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Hostgator Affiliate Program FAIL

by bill05
72 replies
Hostgator hosting is pretty decent. Support is knowledgeable and responsive. Uptime good. I have used them with many accounts for 7 or 8 years.

Then there is the CJ Hostgator Affiliate Program. (this is not a rant just an fyi)

Been using CJ for years no problems. Started using Hostgator affiliate program in earnest about 10/12. Payout was fine, extended period then payout.

My Jan 2012 sales extended to March. In March they "corrected" them. I questioned this and the reply was these folks already had hostgator accounts. I challenged that all of them had prior accounts and that all are invalid.

They replied by crediting back the commissions. OK sounds good. I thought they would pay in March or April. A month later I asked why they had not "locked" in April. The reply was it would be done by end of week. Fine.

Instead they put the Jan 2012 Commissions in a New "Extended" period which ended today. I questioned this reversal after being promised payout but, HG would not reply to my emails or support tickets and CJ said they can do what they want.

Today I see they cancelled (corrected) my reinstated commissions from Jan 2012 and Canceled ALL of my other commissions from March 2012. Go figure.

What was my source of traffic you may ask? Organic rankings for hosting search terms.

Anyways, just a FYI. You can only communicate one way via CJ or email because they will not reply and they do not provide a phone number.

It's a shame that a good hosting company like Hostgator would allow such unprofessional management of their affiliate program.
#affiliate #fail #hostgator #program
  • Profile picture of the author Rich Struck
    Promote Dreamhost instead. They pay like clockwork and they don't screw you around. A few sales a month can really add up fast, too.
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    • Profile picture of the author bill05
      Originally Posted by Rich Struck View Post

      Promote Dreamhost instead. They pay like clockwork and they don't screw you around. A few sales a month can really add up fast, too.
      Thanks Rich, I will check them out.
      Bill
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  • Profile picture of the author KidCash
    I promote hostgator via their in-house affiliate program and had no problems with them. But I have moved on to promoting Webhostinghub.comm due to higher payout and quicker pay.
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    • Profile picture of the author joshuayip
      Originally Posted by KidCash View Post

      I promote hostgator via their in-house affiliate program and had no problems with them. But I have moved on to promoting Webhostinghub.comm due to higher payout and quicker pay.
      in-house affiliate program? how is this any different from the regular one?

      any feedback on Webhostinghub.com
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    • Profile picture of the author mansea1
      Interesting. I have all my web hosting with Hostgator and have had excellent service. However I recently signed up for the affiliate program and have yet to receive any replies to some questions I raised. There is a statement on the affiliate home page stating that the system is being reviewed and apologies for bugs but it is dated 2010!
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  • Profile picture of the author JBanis
    hmm that bad to hear...I see HG as a very good and reputable company...I wonder if there is anything in their T&C rules that has been broken?

    Their non-communication certainly doesn't help
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    • Profile picture of the author bill05
      Originally Posted by JBanis View Post

      I wonder if there is anything in their T&C rules that has been broken?
      I wondered that too. But it seems the T&C violation is on HG and CJ's part.

      CJ says you can not place a commission in more than one extended period. Which they (HG) have.

      HG said the commissions were valid and would payout but instead placed in a 2nd extended period and 8 weeks later cancelled them again.
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  • Profile picture of the author TheSalesBooster
    I love host gator, but I messed around with their affiliate program a long time ago and its sketchy at best. They definitely treat their customers a lot better than their affiliates thats for sure.
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  • Profile picture of the author BIG Mike
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    • Profile picture of the author bill05
      Originally Posted by BIG Mike View Post

      We use HG's in-house program...seems to work fine. They do have some strict rules, but realistically, if it were my program, I'd probably have the same rules in place to avoid being scammed.

      To the best of my knowledge we've always been paid what we're owed when they said they'd pay it. It's not a big part of what we do, but its "Free" money
      The comment seems to imply I violated TOS. The credit back of my commission (that HG refuses to pay) says the opposite.

      I understand your comment about free money but for me it "was" my money that I spent to create a source of traffic for HG and it was my money that I was told would be paid.

      But, it's not the money so much as the principle of integrity which frankly is a little absent in the world of affiliate marketing.
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      • Profile picture of the author BIG Mike
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        • Profile picture of the author bill05
          Originally Posted by BIG Mike View Post

          No, my comment didn't imply anything - I merely spoke to the complexity of their particular program.

          It sounds to me like CJ has added another level of complexity, which is where your problem is most likely coming from.
          Thanks Big Mike and I just picked up on your comment about you using the "In-House". I did not realize they had another program. I am going to switch to that and see how it pans out.

          Bill
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          • Profile picture of the author vijaybh78
            Originally Posted by bill05 View Post

            Thanks Big Mike and I just picked up on your comment about you using the "In-House". I did not realize they had another program. I am going to switch to that and see how it pans out.

