I have a whole business set up around promoting Host Gator's services. I've had a couple days where I've got up to 12 new signups in a day, and then other days I get 1 or 2. On average my business is doing about 80-120 signups per month.
With that said, here's the pros and cons from my experience:
PROS:
- Host Gator is a great hosting company with great customer service
- Very affordable hosting payment options (including the monthly payment option)
- Gives us affiliates a coupon code that can be used
- Pays up to $125 per referral (I've yet to find a better paying program)
- They are awesome about awarding affiliate credit even if customer forgets to use coupon code (all you need to do is email them domain name)
- They will have occasional specials where all hosting packages are 50% off. This really helps us affiliates to get more signups (those are the occasions where I've received 10+ signups in a day)
- Good back office area so we can keep track of our affiliate signups
- Sends money via check or Paypal
CONS:
- Pays 60 days after signup (but this is pretty typical for most hosting programs that pay well)
- There is no payment schedule or notice as to when affiliate payments will be sent. It has ranged from the 3rd of the month to the 12th.
- No phone support for us affiliates
- A bit questionable when it comes to marking Inactive and Duplicate files (files will show as eligible for commission all the way up until affiliate pay day, then they will change to Inactive or Duplicate and no payment will be sent)
- There's no real way of verifying if files are indeed Duplicates. We just need to take Host Gators word on those
- Sometimes emails can go unanswered and there's no other way of getting affiliate help other than email
With all that said, I do enjoy working with Host Gator and think that the pros outweigh the cons. Although I did originally come to this post because I was looking to see if there are any better hosting alternatives, I think all the cons could be eliminated if Host Gator were willing to give their affiliates an account manager or phone support.
If you are planning on getting over 30 affiliate signups a month, then Host Gator probably is the best option (thats when they pay $125 per signup). If you are only going to do a few signups per month, then other companies would probably be a better option. Host Gator pays $50 if you only get a few signups per month, and there are other companies that can match that and they pay Net 30 (opposed to Net 60). Lastly, keep in mind that my fall out is typically about 25%-30%. So if I get 100 signups in a month, I will usually be paid on about 70-75 of them when it's all said and done.
Hope this helps, good luck!
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