The Dell Affiliate Program [Full Review]

Named after its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the biggest tech businesses in the world, employing over 103,300 people internationally.

In fact, in 2016 it cleared $54.9 billion in revenue. 

In terms of its competitor ranking, in 2015 it was the 3rd biggest international PC vendor after Lenovo and HP (Source).

If you have an audience passionate about computers, laptops and IT solutions, then the Dell affiliate program could be a smart monetization option.

Which Network Manages It?

It took some digging to find their actual affiliate program. This Dell affiliate network page has an application link to a domain that no longer exists!

I did eventually find 6 separate Dell affiliate programs tucked away in the CJ Affiliate network:

Here's an overview of the different programs and their commission structures. Click here to join up with CJ Affiliate.

1. Dell Canada - Home & Small Business: According to the program description: "Your customers will enjoy Dell.ca’s wide array of desktops, laptops, monitors, printers, TVs, cell phones, and other popular consumer electronics and accessories."
   
   Commission Structure: 1%
   
   
2. Dell Financial Services Canada: According to the program description: "lets you provide Canadian customers a place to meet their business technology needs when looking for refurbished Dell computers. 
   
   Commission Structure: 3-5%
   
   
3. Dell Home & Home Office: According to the program description: "Your customers will enjoy Dell’s wide array of desktops, laptops, monitors, printers, TVs, cell phones, and other popular consumer electronics and accessories."
   
   Commission Structure: 1.5%
   
   
4. Dell Outlet: According to the program description: "Your customers will enjoy Dell’s wide array of desktops, laptops, monitors, printers, TVs, cell phones, and other popular consumer electronics and accessories."
   
   Commission Structure: 2%
   
   
5. Dell Refurbished Computers: According to the program description: "DellRefurbished.com, an exclusive Dell, Inc. affiliate site, offers premium grade previously leased refurbished Dell computers at low prices."
   
   Commission Structure: Up to 5%
   
   
6. Dell Small Business: According to the program description: "One of the first things you'll notice about Dell's affiliate program is that the Small Business segment tracks separately from our Home & Home Office segment. This way, you're assured that each link you post on your site is designed to appeal to the business-critical needs of your visitors.
   
   Big Commissions - Dell Small Business commissions range up to 8% depending on product line and sales amounts. And in addition to an always-updating selection of creatives, our publishers have access to an extensive product catalog so you can tailor the affiliate links on your site and maximize your earnings."
   
   Commission Structure: Up to 8%

As you can see, some of these programs are specifically for U.S. traffic, and some are for Canadian traffic.

Dell VS Amazon Commissions

Amazon currently offers (as of June 2018) 2.5% on the PC and PC Components category.

The most relevant Dell affiliate program is probably the Dell Home & Home Office affiliate program, which offers 1.5% commission.

That said, Dell Small Business offers 8% commission and Dell Refurbished computers have a 5% commission.

When it comes to choosing which option to promote, you really have to balance the type of traffic you have against the conversion potential of one of Dell's affiliate programs.

If you produce technology content on your site, one way I'd recommend testing Dell promotion using the Thirsty Affiliate plugin to evaluate how well it converts.

Here's an example from one of my sites showing how I promote third-party affiliates within a product comparison table: 

Promoting Dell Small Business Services

If you have the traffic, the 8% commissions offered by the Dell Small Business Services program could be a great affiliate opportunity.

I'd recommend checking out their site and figuring out how you could push traffic to this offer- and even create custom-content around their different service lines. 

For example, one of the services they offer is "equipment maintenance". You could experiment promoting that offer.

You could create longform content around their different service areas, publish YouTube tech tutorials for small businesses, etc. 

If you have a business blog, you could promote Dell's bulk business savings- you can see here that they offer business purchase options for computer hardware and servers.

They also offer cyber-security for small business and will work as a technology partner to improve small business' productivity and performance. 

This is how I would brainstorm some interesting niche affiliate ideas.

Below, I extracted a list of Dell's top 1,000 keywords (minus some Dell brand terms). 

As you can see, they rank for a ton of tech and electronics product terms. 

This table provides a great overview of their product line while also helping you brainstorm electronics affiliate content on your site. 

For example, the Alienware brand, a hardware subsidiary of Dell, is a great option to promote. These souped-up computer systems are designed for gaming and get a ton of keyword searches.  

PCMag

PCMag's article "The Best Dell Laptops of 2018" contains CJ Affiliate links to Dell.

Obviously, PCMag is a huge player in the tech space- but there's lots of Dell-related keywords you can create and rank for. Just refer to the keyword research table above and sort by Keyword Difficulty.

Tom's Guide

Another good Dell affiliate example is Tom's Guide- check out their gaming and Alienware post:

What Can You Promote

Dell offers a variety of consumer affiliate options: Laptops, Desktops & All-in-One PCs, Tablets & 2-in-1 Laptops, Gaming Products, Workstations, Servers & Storage, Networking, Monitors, Printers & Ink, Software, Electronics & Accessories, and Gateways & Embedded PCs.

There are also a variety of IT services you can promote as a publisher: Consulting, Deployment Services, Support Services For Home, Services for Small Business, Support Services for Commercial, Asset Resale & Recycling, Financing & Leasing, Application Services and Managed Services.

As I've written about in my other affiliate program reviews, my preferred traffic acquisition strategy is SEO, followed up by Email and Social. 

SEO

In terms of SEO, I'd focus on producing long-form product reviews- you can see tons of keywords in the keyword research table you can rank for.

There are lots of cool tech products you can promote. 

Email & Social

Regarding email, I'd recommend paying attention to the deals section of their site so you can promote discounts and promotions to your email list and social media audience:

If and when you're approved for one of the Dell affiliate programs I listed at the outset, make sure you read through the affiliate agreement to determine Dell's policies on email and social promotion. 

Many programs have restrictions on posting affiliate links on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. And many programs have specific restrictions regarding email promotion. 

Summary

I see a lot of big brands like PCMag promoting more arcane programs like Dell's- they might have custom, private deals that make it worthwhile. 

As is, if you're not big enough to establish a custom deal with Dell, the commissions are pretty standard for computer hardware and electronics- 1-3%.  

I also recommend checking out their small business offerings- if you can push traffic to their enterprise solutions, the commission rate is much more lucrative.