            Bill
            I am an affiliate of the inhouse program and it also sucks ....i did not send tons of traffic to them but i only got 5 affiliates all verified...they are my friends .....all registered on nov 2010 and i got the payment on may 2011 for only one sales... the rest of 4 sales are active but the payment is pending..... i verified with my friends and they are still active..... sure a BIG SCAM........i believe they must be in major loss and covering it up like this ...insane........and frustrating....
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          • Profile picture of the author freeburd
            Originally Posted by bill05 View Post

            Thanks Big Mike and I just picked up on your comment about you using the "In-House". I did not realize they had another program. I am going to switch to that and see how it pans out.

            Bill
            They have another program, in house. But it looks to me they are hiding it. I finally got in, but all this information is highly discouraging.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dinospider
    Banned
    Hostgator is the strictest of the lot due to the high fraud sales they receive. but they are known for shaving legitimate sales as well.
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    • Profile picture of the author Fernando Veloso
      Originally Posted by Seadragon View Post

      Hostgator is the strictest of the lot due to the high fraud sales they receive. but they are known for shaving legitimate sales as well.
      Source, please?
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    • Profile picture of the author heavysm
      Originally Posted by Dinospider View Post

      Hostgator is the strictest of the lot due to the high fraud sales they receive. but they are known for shaving legitimate sales as well.
      There was a pretty decent article about this since some affiliate were using completely false information to gain sales (including stuff like false SSNs ). So whenever they sniff out even an ounce of trouble they cancel the commission. Safe on their end of course, but crap for the affiliate wondering where their money went.

      But the level of fraud has grown to be pretty sophisticated, so they had to take their own measures. It just sucks for most of the legitimate affiliates who deserve their pay.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    I used to promote Hostgator and stopped a long time ago. They are a great hosting company and I use them for that but there is something wrong with their affiliate program. I didn't get credited for numerous sales that I know for a fact that I made.

    I did one as a test sale with a friend who was going to buy Hostgator anyway, so he used my link. I was never credited with that sale.

    I no longer trust Hostgator affiliate system.
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    • Profile picture of the author Dinospider
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Fernando Veloso View Post

      Source, please?
      Exactly what i had done below

      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      I used to promote Hostgator and stopped a long time ago. They are a great hosting company and I use them for that but there is something wrong with their affiliate program. I didn't get credited for numerous sales that I know for a fact that I made.

      I did one as a test sale with a friend who was going to buy Hostgator anyway, so he used my link. I was never credited with that sale.

      I no longer trust Hostgator affiliate system.
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      • Profile picture of the author jacksonkelly
        The same thing happened to me. I signed up for an account for a friend on my laptop but wasn't credited the commission. It was using his credit card etc. but HostGator told me that I wasn't credited because their cookies recognsied me as an affiliate.


        Quote:
        Originally Posted by sbucciarel
        I used to promote Hostgator and stopped a long time ago. They are a great hosting company and I use them for that but there is something wrong with their affiliate program. I didn't get credited for numerous sales that I know for a fact that I made.

        I did one as a test sale with a friend who was going to buy Hostgator anyway, so he used my link. I was never credited with that sale.

        I no longer trust Hostgator affiliate system.
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    • Profile picture of the author Lloyd Buchinski
      bill05, there was another person here, tommygadget, who had the same problems with the cj/hg affiliate combination. It was more than a year ago so the search won't go back that far, but it was a very good thread. You might be able to pm him for the link.

      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      I used to promote Hostgator and stopped a long time ago. They are a great hosting company and I use them for that but there is something wrong with their affiliate program. I didn't get credited for numerous sales that I know for a fact that I made.

      I did one as a test sale with a friend who was going to buy Hostgator anyway, so he used my link. I was never credited with that sale.

      I no longer trust Hostgator affiliate system.
      Well, that does it for me. The find and replace tool is going to be smoking tonight. It's nice to be able to get info from people who have been around, are not whiners, and are honest. I appreciate that.

      As far as the reliable hosting goes, they seem to be going downhill. One of the people I have the most respect for around here, mywebwork, detailed a few problems he has had with them. He said that he still has a few test sites with them, but he would never put a money site on their system.

      He is not a complainer. I have never seen him type anything negative about anything else. (Except for IE 6, but that's understandable, and it had entertainment value.)

