{"id":51492,"date":"2021-09-20T11:07:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-20T11:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/authorityhacker.com\/?p=51492"},"modified":"2024-02-21T16:06:02","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T16:06:02","slug":"clickbank-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/clickbank-review\/","title":{"rendered":"ClickBank Review 2024: Is ClickBank Legit or a Scam?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ClickBank has been around for a long time. In fact, the affiliate network launched way back in 1998.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means ClickBank is one of the oldest affiliate marketing networks out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A garage start-up run by three friends who built their own website has grown to become a business with an annual turnover of US$1 billion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ClickBank is also slightly different from most affiliate marketing networks because it focuses primarily on digital products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s predominantly a marketplace where digital product creators upload their products, although they do also feature some physical products these days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I know all you new affiliates are wondering: how does ClickBank work? And is it still worth using today over different affiliate networks?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s get started with our ClickBank review to find out.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u23f0 TL;DR: Our Findings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Clickbank is an affiliate network for digital products, such as ebooks, courses, and software.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/path><\/svg><\/span>ClickBank is a legitimate and popular affiliate network that pays affiliates on time and offers a variety of products to promote.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Pros of Clickbank: weekly or bi-weekly payments, low payment threshold, easy link creation, and diverse product categories. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Cons of Clickbank: dated interface, a 90-day refund policy that some customers can abuse, and some low-quality products that can harm its reputation.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/path><\/svg><\/span> To make money with Clickbank, you need to find quality products that match your niche and audience, create affiliate links, and promote them on your website, social media, email list, or other channels.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Is ClickBank Legit?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Clickbank affiliate marketing is 100% legit. That\u2019s all there is to it. But because you\u2019re likely hoping for a more detailed answer, I\u2019ll go into a little more depth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we\u2019ve already pointed out, ClickBank is one of the oldest affiliate networks out there, having been in the affiliate marketing game for more than two decades now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that time, it\u2019s built a network of almost 100,000 affiliate marketers, from digital content creators to bloggers and influencers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, our affiliate marketing statisti<\/a>c<\/a>s<\/a> page shows that it’s the second-most-popular affiliate network. Only Amazon is bigger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based in over 200 countries, they\u2019ve leveraged ClickBank to rake in more than $4 billion in commissions. And they clearly like it, because the company has a 4.5-star rating from more than 2,300 reviews on Trustpilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vendors love it too, with more than 4,000 products listed in the ClickBank marketplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honestly, with numbers like that, there\u2019s simply no way ClickBank is a \u201cscam network\u201d. Someone would have noticed by now!<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Clickbank<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Signing Up for ClickBank<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Their signup process for new affiliates is very straightforward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simply enter your location, name, telephone number, and email address:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Clickbank<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The signup page is also available in six languages, so that\u2019s a nice touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve entered your personal details you then click on \u2018Continue to Terms and Conditions\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the usual scroll quickly and click the \u2018Accept Terms and Conditions\u2019 button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then once that\u2019s done you can finally click on \u2018Join ClickBank!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note:<\/strong> You must live in a country that ClickBank can make a direct deposit to<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a sad fact of life but affiliate networks can\u2019t operate in certain countries because of the risk of fraud and\/or legal restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if you\u2019re an affiliate marketer living in one of those countries you\u2019re SOL I\u2019m afraid \u2013 always review the TOS for any service before signing up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next step is being offered some free training.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Clickbank<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

You also get a \u201cWelcome\u201d video to watch…which subtly tries to upsell ClickBank vendors on a monthly membership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re then encouraged to complete your publisher profile, including payment and contact details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was bizarre to see my home province listed in Irish Gaelic here, but it shows they\u2019ve made a real effort with localization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the final step is to \u2018Optimize your performance\u2019 by telling them if you\u2019re an affiliate, a seller, or a researcher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, this might sound a little odd, but you need to create an account within your main account for certain features to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is what ClickBank refers to as your \u2018Nickname\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Clickbank<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Which will also be part of your referral URL, so it can\u2019t be any longer than ten characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can be clever here and use something related to your niche e.g. pets100.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s annoying to have to do this as a secondary step \u2013 it used to be part of the actual signup process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But once you do that you\u2019re now free to roam the ClickBank marketplace and start promoting digital products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wait\u2026they don\u2019t ask for any SEO metrics or traffic details during the sign-up process?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s part of the attraction of ClickBank \u2013 there\u2019s a very low barrier to entry here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Brands Can You Promote With ClickBank?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is where you find out you\u2019re dealing with a different type of affiliate network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basically, this ain\u2019t Kansas, Dorothy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ClickBank sells both digital products<\/a> and some physical ones too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the thing is these are all brand names you probably won\u2019t recognize. If you\u2019re exclusively looking to work with a high-profile online retailer, ClickBank probably ain\u2019t the one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might have seen some of them in your social media feed or in pop-ups via retargeting campaigns, but that\u2019s it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a random sampling of the top-converting products on ClickBank to show you what I mean:<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Clickbank<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Do any of these products look familiar to you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Probably not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that doesn\u2019t stop products just like these selling by the truckload.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And earning the average affiliate marketer a very nice chunk of change in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One interesting finding is that many of the best selling products on ClickBank are now health supplements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a big change from even a decade ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ease of Use<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been in the affiliate marketing game for about 20 years and it appears \u2014 praise all the Gods \u2014 that the ClickBank website is finally getting a facelift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s still not the prettiest affiliate dashboard out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it keeps things simple.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Clickbank<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

