) Affiliate Program?

A pay-per-click (PPC) program is an advertising and affiliate marketing model where affiliates and publishers get paid when visitors click a specific link or ad on their website. 

Pay-per-click affiliate marketing programs are typically ad networks that place display ads in specific areas on your website to attract attention and clicks. 

The PPC programs are a great way to monetize your website, and once you get set up with your chosen PPC program, it's practically passive income. 

How Do PPC Affiliate Programs Work?

PPC networks work with both publishers and advertisers.

An advertiser joins the network to have access to publisher websites to display their ads. Publishers display ads to their traffic and earn revenue for each click paid by the advertiser. 

Some niches earn more money than others, and some PPC programs have better payouts.

Revenue from PPC programs is measured in RPM (rate per mile). RPM is an estimate of the rate you can expect to earn per 1,000 visitors. This rate varies depending on the traffic amount, type, and PPC network you're using. 

The highest-paying PPC networks have high minimum traffic requirements to join. But if you don't have a lot of traffic yet, don't worry; there are plenty of great pay-per-click affiliate programs for low-traffic sites, too. 

Best Pay Per Click Affiliate Programs for Low Traffic

These pay-per-click programs have low to no minimum traffic requirements, making them perfect for beginners or brand new websites looking to monetize through PPC affiliate marketing. 

1. Google Adsense

Google Adsense is one of the most popular pay-per-click affiliate programs out there. In addition, adsense is the go-to for many new websites with low traffic because they have no minimum traffic requirements. 

If you have low traffic numbers, Adsense can be a great place to start. However, Google Adsense can be difficult to get approved.

If you want to apply to Adsense, read How to Apply to Google Adsense and Get Approved. 

Google Ads' commission rate per click can vary from pennies to $10 or more, although most publishers earn less than $3 per click. 

Read how much Google Adsense pays per pageview for more info on how much you can earn with Adsense. 

The biggest downside to Google Adsense is the payout threshold, especially if you have low traffic. The payout threshold for Google Ads is $100, and if you're earning pennies per click, it could take a while before you see a paycheck. 

Google Adsense used to be the best of the best for any affiliate marketer. These days it's best suited for beginners and YouTube social media vloggers and influencers.

2. Sovrn

Sovrn, formerly known as VigLinks, is a great PPC ad network for low-traffic publishers and websites. They have no minimum traffic requirements and a much better payment threshold than Adsense at $10 to $50, depending on your payment method. 

In addition to being a complete PPC ad network, Sovrn has tools to help you automatically convert product links to affiliate links, tools for ad testing, and more. 

This pay-per-click program automates ad placement, so once approved, you don't have to worry about a thing. 

Sovrn has no minimum traffic requirements, but they have a few content requirements that could make it difficult for some websites to be approved. 

In general, they don't allow adult content, offensive language, or anything illegal. In addition, your content must be original and engaging. 

3. SkimLinks

SkimLinks isn't a display advertising network like some of the other programs on this list. However, this program is excellent for affiliates who want to monetize their content with affiliate links from multiple affiliate networks and programs. 

When you sign up with Skimlinks, you install a code snippet on your website. Then they automatically turn any commerce link on your website into an affiliate link so you earn money anytime a reader clicks and purchases a product. 

Through the Skimlinks platform, you have access to over 50 affiliate networks, but you don't have to do any of the linking work yourself. 

Skimlinks payout works with a 75/25 system, meaning you make 75% of affiliate commissions that come through Skimlinks, and they keep 25%. 

There are no minimum traffic requirements to join, although you'll make more money with higher amounts of traffic. 

4. InfoLinks

Infolinks is a pay-per-click affiliate program similar to Skimlinks. The program is beginner-friendly and can be used with a display ad network like Google Adsense to increase your earning potential.

This network works by adding text-based links and contextual ads in your content based on what you publish and the intent of your readers.

A text ad works similarly to any other affiliate link on your website to help drive traffic and conversions from a suitable spot in your content.

Infolinks is free to sign up and easy to get started: all you do is paste a code snippet into your website, and you're good to go.

