White and fluffy affiliate marketing niches

Man marketers can call themselves real experts in grey-hat and black-hat affiliate marketing. However, with the moderation on ad platforms getting stricter, many casual grey-ish promotional methods are becoming problematic. Today we have an important mission to tell you about the behind-the-scenes of white-hat affiliate marketing verticals, so you won’t be afraid to try driving traffic there because of stereotypes about low profitability. Let’s dive into working with this segment of the CPA marketing world.

Basic understanding of white-hat niches and their types

Why are these verticals called white? Because of the association with innocence and sincerity, this way of earning traffic does not involve activities on the verge of breaking the rules. This refers both to the moral and technical parts of the promotion. The first is when marketers do not deceive (or even exaggerate) the audience about the qualities of the product when promoting products. From a moral perspective, white-hat affiliate marketing does not need spy services and cloaking to bypass moderation requirements. 

White-hat affiliate offers can include products that are useful and approved by the audience and traffic sources. They correspond to the description, are certified, and do not promise miraculous and instant results. Everything is transparent, valid for the user, and can be legally promoted.

Traditionally white marketing niches

• Insurance. Health, real estate, travel, business — you can insure almost anything. Products in this niche are various, useful for their target audience, and in demand almost always.
• Finance. Loans and debt restructuring. Such services save in case of sudden expenses, help to keep afloat, and not fall into the debt pit.
• E-commerce and nutra. These are all kinds of goods that can be sold: sports equipment, cosmetics, toys and baby care products, household goods, clothing, shoes, and accessories. Speaking about nutra vertical, we are not considering magic diet pills or male enhancers, which in fact are nothing. The action of these products will really benefit the consumer. This includes hearing aids, orthopedic products, posture support corsets, etc.
• Real Estate. Offers for the sale and rental of real estate, and event space.
• Software, utilities. This is an offer of various programs, services, and applications. For example, VPN, antivirus, hosting providers, and cleaners.
• SP-offers. This includes subscriptions to streaming services and educational content mailings. For example, a course on programming, weight loss, or acting, as well as subscriptions to music and TV series. 
• B2B services. A wide sub-subscale, which includes affiliate programs of companies developing various services, law firms, consulting firms, agencies, HR offers, etc.
• Tourism. This vertical is about search for tickets, hotels, and other types of travel assistance.

The whitest GEOs

Sometimes the white, gray, or black specifics of a vertical depend on the needs of a particular market. This division is determined by differences in market requirements for different aspects of your campaigns, the mentality of locals, and their ability to pay. In addition, statistics show that in some geographical areas white-hat offers consistently work better than others. Let’s look at examples of different GEOs where you can earn from your white marketing campaigns.

The U.S.

The request for insurance is popular here. The main period for getting or renewing an insurance policy in America is October, November, and December. In order for your campaign to break even, dispel a couple or three “traditional” fears: there will be no red tape, the price is not as scary as it seems, but your workplace insurance may not be enough: it is not designed for many cases.

France and Spain

Entertainment, grooming, and jewelry are things that are associated with these countries, so white goods are in demand here, especially if the brand has online delivery. There is also a high demand for solar panels and home products such as heaters, boilers, and air conditioners.

Germany

Demand for white offers is also high. Except that residents are thrifty and thoughtful — you have to take that into account. Discounts, free shipping, quality, and good reviews are the way to the heart of the average German.

Italy

Italians have lower incomes on average than other Europeans, but don’t write this GEO off in a hurry. Especially relevant to Italians will be offered windows, heaters, and energy-saving devices.

Win-win traffic sources for white-hat verticals

Of course, many promotion channels can be used for different offers. However, some sources of traffic are better suited for white-hat direction.

SEO and personal blogging. Creating your own website with author articles can be a good option for promoting referral links and a source of audience trust. If you see fit to use newsletters or push ads, be careful not to scare away customers with intrusiveness. The same goes for spam: even if the person was satisfied with the purchase and is ready to make it again, excessive messages may cause rejection to the online store you are advertising.

Search advertising. Attracting traffic from search engine results to a site of goods or services. The advantages of this advertising are great reach and accurate targeting. If you’re setting up contextual advertising in Google, make sure the headlines are catchy and the content is strong.