      There have been a few other negative comments about their hosting that seemed to be solid to me. There were plenty that did not seem to be justified.
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  • Profile picture of the author imfusa
    Same thing here, i just registered a commission on January 5, and it has not been paid not even now (4 May). They should have paid it 2 months ago.
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  • Profile picture of the author NXmarketeer
    I had a pretty good income as an affiliate for Hostgator for a long time, i haven't noticed anything different till now.
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  • Profile picture of the author Vishalicious
    i use JustHost affiliate program. pays on time and never had any problem.
    tried hostgator made 3 sales but had problem with payments so moved to JustHost.
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  • Profile picture of the author briankoz
    Of all the hosts I've been an affiliate for, Hostgator was the only one I ever had problems with. I have no doubt that they're trying to prevent fraud, which no doubt there's probably a ton of, but they definitely should look into fixing that up so they don't turn off too many legit affiliates from doing business with them.

    Brian
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  • Profile picture of the author josephjabawaba
    That's terrible. The only thing holding affiliate programs together is trust. If you can't have that, then what else is there?
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  • Profile picture of the author firzmotion
    hostgator get so many fraudulent order. To get your commission, the buyer must active within the next 30 days, no refund and valid purchase.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tadresources
    That sounds rough. I've been hearing similar stories quite a bit lately, which is surprising considering HG's great reputation.
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  • Profile picture of the author Robert Michael
    Why would anybody use a 3rd party when the company they are promoting has an affiliate program of their own..?

    Sign up directly under HG, forget CJ.
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    • Profile picture of the author garyoneill
      Originally Posted by Whos That Guru View Post

      Why would anybody use a 3rd party when the company they are promoting has an affiliate program of their own..?

      Sign up directly under HG, forget CJ.
      Great point.

      Hostgator make there affiliate option sound amazing but when you read into it seems a weird catch. I found out if the user is not a recurring member when they are ready to pay commisions they will not pay you. Even know you got the sale to begin with they seem to not credit these leads .
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  • Profile picture of the author Robert Michael
    oh..

    well I'd stop promoting HG then, lol there are plenty of other hosting companies that don't play games like that.

    If you make a sale, you should get your commission. Regardless of whether or not they are a recurring customer by the time payout should be issued.

    However, I'm sure they have that hidden in their TOS somewhere, so I doubt theres much he can do about it now.

    Just chalk it up as a loss and move on..

    Trust me, s*** happens. lol I know first-hand how shady some affiliate programs operate. I went from tons of sales that pay recurring commissions each month, to NONE.

    They all of a sudden changed their TOS, to say that any existing sales no longer count, and you would only be paid commissions on future sales. Ha... I dont think so.

    Not gonna name anyone, but they know who they are. And what goes around comes around.. So whatever
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  • Profile picture of the author garyoneill
    Totally agree Rob everyone should get the commission whether or not they are a recurring customer by the time payout should be issued.

    Yeah most companies draw people in and as you pointed out most of them have a hidden terms of service.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Ogbin
    I promote hostmonster plus hostgator and all of them are so amazing and get me paid like a clockwork.

    I use their unique affiliate in their websites.
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  • Profile picture of the author Deepak Media
    I have promoted Hostgator cia CJ in the past and they would shave my commissions. One month I had 10 legit sales "corrected" and I forgot to promote them ever since.
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  • Profile picture of the author cvcena
    Wow... Thanks for the heads up...
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  • Profile picture of the author InVizion
    I didn't have much luck with their affiliate program either! I have heard Bluehost has a good program, best of luck!
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    • Profile picture of the author Sparkreflection
      I had a positive experience with them last year, but in 2010 I had a negative one. Then I used my own computer (IP address) to create the account for my client. He paid using his credit card and everything was fine for 2 months. However 3-4 days before to receive the money they canceled my commission, despite that my client kept active his hosting account.

      I've heard about other companies offering better affiliates programs, but I really need to know that they offer good quality hosting services for my clients. Some more advices will be appreciated.
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      • Profile picture of the author Dazzling Content
        I made 5 sales in January and February but never got paid because all of them were "invalid". Four of them were "Duplicate". Is there any way to verify if these sales were really duplicate?

        I don't know if I'll still continue promoting Hostgator with the way their affiliate program is going. I applied for their affiliate program through CJ but got rejected so I signed up for their in-house program instead. I never realized that it's safer and better to use CJ instead of their in-house affiliate program.

        I'm a happy web hosting customer of Hostgator but if they still continue with their suspicious affiliate program activities, I will have no choice but to stop promoting them and to stop using their services.
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  • Profile picture of the author Suzanne Morrison
    I used to promote HostGator as my #1 recommendation, but no longer do so as I had the same problem with them marking accounts as invalid or duplicate.

    They told me that if a customer had previously had a Hostgator account, then I wouldn't receive a commission (Duplicate). They also refused to pay if a customer was late in making their monthly payment - even if they paid a couple of days later.

    Once I built a website for a friend and they signed up with Hostgator for the first time ever (they had never had a website before) and HG marked this commission as duplicate as well. Eventually with some complaining they reinstated the commission, but I stopped trusting them.

    I now promote Bluehost and they are much much better.

