One of the most popular niches in affiliate marketing is promoting pet-related stuff. That is because many people can now afford to buy things for their furry companions either to pamper or to maintain their well-being.
If you are highly interested in this niche, read on to find out how you can make money with pet products online.
How to Make Money With Pet Products
Step #1 – Research The Product Range
The first thing you need to do is to explore the product categories within this niche. Keep in mind that you are running an affiliate blog – not an e-commerce store – so it wouldn’t be wise to promote every single item on the rack. Your promotion effort should focus on products that have ongoing or upward trends and positive reviews from personal or peer recommendations.
It’s also important to know which type of pet (dog, cat or exotic) and categories (food, grooming, accessories, etc.) that you are interested in so that you can use these topics as the main theme when constructing your blog.
Handy Tips – You want to build traffic with a targeted audience in mind, not just random shoppers.
Step #2 – Identify The Product Concept
Every product serves a specific purpose and as an affiliate blogger, you need to be able to relate that to consumer’s buying decisions. Having a good grasp of this concept will provide valuable keywords that can be used for writing your blogs later on.
For example, people who are searching for a dog harness probably want safety and a more comfortable method to transport their pets from one place to another.
Handy Tips – You want to sell something that can help people and their pets.
Step #3 – Identify The User’s Keywords
In this step, we are going to find out the popularity of a specific product through keyword research. These keywords (or key phrases) will describe the queries that people type when they are searching for a product online.
(a) First, let’s identify a product trend with Google Trend. In this example, we search for ‘dog harness’ and you can clearly see that there’s an upward trend for this product.
This item would be great to promote on your blog.
(b) Next, we are going to head over to Google Instant to find some trending keywords related to this product search. Using ‘dog harness’ as my root keyword, I am going to randomly add some queries in the search box and see what Google suggests using the Alphabet Soup Technique.
These are 3 great keywords and I am particularly interested in “how to put dog harness on”. As a dog owner myself, I always thought they were a bit challenging to use, especially for beginners. So I wonder how many sites are out there providing for this information.
(c) To answer this question, I am going to use my favorite keyword tool called Jaaxy to give me some numerical data.
Out of 875 (AVG) searches per month, only 6 (QSR) competing websites rank for the exact keywords. With such high ‘demand’ and low ‘competition’, this is absolutely an ideal keyword to use for recommending dog harness products.
Breaking down your keyword research into these 3 simple steps will help you achieve two important things as an affiliate blogger.
- Get your site indexed and ranked better in the search engines.
- Make your site more visible to your targeted audience.
- Get more sales!
Handy Tips – Always target long-tail keywords because they are more query-specific.
Step #4 – Searching for Affiliate Programs
When it comes to searching for an affiliate program, there are a few things that need to be considered;
- You want to aim for a higher commission rate product.
- You want to work with a reputable merchant.
- And you want to make sure that they pay you promptly.
The most common marketplace that people would join is Amazon. They offer a variety of dog harnesses, but because it is a general product, you will be earning through volume-based selling. For example, if you sell between 1-6 items, the commission is 4%. If you sell between 30-110 items, you’ll earn 6.5%.
For some, these percentages are not much. The good news is, there are other merchants that pay higher and you can search for them using any of the 3 following methods.
(1) Go to Google Search and type “dog harness” + “affiliate program”.
The very first result is ForDogTrainers and their payout is 10%.
(2) Sign up for affiliate networks like ShareASale and search for “dog harness” in the product keyword. Here, I discovered that a company called Kurgo that offers 12% per sale. (That is almost 3x the profit from Amazon!)
(3) Create an account with Jaaxy Keyword Research tool and use it to search for affiliate programs. In this example, I found 3 merchants in Commission Junction that pay between 8 to 10% in commission.
Once you identify the merchant that you want to work with, apply for the program and you should receive approval within several days.
Handy Tips – If you got rejected, simply move on to other merchants that would offer you an opportunity.
