Home Depot is a massive hardware store chain with over 2200 stores scattered across North America.
At present, Home Depot stands to be the largest home improvement retailer in the world.
Ever since this retail giant commenced its operations in 1978, it instantly won the trust and support of customers for its professional approach and premium quality services.
However, Home Depot could not expand and grow its online exposure at the same level as Amazon did because it did not have any Partner Programs that gave affiliate marketers a chance to promote Home Depot’s products and earn commissions.
But now Home Depot has an affiliate program of its own.
That’s right! With the Home Depot Affiliate Program, you can promote the wide range of products provided by Home Depot to your audience and earn commissions just like you do with the Amazon Associates Program.
Keep reading to find out how to become a Home Depot Affiliate and how to start making money through their affiliate program.
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Introduction to the Home Depot Affiliate Program
The Home Depot Affiliate Program is an outstanding program that gives you a chance to promote a vast range of Home Depot products that are available at their official stores online.
With more than 2200 stores and a reputation of being the most extensive global home-improvement retailer, most of its stores are conveniently situated within the United States.
However, Home Depot also operates in some regions of Mexico and Canada. In this comprehensive review, we will be looking at the Home Depot Affiliate Program for the United States.
The Canadian Affiliate Program is almost the same as the American one, with a few minor differences. Unfortunately, there is no Home Depot Affiliate Program for Mexico.
The Home Depot Affiliate Program is designed to promote its own products while giving partners an excellent chance to make money as a means of side income.
The former part of the deal is almost guaranteed provided partners do their job, but the latter is slightly doubtful.
How To Get Started With The Home Depot Affiliate Program
The process of starting as an affiliate marketer for the Home Depot Affiliate Program is quite simple.
You just need to go to the HomeDepot.com/affiliate address, where you will come across a banner greeting you along with a signup button with the message “Join the Home Depot Affiliate Program.”
Upon clicking the button, it will redirect you to the next page. You will come across an affiliate application form that looks like this:
Once you fill out this form, your application will be complete, and you will need to wait for Home Depot’s response.
After the application submission, you will be contacted by the Home Depot team if you are qualified to join their affiliate program or not.
The application form asks you to provide details on your primary and secondary methods of promotion through which you will promote Home Depot’s products.
This is a prerequisite to indicate your site while signing up for the Home Depot Affiliate Program.
If you don’t have a functional website, you won’t be permitted to get in and become a Home Depot affiliate.
So make sure you have a functional website or blog that looks professional so if a member of the Home Depot affiliate team visits your website they’re not turned off.
How Much Can You Make With The Home Depot Affiliate Program?
The Home Depot store is quite open-handed and generous when it comes to paying out affiliate commissions.
Currently, Home Depot offers a 3% commission on buy online or pick-up in-store orders.
A 2% commission is applicable on all appliances, while an 8% commission is granted on particular home décor items.
Needless to say, the more things you sell, the higher commissions you can earn.
What Products Can Home Depot Affiliates Promote?
Home Depot doesn’t restrict its affiliate program to specific categories. This means whatever products can be found on its online store, you can promote and earn commissions.
The products are classified under 17 different categories, each further divided into various other sub-categories.
Product Categories of the Home Depot Affiliate Program
Some of the best product categories in the Home Depot Affiliate Program are as follows:
- Appliances
- Bath and Faucets
- Electrical
- Furniture and Decor
- Windows and Doors
- Building Materials
- Area Rugs and Flooring
- Lawn and Garden
- Cooling and Heating
- Hardware Items
- Kitchen and Kitchenware
- Outdoor Living
- Ceiling Fans and Lighting
- Plumbing
- Tools
- Paint
- Storage and organization
So, there is an extensive list of product categories and products you can draw from for promotion purposes.
First, make sure you check out each of these product categories to determine where there is a higher crossover appeal with your audience.
For example, if you own a blog or podcast on home improvement, you are all set for the Home Depot Affiliate Program.
Your audience will have a high interest level and engagement with the products that you promote from Home Depot.
However, it will also work well for anyone who routinely talks about interior decorating or gardening on their blogs.
However, if you have a blog that covers stuff like movies, gaming, or reviews TV shows, then your audience will likely have a very low interest in Home Depot products.
Just make sure there is a good fit between your audience and the products that you choose to promote. Better the fit, better the payouts!
Commissions the Home Depot Affiliates Are Not Eligible For
Of course, there are a few limitations regarding the areas where affiliates cannot earn commissions.
