11 Most Profitable Niches For Affiliate Marketing

It's no secret that niches can be profitable, but not all niches are created equal. This list will change from season to season to accommodate market trends. However, based on our collective analysis of yearly trends, we compiled a list of affiliate niches that continue to perform exceptionally well year after year.  Whether you’re struggling to find your niche or confused about which one to choose, we’ve compiled this guide on the 11 most profitable niches for affiliate marketing in 2022 to help you find the right niche for your skillset. We’ll also include examples of affiliate programs for each niche.

What are the 11 Most Profitable Niches for Affiliate Marketing in 2022?

Here is the list of the 11 most profitable niches for affiliate marketing you can explore in 2022. If you want to learn more about these niches, just click on the links to jump straight to the specific section of the article. As a bonus, we have included an affiliate program for each of the niches that you can register with immediately!  

1. Traveling

Travel contributes 1.9 trillion dollars to the United States’s economy and expects year-over-year growth of just over one-third. Suffice it to say, it’s a lucrative niche to get into.  If you regularly travel and post your adventures on social media, you should consider partnering with a brand in the travel industry.

Travel affiliate program recommendations

 
• Tripadvisor: Minimum of 50% commission from their hotel booking partners when your followers visit Tripadvisor through your affiliate link and click out to one of their partners.
 
• Expedia: 3% commission for hotels, 2% for vacation rentals, 6% of cruises, and more when followers purchase one of these services.
 
• Booking.com: Up to 40% commissions depending on how many bookings you bring in through your affiliate link. The minimum payout is around $100.

2. Fashion

Nearly 25% of all affiliate programs are in the fashion industry making it one of the top affiliate marketing niches in 2022.  It's also the perfect opportunity for micro-influencers (those with a smaller following of 10k-100k) to enter this niche. In recent years, micro-influencers proved that fashion can be attained by anyone, not only those with class or wealth.

Fashion affiliate program recommendations

 
• Nordstrom: Up to 2-20% commission per sale with a 14-day cookie duration.
 
• TrueReligion: The standard rate is 3% for coupon and deals sites and up to 8% for loyalty partners.
 
• Urban Outfitters: 5% commissions with only a 1-day cookie duration.
 
• Old Navy: A 4% commission per merchandise sale with a 1-day cookie duration.

3. Health and Fitness

Another profitable marketing niche is health and fitness. In fact, the market is expected to reach $6 trillion by 2025. People want to live longer, and they're paying money to do so.  Health and fitness includes diet and nutrition, exercise, supplements, and more, so there are a myriad of opportunities for influencers to find a program that suits their niche.

Health and fitness affiliate program recommendations

 
• ACE (American Council on Exercise): 7% commission rate for every future fitness coach someone refers. A certification costs between $849 and $1,499, with the potential of making $100+ per referral.
 
• Reebok: 7% commission on all sales, up to a 30-day cookie period, with an average order size of around $100. They also offer $5 for every friend who joins the affiliate program.
 
• Nike: 10% commission per sale and a 7-day cookie duration.

4. Finance

Do you like making money and talking about it (who doesn't?)? But if so, finding a finance affiliate marketing program might be best for you.  Some popular influencers can make half of their revenue stream from a single bank affiliate program.  Finance affiliate programs include:

 
• banking
 
• credit reports
 
• trading
 
• investing
 
• budgeting
 
• and more

Finance affiliate program recommendations

 
• Personal Capital: 100% commission rate upon signup of at least $100,000 in tracked assets. They also offer a hefty 30-day cookie duration.
    
• Coinbase: 50% recurring commission for the first three months and a 30-day cookie duration.

5. Food and beverage

This niche changed dramatically over the pandemic: social media was on fire with sourdough bread recipes, and people were clinging to their cookbooks to make every meal.  Also, meat prices rose significantly, leading to more Americans opting for plant-based meat alternatives.  Food bloggers and influencers are still going strong, making this a very profitable niche in 2022.

Food affiliate program recommendations

 
• HelloFresh: $10 for new customers and a 14-day cookie duration.
 
• Sur la Table: 4% commission and a 15-day cookie duration for cookware, kitchen products, and cooking classes.
 
• Lifeboost Coffee: Highest commission in the coffee industry at $10 per new customer brought in and a 30-day cookie duration.

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6. Gaming

Another industry projected to grow significantly by 2025 is the video games industry. The market predicts it will be a $300 billion industry by 2025.  Once a hobby reserved for "nerds," video gaming is now mainstream, so if you game, you'll want in on this niche.

Gaming affiliate program recommendations

 
• GameFly: up to 10% commission per sale and a 30-day cookie duration.
 
• GameStop: up to 5% commission per sale and a 1-day cookie duration.
 
• Microsoft Gaming: Up to a 7% commission per sale with a 14-day cookie duration.

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7. Electronics and tech

 Tech improves our lives daily: from the cars we drive to the automation tools we use to streamline workflows. Digital transformation is driving a $500 billion industry. Products in this niche include digital streaming, downloads, software, gadgets like cellphones, and more. And what's great, even though a tech gadget may be trending today, then gone the following month – another invention always pops up to take its place, so you'll never run out of products to promote.

Electronics and tech affiliate program recommendations

 
• Microsoft 365: up to $15 per sale and a 30-cookie duration.
 