Step #5 – Blog About It
Now is the time to showcase your knowledge and promote the product of interest through your affiliate blog. (If you don’t have one already, learn how to create a WordPress website here).
Besides writing with targeted keywords in mind, you also want to add relevant images and videos to portray a more professional brand and to help readers understand the topic better. Once you have done that, join a blogging community to get more comment engagement and share your article on social media.
Handy Tips – Blogging helps to drive traffic to your site and improve your chances of selling the product online.
Ready To Start a Pet Affiliate Blog?
The pet niche is a booming industry and if you are interested in making money with it, you are definitely on the right track. All you need is some training to get the foundation in place and you can potentially work full time as an affiliate marketer.
The Wealthy Affiliate community is a great place that provides such training and I would recommend that you check out their tools and support to learn how you can get started.
Do you have any opinions or questions about making money with pet products? Just leave your comment below and I’ll get back to you.
Cathy,
I joined Wealthy Affiliate yesterday. I wasn’t searching for it, I just happened to come across it and got interested.
As a dog trainer in Nashville, your article about harnesses was exactly what I needed to read. I started thinking about a niche last night, and harnesses, especially while traveling in a car, was the first product that came to me. I recommend the use of a harness to all of my client’s.
My only concern is that the ticket amount for a harness isn’t very expensive, so I’d make very little per individual sale.
Is this something to consider ? Otherwise, I believe in the product and would like to make supplemental income off of it.
Thank you !
Hi John, I think it would be more purposely and rewarding if you expand your blog from a dog training perspective. That way, you can review more gears (other than harnesses) and dog training systems to generate more commission revenue. If you are truly an expert, consider selling your own digital product (i.e. dog training modules) down the road to make the most profit. Hope this helps.
You have broken down the “how to” for niche marketing not only for pet products but for any niche. I will have to say Awesome job! Your method of finding affiliate programs for the specific pet product you are looking for is the exact as what I do. So, any one reading this article, do pay attention. It does work and can provide great results for finding the top commission based affiliated pet products.
Again, thank you for this great training tutorial.
Hi there Dave,
Glad to be on the same direction as you. Using the name of specific pet products is one of the most direct (and often times, effective) techniques to look for affiliate programs. It leads you to the merchant website where you can learn more about the company and find out which affiliate networks to apply. When they don’t partner with affiliate networks, you will be required to send in your application privately.
Either way, the top 10 results on the first page will be your gold mine. Really research on their products and see how you can leverage that as an affiliate marketer.
For more ways of finding affiliate programs, check out the training platform at Wealthy Affiliate. They have some great tools and tutorial for that.
Hi Cathy,
This is a great post. I chose a pet niche and I am still trying to get it off the ground with affiliate companies. However, I loved learning about the Google tools that are out there to find keywords. I have just been using Jaaxy exclusively, and while I have gotten some posts to rank really high, I like what you taught here.
It is important to know what is trending is more sought after to help you get more exposure with people. I also hadn’t considered looking into affiliate programs through the specific product, but I think I might try that the next time.
Thanks for the great info.
Hi there Jessica,
Jaaxy is kind of an objective tool since it provides you with distinctive data, which is what you really need as a niche marketer and it’s totally okay to just use Jaaxy. I like to think that Google Trend offers a more subjective picture, something that can support your idea (and gut feeling) that you are choosing the right keywords to use for your website.
If you are just starting out, getting affiliate approvals can be challenging as they often look at a website credibility in terms of content and traffic. I have been rejected many times when my site was still very green due to these reasons.
If I were you, I would spend at least 3 months just churning out articles and making my site more structural. It increases your chances of being accepted into affiliate programs and provides better user experience for your readers too.
You can learn more about this in the training at Wealthy Affiliate so do check it out!
Hi Cathy,
Your visuals, organization, and presentation are spot on. Your website is gorgeous. Is there any other pet-specific information you could provide? I feel like a lot of this can apply to any niche, which is not necessarily a bad thing as it was a good review for me as I am new to Wealthy Affiliate.