And it does that by using WordPress for its backend. As with a lot of WordPress sites, that means it\u2019s fairly easy to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most affiliate dashboards come with their own training tutorials…so you know you\u2019re in for a UX nightmare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not so with ClickBank \u2013 it\u2019s basically a blank canvas with a handful of functions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Dashboard<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Tickets<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Transactions<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Reporting<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Accounts<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Users<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Affiliate marketplace<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Profile<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Support<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The only one that really needs any explanation here is \u2018Transactions\u2019 \u2013 this is very, very useful for tracking down serial refunders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But the one that\u2019s of most interest to us is the \u2018Affiliate Marketplace\u2019 button.<\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"Clickbank<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

    Because this is where you\u2019ll find ClickBank offers to promote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Finding Affiliate Programs on Clickbank<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The ClickBank Marketplace is where all the action happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s also a sign of just how old this platform is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Clickbank<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Yup, it looks like one of those clipart sites you thought was cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When you were 10 years of age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But there\u2019s also a certain logic behind the lack of change evident here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Mostly the approach that if something isn\u2019t broken, then don\u2019t fix it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And although their interface is horrendous by modern standards\u2026it\u2019s still doing the same job it has for 22 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Which is helping you find profitable offers<\/a> and join programs with lots of earning potential<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You can do this by using either keyword searches or browsing individual categories and filtering the results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So if we wanted to find all the ClickBank affiliate programs for fat loss, we\u2019d simply enter that keyword:<\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"Clickbank<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

    And you get the following:<\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"Clickbank<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

    It\u2019s worth mentioning here that ClickBank\u2019s ability to sort results by \u2018Keyword Relevance\u2019 usually drops off a cliff after the second or third page of results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Basically, their keyword search functionality is a bit shit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But the ability to filter by a number of different metrics such as \u2018Popularity\u2019 and \u2018Gravity\u2019 work just fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Wait\u2026what has \u2018Gravity\u2019 got to do with affiliate marketing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Even if the movie was awesome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    ClickBank, in its divine wisdom, decided to simply not use the same EPC metric as every other affiliate network on the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Well, they did, but they decided to call it \u2018Gravity\u2019 instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So now is as good a time as any to look at the various ClickBank metrics you can use to filter keyword or category search results.<\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"Clickbank<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

    Gravity<\/strong> \u2013 this is an approximate measurement of how well an affiliate product converts \u2013 a higher number is better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Initial $\/sale<\/strong> \u2013 How much an affiliate makes for the initial sale, minus any monthly recurring payments<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Avg %\/Sale<\/strong> \u2013 The amount of commission an affiliate marketer earns per sale<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Avg Rebill Total<\/strong> \u2013For a recurring billing product, this is the amount the vendor charges customers each month<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Avg %\/Rebill<\/strong> \u2013 The percentage of recurring commissions you get<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now let\u2019s review the different categories in the \u2018Marketplace\u2019:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Clickbank<\/td>\"Clickbank<\/td>\"Clickbank<\/td><\/tr>
    \"Clickbank<\/td>\"Clickbank<\/td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Some of these categories  are obviously going to be more popular and profitable than others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Like \u2018E-business & E-Marketing\u2019 for example, or \u2018Health & Fitness\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So if we drill down into the \u2018Health & Fitness\u2019 category on ClickBank it automatically populates with a list of available programs.<\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"Clickbank<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

    You can add a variety of filters to your search query to narrow things down a bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In the above example, I set it to only show me affiliate products with a (1)\u2018Gravity\u2019 score of 20 or above and a minimum (2)  \u2018Initial sale\u2019 value of $20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Why choose a \u2018Gravity\u2019 score of 20?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That\u2019s explained in our in-depth article on how to make money with ClickBank<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But there\u2019s an additional set of attributes you can use to refine your results even further:<\/p>\n\n\n\n