Top 10 Lists In Affiliate Marketing [LNIMV019]

Darren Rowse from ProBlogger shared a technique that works brilliantly for Amazon affiliates: creating top 10 lists of products based on your actual affiliate sales data. Mark Mason breaks down why this approach is both transparent and effective, and how you can use it even if you do not have enough sales data yet.

Video: Top 10 Lists in Affiliate Marketing

You can also watch this video on YouTube.

The Top 10 List Strategy

The idea comes from Darren Rowse at ProBlogger, who also runs the popular photography site Digital Photography Review. Darren looks at his Amazon affiliate stats and creates posts like “Top 10 Books My Readers Are Buying” or “Top 10 Cameras My Readers Are Buying.”

This technique works for two reasons. First, it is completely transparent. You are telling readers the data comes from your affiliate sales, making your affiliate relationship obvious and honest. Second, it provides genuinely useful information. People want to know what other people are buying. Social proof drives purchasing decisions.

What If You Do Not Have Enough Sales Yet

If you are just starting out and do not have significant affiliate sales data, you can adapt the technique. Go to the Amazon category relevant to your niche, sort by best sellers, and report those results. Frame it as “Top 10 Best-Selling Products on Amazon in This Category” and add your own perspective on which ones you recommend and why. The key is transparency: tell your readers exactly where the data comes from.

What Has Changed Since This Episode

Mark recorded this in December 2015.

Amazon's affiliate commission rates have dropped significantly. In April 2020, Amazon cut commission rates across most categories, with some dropping from 8% to as low as 1%. This made pure Amazon affiliate sites less profitable, pushing many affiliates to diversify with other programs, direct brand partnerships, and display advertising networks like Mediavine and Raptive.

Top 10 and “best of” content has become the dominant affiliate format. What Darren described as an innovative technique in 2015 is now the standard approach for affiliate content. Search “best wireless earbuds” or “top running shoes” and the first page is filled with ranked list content. The format works, but competition is fierce. Success now requires genuine product testing, original photography, and demonstrable expertise.

Google's product review updates reward first-hand experience. Starting in 2021, Google rolled out a series of product review algorithm updates that specifically reward content showing evidence of hands-on product testing. Thin lists compiled from Amazon data without personal experience now rank poorly. The transparency Darren advocated has become a ranking requirement.

Key Takeaways

• Top 10 product lists based on real sales data combine transparency with social proof
• If you lack sales data, use Amazon's best seller rankings and add your personal recommendations
• Always be transparent about your affiliate relationships
• In 2026, this format requires genuine product experience and original insights to rank well

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