You are trying to decide whether to use display ads or affiliate marketing on your site. Both affiliate marketing and display ads generate revenue from the same traffic, but they work differently, pay differently, and fit different types of content. The right choice depends on your audience, traffic volume, and content style.
So, What Are Affiliate Marketing and Display Ads?
Affiliate marketing earns commission when a reader clicks your link and buys a product. Display ads earn money when a reader sees or clicks an ad banner — regardless of whether they buy. Affiliate revenue scales with purchase intent; display ad revenue scales with pageview volume. One is action-based, the other is exposure-based.
Why would you need to choose between affiliate marketing versus display ads?
For the next step, compare this with What Is Affiliate Marketing? A Beginner-Friendly Explanation so the idea fits into a broader monetization plan.
Because running both poorly is worse than specializing in one — each strategy requires different content formats, placement strategies, and audience relationships.
Use-Cases
This connects closely with How to Choose an Affiliate Niche, especially when you are prioritizing traffic quality over raw volume.
- Affiliate for High-Intent Content: "Best running shoes for flat feet" attracts readers ready to buy. Affiliate links capture that purchase intent directly. Display ads on that page earn a fraction of what one affiliate sale generates.
- Display for High-Volume, Low-Intent Content: A news article about "new running shoe technology" attracts browsers, not buyers. Display ads monetize that attention without requiring a purchase decision.
- Affiliate for Small, Engaged Audiences: Sites with 2,000–10,000 monthly visitors can earn meaningful affiliate income if the audience trusts the recommendations. Display ads on that traffic volume would earn pennies.
- Display for Large, General Audiences: Sites with 100,000+ monthly visitors covering broad topics earn well from display ads. The sheer volume of impressions compensates for lower per-visitor revenue.
- Combined Strategy for Maximum RPM: The highest-earning publishers layer both. They use in-content display ads for passive revenue and affiliate links within the same article for purchase-intent traffic.
Read more about the basics in our guide: What Is Affiliate Marketing?.
Read more about monetization in our guide: How Product Reviews Make Money.
How to Choose Between Affiliate and Display for Your Site?
If you are building a content cluster, pair this guide with How Seasonal Traffic Changes Website Earnings for a stronger internal path.
Know Your Average Traffic Volume
Teams working on the same workflow should also review How Product Reviews Make Money With Affiliate Links before changing placements or campaigns.
Below 10,000 monthly pageviews, focus on affiliate marketing. Above 50,000, add display ads. Between them, test both and compare RPM.
Analyze Your Content Categories
Audit your articles by top 25 traffic earners. Identify which ones have purchase intent (comparisons, reviews, "best of") and which are informational. Match the monetization method to the content type.
Check Your Niche's Affiliate Potential
Some niches (finance, SaaS, home improvement) have high commission rates and strong affiliate programs. Others (news, entertainment) have weak affiliate options and are better suited to display ads.
Test One Method per Content Cluster
Run display ads on your informational articles and affiliate links on your review articles. Compare revenue per pageview across both groups after 60 days.
How to Combine Both Strategies Effectively?
Place Display Ads on Informational Content
Articles where readers learn, not buy, should carry display ads only. Affiliate links on low-intent content earn rarely and annoy readers.
Layer Affiliate Links Within Display-Ad Pages
Even on display-monetized pages, add contextual affiliate links where natural. A "recommended tool" callout in a how-to guide costs nothing to add.
Track Blended RPM
Measure total revenue (display + affiliate) divided by total pageviews. This blended RPM tells you whether your combined strategy is improving overall monetization.
To Conclude:
Affiliate marketing is better for purchase-intent content and engaged audiences; display ads are better for high-volume, low-intent traffic. Analyze your content mix, test one strategy per category, and graduate to a combined approach as your traffic and content depth grow.