This PPC affiliate marketing program partners with big advertisers like Verizon, Mastercard, Microsoft, and more.

A major plus to this program is the ability to use it alongside another PPC network, like Google Adsense. Additionally, Infolinks analyzes your traffic in real-time to show readers ads most relevant to them, increasing your potential to earn an affiliate commission.

5. RevenueHits

RevenueHits is a CPA (cost per action/acquisition) network that pays you when your reader performs the desired action. For example, actions can involve filling out a form, providing an email, etc.

This model is a bit different than just paying per single click, but the revenue can end up being much higher.

Ad types with RevenueHits include pop-ups, banners, sliders, and more.

RevenueHits is a self-service platform, so you'll be doing most of the work yourself. But it can be worth it and is an excellent alternative to Adsense!

In addition to advertising, RevenueHits has a referral program that pays out 10% of the revenues made by referred publishers for the first year.

6. PropellerAds

PropellerAds is an Adsense compatible network that offers a wide range of ad formats. PPC ads with this network include popunder ads, banners, direct links, and more.

This pay-per-click affiliate program has one of the lowest payout thresholds and fastest payment terms of any other network. The minimum payout is just $5, and they pay out every Thursday.

There is no minimum traffic requirement to work with PropellerAds, so this is a great PPC network for beginners and new websites.

They also work with various types of content and claim 100% of your traffic can be monetized. So, this might be an attractive option for websites with content deemed “taboo” by other networks.

This platform claims to bypass ad-blocking technologies to help you increase your total affiliate profits by 20%.

PropellerAds also offers a referral program that pays 5% of all revenue earned from referred publishers.

7. Bidvertiser

Bidvertiser is a pay-per-click affiliate program where advertisers bid for the space on your website. If you have a well-known brand or website, you can do well on this platform. 

Bidvertiser doesn't have minimum traffic requirements, but they do require you to have a website at least three months old. The platform also has an automated approval process, so you won't be waiting around for too long after you apply. 

Ad formats include display banners, pop-unders, sliders, smart links, and more. Bidvertiser is also compatible with Google Adsense. 

This display ad network has a referral program, too, paying $10 when a referred publisher earns their first $10.

Then, when the same publisher makes $50, you'll earn $40. 

Best PPC Programs for Intermediate to Advanced Affiliate Marketers and Publishers

These PPC affiliate programs have high minimum traffic requirements and are best suited for advanced affiliate marketers and publishers.

To be eligible to use these networks, your website should receive a minimum of 5k+ visits per month. 

8. Media.net

Media.net is a significant next step after Google Adsense once you have a bit of steady traffic coming to your website. 

While most new websites rely on Adsense for monetization, once you reach 5,000 visits per month, you're eligible to earn more money through networks like Media.net. 

Media.net has exclusive access to the Yahoo Bing network, which opens you up to an increase in earnings. The Media.net PPC program is compatible with Google Adsense, so you don't even need to quit Adsense to start using them.

Ads from both networks can display on the same page with no problems.

If you're starting to generate more traffic to your website and want to see how much more you can earn by branching out from Adsense, give this PPC network a try.

Media.net has a referral program, although they don't state the commission type or amounts on their website. 

9. Ezoic

Ezoic is a pay-per-click affiliate program for websites with a minimum of 10,000 visits per month. It's a fantastic alternative to Google Adsense once you have a steady stream of traffic. 

The ads on  OwnTheYard.com brought EPMV up from $5.01 per 1k visitors to $17.40 — that's a 247% increase over Google Adsense. You can read the full review for the OwnTheYard niche site project here. 

Ezoic has display ads, but that's not all they offer publishers. Ezoic offers site speed optimizations, an AI ad tester, and much more. This network comes with a selection of different plans from free to enterprise, but you can stay on free forever if that's what you want. 

This ad program is a great place to start when your website grows, and you want to increase your affiliate advertising income. If you refer publishers to Ezoic, their referral program will pay you 3% of the revenue generated by your referral. 

10. Mediavine

If you've been blogging for any amount of time, you've likely heard of Mediavine. Mediavine is one of the most popular pay-per-click affiliate programs and a big goal for many publishers. 