• Blinkist: 20% commission rates and a 30-day cookie duration.
 
• Apple App Store: 7% commissions on sales revenue or a one-time 50-400% membership commission depending on the app promoted. It also includes a 30-day cookie duration.

8. Pets

Okay, who doesn't love watching cute videos of corgi birthday parties? It is difficult to get through the day without coming across at least one cute animal. And people just love their pets! They treat them like part of the family, and even when it comes to shopping for their pets – they really do know how to spend (roughly $103.5 billion in 2020, to be exact).  So, animal lovers, this is your chance to get in on a profitable niche.

Pet affiliate program recommendations

 
• Petco: up to a 4% commission and 7-day cookie duration.
 
• Paw.com: 20% per sale plus a 30-day cookie duration.
 
• Embark: 10% commission per sale and a 30-day cookie duration.

9. Beauty and personal care

What would an affiliate niche list be without the beauty industry. From 2020 to 2021, it grew by $73 million and is expected to reach $716 billion USD by 2025.  Some of the best beauty sub-niches (a niche within a niche) are haircare, cosmetics, and how-to technique videos across all social media platforms.

Beauty affiliate program recommendations

 
• Sephora: up to 5% commission rate per sale and a 30-day cookie duration.
    
• Shine Cosmetics: No Cost. No Hidden Fees. Simply Sign Up. Share. Get Rewarded.

10. Outdoor recreation

 The outdoors is a great escape for most of us who are stuck in the urban lifestyle for most of our days.  Certain sub-niches include:

 
• Cycling
 
• Hiking
 
• Camping
 
• Survival
 
• and more

The pandemic helped propel the outdoor niche to a $646 billion industry. Outdoor lovers aren't confined to any one demographic, making it the perfect niche for enthusiasts wanting to reach a broad audience.

Outdoor recreation affiliate program recommendations

 
• REI: 5% commission rate and 15 day-cookie duration on: Arc'teryx, Black Diamond, Columbia, Merrel, Mountain Hardwear, Osprey, Outdoor Research, Patagonia, prAna, REI Co-op, Salomon, Shimano, and Smartwool.
 
• Backcountry: 8-12% commissions, depending on volume and a 30-day cookie duration.
 
• Patagonia: 8% commission per sale, 60-day cookie duration, and 1% of sales go to hundreds of grassroots environmental groups.

11. Education

With teachers quitting in droves, there's a growing demand for online courses and instructors. According to research from Statista, eLearning is supposed to grow to $400 billion by 2026.  What's great about the education niche is that you don't need to be an educator to promote educational products and services.

Education affiliate program recommendations

 
• Coursera: 10-45% commissions on over 4,000 courses and specializations and a 30-day cookie duration.
 
• Udemy: 15% commission, depending on the publisher, and a 7-day cookie duration.
 
• LinkedIn Learning: $40.00 at most per monthly subscription, 35% on individual courses, and a cookie duration of 30-days.

What is a niche for affiliate marketing?

A niche is an area of expertise in which you or your business specialize. Niches guide many business decisions, like the products you sell, the platform you use to sell them, the target audience or customers, and the type of content you produce.  Most business owners or influencers choose a broad niche and then a specialty within that niche. For example, if you’re a content writer and write about marketing, you will select a niche within that subject area, such as B2B marketing, SaaS companies, or others.  In the case of affiliate marketing, an affiliate niche is finding the type of product or service you love or want to market and finding an affiliate program that suits your wants.  It’s best to choose one niche and commit to it. So, how do you choose the best affiliate niche?

How to Find a Niche for Affiliate Marketing

When searching for an affiliate program, one of the most important decisions you make is choosing a niche. A niche is a market segment you can target with your products or services. To succeed, your niche must be profitable, meaning that enough potential customers are willing to spend money on what you or the business offer. But with so many options available, how do you choose a profitable affiliate niche?  Before choosing a niche, consider 3 key areas:

 
1. Skills: What you’re good at
 
2. Interests: What you’re passionate about
 
3. Differentiation: What sets you apart from others

1. Skills

Consider your interests and expertise. What are you passionate about? What do you know more about than anyone else? This is a good place to start because you will be more likely to be successful if you sell something you care about.  For example, if you spend your free time building computers, you are probably skilled at building computers and know a lot about computer hardware. So, you’ll want to find an affiliate marketing program where you can review and market computer hardware.  Finding something you’re skilled at is the first step to finding an appropriate affiliate program.

2. Interests

Passion is critical when joining a profitable affiliate niche program because you need to invest a lot of time and effort into creating content (whether making videos or blogging about a product).  This will be a topic you’ll market for a long time, so pick a topic you can see yourself marketing for a year. Is there a product or service you’re passionate about that you think you can market consistently?

3. Differentiation

Differentiation sets you apart from the competition. It’s what makes you different, and if you want to succeed in a niche, you must stand out from the crowd.  For example, if you’re a fitness influencer and most other influencers in your niche blog about the niche, make videos instead. If other influencers use Instagram to market an affiliate product, maybe you go to TikTok instead.  Find something that makes you stand out from your competition.

Conclusion

If you're looking for a profitable niche to start your online business, the 11 niches we've outlined here are great options to explore. Remember that these are just some of the many possible niches available; if you can't find one that interests you here, be sure to research one that's a good fit for you and your business.