Welcome to Wealthy Affiliate, Erin.
My niche here is online marketing in general. I don’t write pet-specific information on this blog. But you are absolutely right. These techniques can be applied to any niche.
Since you are new, I would encourage you to join the Online Entrepreneurship Training here so that you’ll learn the basics of affiliate marketing and get involve with a niche that you are passionate about. If you need any help, just let me know.
Hello Cathy
You have explained things so well in an easy to understand way that anyone can follow. l want to believe that l can use your tips, follow your guidelines to start a non-pet products affiliate program.
l’m not very well informed in pet/dog needs but on other hand, I also do not know how to promote affiliate products. After reading your post, I’m so confident that l can use the same guidelines to promote cosmetic products and be successful.
Hi there Roamy,
It’s good that you are thinking out of the box. If you look closely, the same techniques can be applied to any niche when looking for an affiliate product. One of the best way to promote them is through writing good quality content, one that addresses users’ concern and provides a solution/ discussion/ products that can help people solve their problems and improves their understanding about certain topics.
You can learn more about writing content for your niche here.
Hello Cathy,
Nice blog. I’ve never heard of ShareASale before. I will be sure to check them out. How do you tell who pays higher commissions or if they pay promptly?
Hi there Susan,
You can usually find out about a merchant’s commission when you are reading through the affiliate program. Some pay per sale transaction, some pay according to volume based aka the more you sell, the more you earn. Here’s how you can look for affiliate program for your blog at ShareASale.
When it comes to payment, I think every affiliate networks has a fixed schedule as to when they would wire the money to you. It should be in the terms and condition somewhere. Of course, you can read about how efficient they are at this by going through reviews of other marketers who have experience with them.
Hope this helps.
Hi Cathy,
I thought your post was excellent really well written. You provided loads of valuable information for bloggers.
I am a big dog lover myself and I plan to include a few posts about pets into my own website so thanks so much for providing so many helpful tips. I also love the picture of the dog you put at the start of this post. It captured my interest straight away.
Thanks for the great post Cathy. What is the best way to find out what niches are the most popular and profitable?
Or is that important? Would it be better just to blog about the niche you feel the most passionate about?Maybe I can put these ideas to use right away and find a profirtable niche. I’m just worried that I might choose a niche that doesn’t have any affiliate program related to it.
Anyways, thanks for such clear and precise directions. This is very helpful. By the way, where do you find the videos to go in your post?
Hi John, in response to your questions,
1) Ways to find out popular and profitable niche.
I would use a combination of tools like Google News, Quora and Amazon marketplace to find out. If there are plenty of news, product features and social influencers, I would think that this is a potential niche to profit. However, the best person to know would be you. If you are actively involved in this niche, you would probably know.
2) Niche Blogging
I see it both ways. It’s always easier to write something that you are passionate about rather than forcing yourself to do it. But if you challenge yourself out of the comfort zone, you can actually learn more and discover your potential.
3) No affiliate program
Come up with a list of products that your niche would likely use. Do a quick search on Amazon and on Google Search to see your affiliate options. Are the merchants still active? Are their products reputable? That should give you some idea on what to decide.
4) Where to find videos
From YouTube. You can easily embed them on your website using the ‘Embed’ feature found below the videos.
Here’s a training from Wealthy Affiliate on how to find for relevant affiliate programs. Hope you’ll find it helpful.
A really interesting niche – I bet there are some wicked micro subjects that run off this! I have never used my blog to promote anything pet-like but I bet the market is huge if you get things right off the bat! How long have you been promoting these products and how easy are they to write about?
Hi there Chris,
I work in a pet related industry and although I do not promote any products online at the moment, I do it all the time at my workplace. Based on my 7 years of experience, the demand is there and it is growing each day. Is it easy to write about this niche? For me, yes because I have a ton of background on this topic. In fact, I am planning to launch a pet affiliate blog with SiteRubix once I have completed all my research.