Monetize That Health Site With These 3 Pharmacy Affiliate Programs!

Purchasing online is beyond a growing trend. Statistics show that is it fast becoming a way of life with digital shoppers estimated to reach 200 million this year.

Most of us go online to purchase software, clothes and books but given the convenience shopping online offers, it's no surprise we can purchase food items and medicines through the Internet now too. This brings us to this week's niche : pharmacy affiliate programs.

The pharmaceutical industry is made up of companies that develop, produce and market generic and brand drugs and medical devices. The United States is the third-largest market in this industry worldwide with USD $340 billion in yearly sales.

It is a huge industry with a massive impact on consumer health. I expect there will be plenty of competition in this niche. To confirm this, I logged in to Affilotools to check on the competition.

The results were a bit surprising. The keywords in the pharmacy niche aren't all high competition. The downside: most of them are information keywords.

Good niche and keyword research will help you identify the best keywords to pick out. You can also go to Ubersuggest.org for more keyword ideas.

Pharmacy Affiliate Programs

I always check affiliate programs in ClickBank's Marketplace first before I search in other networks, or online. Mostly, it's out of habit, but I also find the Marketplace straightforward and easy to navigate compared to similar pages in other affiliate networks. ClickBank doesn't have any pharmacy affiliate programs worth going into, however, so I checked out other affiliate programs for this niche online.

Finding a reputable online pharmacy is tricky as illegal online pharmacies are made to mimic legal ones. Finding one with an affiliate program makes the process all the more difficult. You will need to visit forums on health and wellness to see which ones are being recommended, then find out if the online pharmacy is running an affiliate program. Below are some online pharmacies you can check out:

Canadian Pharmacy

As its name suggests, Canadian Pharmacy is a Canada-based online pharmacy under the Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association. It offers both prescription and over-the-counter medicine. The pharmacy requires customers to send a copy of their prescriptions though before they accept and complete the order.

Canadian Pharmacy manages its own affiliate program so you need to sign up directly through the site. Or, you can send an email to info[at]thecanadianpharmacy.com.

Lloyds Pharmacy

Lloyds Pharmacy is like Canadian Pharmacy, except for 2 things: It's based in the UK, and it offers an Online Doctor service that helps members get prescriptions online.

Affiliates receive 6% commission for each sale and 8% for each sale made through the Online Doctor. The affiliate program is available through Tradeodubler and Affiliatewindow.

HealthTrader

Health Trader is an affiliate network with an array of pharmaceutical offers. It's the UK equivalent of MarketHealth. Affiliates can earn 13% to 17% commission per sale.

Amazon.com is not an online pharmacy but it does offer over the counter medicine so I have decided to include it in the list. If you're an Amazon affiliate and have a health-related site, then check out some of the health and wellness pills for sale on Amazon. You might find one that you can feature on your site.

Reaching Out to Your Market

Getting your website up is a major accomplishment, but you are only halfway done. You need to face the challenging task of driving traffic to your site. This can take time, depending on the methods you use. One way to get started on link-building and inbound marketing as soon as your site is up is to draw your strategy early on, way before the site is started.

It doesn't have to be complete walk-through with detailed notes and all. It can be just a rough guide and you can draw more on it as you go through site building. Some of the methods you can include on your strategy are :

Forum and Blog Commenting

People who are looking to purchase something online usually look for information on the product online. This includes going over reviews and opinions in forums and blogs.

There are a lot of health-related blogs and forums that you can participate in to promote your website, and your affiliate products.

Press Releases

Press releases are short articles written like news briefs that give the public information about a company, services or products. It's a good way to drive traffic to your site, or to a product sales page.

You can write press releases on special offers or promos on your affiliate product. You can also share information on the product: any new features, what it cures, etc.

YouTube Marketing

Millions of users view videos on YouTube daily, making it a great source of traffic. You can create an informational video on the product you're promoting, place an affiliate link on the description, or a link back to a related article on your site.

Pharmacy Affiliate Programs: Recovery or Ruin?

This is not a niche I would recommend to new affiliates. There is strong competition, and the commissions aren't that great. If you have a health-related website though, then promoting pharmaceutical products can be rewarding.

Make sure to do your niche research and have a strong link-building and inbound marketing strategy if you're committed to going into this niche.

That concludes this week's Niche of the Week. I hope you found it an interesting and informative read. Be sure to share it using the Share buttons below.

Would you consider this niche? Are there any niches you want us to feature? Let me know in the Comments! :)

Want more link building and inbound marketing methods? Check out AffiloBlueprint!