Social media. Attract traffic from ads on social networks like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Facebook allows you to set up pinpoint targeting, Instagram, though it has erratic algorithms, still helps brands find customers, and TikTok is great for young audiences. Don’t forget about Pinterest, which is much loved in the West. 

Native advertising. So-called natural, non-irritating ads that don’t stand out from the rest of the content. Native ads do not call to action and do not impose a purchase. It is suitable for white niches because theoretically it is not perceived as advertising and does not cause negative emotions. 

Newsletters. A type of attracting traffic by an already formed base of E-mail addresses. In the mailing for white offers, as well as in any other placement, there should be only reliable information. This source requires a hot base of potential customers who need a product here and now. If you don’t have one, you can always buy it online.

Push ads. Notifications that appear on the screen of your phone, computer, or tablet, which the user signed up for themselves. Push-source has a number of advantages when working with white offers: the ability to segment users and start targeting, notifications are available for all devices with internet access, ability to include a subscription form for the user and collect the target audience base absolutely free.

In-app traffic. The main advantage of this source is that mobile devices are used by the majority of potential customers and the volume of mobile traffic increases every year. Consequently, the demand for white offers will only grow.

Pros and cons of white-hat advertising

Foremost, when choosing a vertical for driving traffic, you should listen to your individual needs and capabilities. As with any strategy, some aspects may attract some and discourage others. But let’s consider a basic understanding of working with white verticals.

Advantages of white-hat affiliate marketing

1. You won’t have to worry about selecting an offer. The choice of white-hat products is impressive. With all the intricacies of the laws of different countries, you can choose the most innocuous niche. It’s easy to buy ads on any GEO.
2. Consumer confidence. You do not have to squeeze out of yourself and your copywriters’ conditional reasons to buy something questionable. The audience is less critical because you are not trying to trick them by hiding the disadvantages of a product. If the campaign is successful, you can easily implement retargeting.
3. The white-hat vertical is concrete for stability and reliability. Long and productive cooperation here is more likely than on the dark side. In addition, white campaigns are more predictable in the long run, so despite the lack of instant big profits white-hat offers are no less profitable than gray-hat or black-hat.
4. There is no need to complicate your life and learn the technical side of the cloaking, deal with anti-detect browsers, and proxies, and constantly buy and farm packs of accounts. As a result, the affiliate is less stressed and less likely to get banned. As a bonus, it saves money on consumables.
5. White-hat offers are not harmful to people’s health, so anyone who is worried about karma and a clear conscience, can sleep peacefully.
6. The ability to use the full potential of the advertising account options. For example, on Facebook, you can optimize your campaign with dynamic ads, look-a-like audiences, and a manual bidding strategy.

Disadvantages of white-hat affiliate marketing

1. White-hat verticals are not for impulsive people. You can’t make a quick buck here. The flip side of stability is high competition, the need of patience, and the methodical pursuit of results. Working with white-hat verticals does not involve quick decisions. In this case, you have to build complex sales funnels and work more with the audience who did not make a purchase the first time. Hence, the time costs of building a strategy.
2. Because of the high level of competition, users are becoming more discriminating. People are studying the products of competitors and looking for the most favorable conditions for themselves. On this basis, you have to make every effort to get people to make an order by clicking on your link.
3. There is still a need to understand the intricacies of advertising, though not for the sake of disguising and promoting questionable products. White-hat marketing requires maximum adherence to the rules, both the advertiser and the traffic source. If you decide to go headfirst into this niche, bring a lawyer’s contact just in case — you have to understand the laws of the target GEO better than what is written on Wikipedia.
4. The need for careful segmentation of the audience. Creatives are made for each segment: it is impossible to sell goods to everyone. The creatives should contain only reliable information, showing the real benefits and advantages.

Final thoughts

Now you have a unique opportunity to try your hand at being an artist. It’s all about mixing colors! You don’t have to drive traffic only on white-hat or only on black-hat verticals. You can work with different segments at the same time. But be prepared for the fact that the specifics of working with them may be fundamentally different. If you develop the skill to adjust your advertising campaign and marketing strategy to the peculiarities of the color of the vertical, you are sure to make a fabulous profit.