For instance, affiliates are not entitled to earn a commission on all Home Depot custom-created products, gift cards, and in-store purchases.
Gift cards
For instance, if anyone from your audience buys a product using a Home Depot gift card, you will not earn anything.
Installation services
For most products, Home Depot customers can pay additional amounts for installation services.
Unfortunately, your commissions will only be calculated from the product’s actual price, and it won’t be increased by additional services.
In-store purchases
Although this is very obvious, anyone who clicks on the affiliate link in your blog and decides to purchase the product in person from a Home Depot bricks and mortar store instead of online will not earn you any commission.
It is simply impossible for Home Depot to track a referral if a purchase hasn’t been made online.
Custom Created Products
If a product item isn’t listed on the Home Depot virtual store, it is also not eligible for commission.
However, you can also earn commissions if someone purchases a product online but goes to the Home Depot store to physically pick it up.
As long as customers buy products online and not from the brick and mortar store, you will be entitled to get a commission.
Remember that the more pricey Home Depot products you promote, the higher commissions you can earn.
However, this typically indicates selling fewer of these products. An expensive product typically always has low conversion rates.
Mostly, affiliates get more effective results when they promote products under $100.
Even though the commissions on these products will be less, you will still be able to sell the products in higher quantities. This way, the small commissions will add up.
How To Make Money with this Program
If you wish to join and become a part of the Home Depot Affiliate Program, it is essential that you first take out the time to carefully choose the right set of Home Depot products to promote.
By the right products, we mean that you do not need to try or see these products in the Home Depot store before buying them.
You just earn commissions on any purchases that take place on the Home Depot online store.
You wouldn’t want to convince your audience to purchase products that require first visiting their nearest Home Depot store and trying it. For instance, a patio chair is not really a product that is worth promoting.
A few people would prefer to check out the quality and look of patio chairs before buying to ensure it is comfortable or not. Besides, the right product items need to have keywords with a significant search volume and not too much competition.
If your website is new and you hope to target a highly competitive keyword, you are bound to fail because your post will hardly stand a chance of ranking high in the search engine results.
Once you know how to select the right products to promote, you need to determine the right approach to promoting those products.
It is necessary to have a website and some insights regarding home décor and enhancements.
If you wish to earn a commission higher than 8%, you should promote Home Depot products from their home décor category.
The kind of products you promote must weigh upon your promotional strategy. When people are interested in purchasing home décor items, they are usually unaware of what they want.
The Home Depot Affiliate Program doesn’t permit you to direct the traffic directly to the product listing. However, that is not much of a problem.
It is better to attract people from Pinterest to a blog or post on your website where you can list down and post reviews on an array of different products.
When your audience has more options, there is a higher chance that a handful of those products will gauge their interest, and they will end up clicking on your affiliate link.
Home Depot Affiliate Program Pros
The Home Depot Affiliate Program offers many advantages, making it an incredibly powerful and excellent platform for affiliates to earn extra side money. These advantages are as follows:
- High-cost items
- Exclusive products
- Top-quality products
- Niche specialization that is related to the industry in customer minds.
- Recognizable brands
- Pays Monthly
- Decent commission rates
- Provides you with banners for advertising
- Provides information on each of its products to customers
- Customer product reviews will be featured on the official Home Depot website.
Home Depot Affiliate Program Cons
Just because the Home Depot Affiliate Program is so good doesn’t indicate that everything about it is flawless. Here are some of the drawbacks of this program:
- It does not cater to customers outside the United States.
- The product items are niche, and the selection is not as extensive as Target or Amazon
- The audience should have a need for the specific items of Home Depot products that you are promoting.
- It also pays relatively lower compared to other more prominent and renowned affiliate programs.
Should You Join the Home Depot Affiliate Program?
If you are a relevant niche website that is greeted with organic traffic regularly, primarily from the United States, then the Home Depot Affiliate Program is the ideal program that will work wonders for you.
If your blogs are not really relatable to the Home Depot products being marketed or the majority of your viewers are primarily located outside the United States, this program will likely be a waste of traffic and time.
If you want to effectively promote the Home Depot Affiliate Program, just make sure to invest most of your time understanding what is allowed and what isn’t.
The worst thing to happen is that you might permanently be disqualified from this affiliate program if you violate the terms of the Home Depot Affiliate Program merely because you weren’t even aware they existed. Therefore, do your research thoroughly.