The minimum traffic requirements for Mediavine are 50,000 sessions per month — not pageviews. Although they have hefty session requirements, they offer great payouts and a great publisher experience. 

You can read the full NichePursuits Mediavine review here where Spencer shares an earnings increase of 80% over Adsense after switching over to Mediavine.

This PPC network has a significant focus on quality, so you'll need a great-looking website and quality content to join, in addition to the minimum traffic requirements.

Mediavine has a top-notch blogger support community and is committed to helping publishers make more money. 

11. AdThrive

Yet another step up in terms of traffic requirements, AdThrive is a Google Certified Publishing Partner, and a sought-after ad network for many publishers. 

This pay-per-click affiliate network has even higher minimum traffic requirements of 100k page views per month. While the minimum traffic requirements of some of these networks seem steep, you'll earn a lot more money once you're at these levels of traffic. 

AdThrive is known to be picky about the websites they approve. The acceptance rate is approximately 15%, but it's worth a try if you meet the traffic requirements. 

In addition to meeting the traffic requirements, Adthrive wants publishers who do not publish content about illegal activities, violence, adult content, gambling, etc. 

The majority of AdThrive publishers are in the lifestyle, food, or parenting niche. 

We have published a comparison of Mediavine and AdThrive; read it here. 

12. Outbrain

Outbrain is a unique PPC affiliate program. This PPC network is a display ad network, but they also enable publishers to purchase ad space on other affiliate publishers' websites. 

This platform used to have a minimum traffic requirement of 10m visitors per month, but it seems they've recently removed that requirement. And yes, that's 10 million!

Still, we think this platform is best for advanced publishers and affiliate marketers. Although they don't currently list minimum traffic requirements, they still look for high-quality and unique content. 

Outbrains advertisers include huge companies and household names like Disney, 3M, Lego, CNN, MSN, and many more. 

Ad formats and PPC ads with Outbrain include sponsored content, branded carousels, video content, editorial content, and more. 

13. AdBlade

Adblade is a PPC affiliate program for publishers looking for news story-based ads and ads that look like articles. This network works best for publishers with a lot of written content.

Adblade has a minimum traffic requirement of 500k monthly page views. The site works with advertisers in all verticals, so the odds of getting relevant ads for your website are good no matter the niche market.

In addition to the minimum traffic requirements, this PPC affiliate program prefers to work with high-quality content publishers to protect their advertisers from spammy traffic.

Ads from Adblade show up looking like related articles, so they work well both in-post and in the footer of your website.

Tips to Maximize Your Earning Potential With PPC Programs

If you have a decent amount of traffic, you'll start earning money as soon as you place any of these pay-per-click affiliate programs on your website.

Here are a few tips to maximize your earning potential.

Publish More Content

The first way to increase your PPC affiliate earning potential is to increase your traffic, although that's easier said than done. However, the more traffic you get, the more money you'll earn through your pay-per-click affiliate programs. 

You can help increase your PPC earnings and your website traffic by publishing more content. With more content, you'll attract more readers.

Internal Links

Up your internal linking strategy to increase your pay-per-click affiliate program earnings by directing readers to other relevant articles on your website. 

Internal linking is one of the most underrated strategies for getting more traffic. It increases the time people spend on your website, and boosts your SEO rankings. 

Niche Selection

In addition to increasing your traffic, choosing a top-paying niche is a great way to set yourself up for success with PPC affiliate programs.

Examples of high-paying niches for PPC ads include insurance, online education, legal averaging, and internet and telecom.

Monetize Your Website With These Pay Per Click Affiliate Programs

Whether you're just starting or you have millions of readers per month, using pay-per-click affiliate programs enables you to effectively monetize your website no matter where you're at in the blogging journey.

There are dozens of PPC affiliate programs out there for brand new websites to established authority sites, and each program provides something a little different. 

CPC will vary depending on your traffic type and amount, niche topic, and the network you choose.

The key to making great money with pay-per-click programs is to increase your traffic and the time users spend on your website. 

With epic content and a robust internal linking strategy, PPC affiliate programs can be a great way to add passive income to your website.