    Cheers,
    Suzanne
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  • Profile picture of the author AlexGill
    Whenever I have had any questions regarding the affiliate program I have sent and email to support to them and they have responded promptly.
    You could always try Hostrocket affiliate program as I;ve heard they have a slightly higher payout which can add up.
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  • Profile picture of the author David Keith
    I have been on vacation for a bit and missed this thread. I will get with Brent (hg owner) and get him to stop by and share his thoughts on this.

    I am sure there is another side to the story. just like the aweber affiliate program. its a first in cookie. that means a cookie set by some aweber affiliate a year ago still overrides your cookie if you sent a visitor to aweber today. stuff like that obvious seems wrong to some, and thats a whole other discussion, but it is stated on their site. That means its not aweber just trying to screw you, but they have a way of doing things and you can either like it or not, but its not them trying to bs you.

    I am sure the HG program is very similar. They clearly state they only pay for new customers. My guess is that i they probably don't pay on past customer or former customers either.

    we all know that affiliate tracking is not perfect, but the HG program did not grow to the size it is by screwing all the legit affiliates who send them new customers every month. I am betting there is another side to this story.
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    • Profile picture of the author AdamBravman
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      • Profile picture of the author Zen Warrior
        Originally Posted by AdamBravman View Post

        Hello bill05,

        My name is Adam Bravman, Affiliate Manager at HostGator.com. I apologize for the delay in response to this thread; I was hoping you can PM me here on the Warrior Forum or email me your CJ CID/PID so that I can look into this immediately and come to a swift resolution. My email address is abravman*at*hostgator.com. I greatly appreciate your support of HostGator and I can assure you that we have every intention to pay you what you are owed. I hope to hear from you soon.

        Regards,

        Adam Bravman
        Affiliate Manager
        HostGator.com
        Ha ha...I was keeping an open mind until this comment.

        I use the reseller at HG, have liked them too.....I made a YT video and have three HG sales so far....now I am wondering if I will ever see the money.....

        Like someone said above, and I have wondered how they could pay so high...too good to be true.....not that I was planning on making that much...but it seems like they get ya going for awhile...seeing all the green "active" commssions, then right before payout...ahhhh, welllll...

        Oh well, Bluehost to promote...and maybe switch to their hosting too.
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  • Profile picture of the author stewane
    same here they keep extending your commissions until they reverse all your sales. I have had this happen 4 times; $400. Too good to be true I guess. Shaving commissions I suppose
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  • Profile picture of the author charlesmurphy
    I've had issues with hostgators affiliate program too, and I even use them for my own hosting.
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  • Profile picture of the author seobro
    Glad people are waking up. Hope they stop promoting this company. I am a reseller and frankly I cannot in good faith tell people to use their services. Wish things had improved after they got bought up. Sadly, I believe that the opposite is the case. Basically, once trust is gone... Well, the relationship is over. I only trust a clown to take my money. Oh yes, and to give me excuses. Hey, what can we say. Mostly for us this is a bad game.
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    • Profile picture of the author freeburd
      Originally Posted by seobro View Post

      Glad people are waking up. Hope they stop promoting this company. I am a reseller and frankly I cannot in good faith tell people to use their services. Wish things had improved after they got bought up. Sadly, I believe that the opposite is the case. Basically, once trust is gone... Well, the relationship is over. I only trust a clown to take my money. Oh yes, and to give me excuses. Hey, what can we say. Mostly for us this is a bad game.

      I am coming to the same conclusions. Looks like a bad game.
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  • Profile picture of the author Fat Wolf
    The same thing happen to me too, they cancel your payment for whatever reasons, I did contact them for the cancel payment, but never get a answer
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  • Profile picture of the author comodo427
    I have done loads of research and come to the conclusion that hostgator affiliate programs is a scam.

    Please bear in mind this is only my opinion so do your own research.

    A lot of people on the warrior forum are saying ofcourse hostgator pay as they are a big brand.

    Some people are saying they pay like clockwork but other people are saying they don't get paid at all. Very fishy.

    In my opinion it doesn't matter how big a company or brand is, they can still use bad business practices.
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  • Profile picture of the author WarGasm
    Host Gator was just recently bought out by another company so its not at all surprising they were cheating their affiliates in the days leading up to the sale. The CEO was probably pocketing all the extra cash, after all what did he care about the long term reputation of the company if he knew he was going to be bought out.
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  • Profile picture of the author handymoney2
    ya if I were you I would go and check out webhostinghub.com.
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  • Profile picture of the author zcrafts
    Get really for more problems Hostgator customer.. after the sale there is more to come. I already migrated my accounts to WebHost US .
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  • Profile picture of the author Justin Says
    I own a website creation business where we promote HostGator on the backend to help clients find an appropriate hosting provider, one that has good support and have live chat (which HostGator has) and seeing as I've tested many networks, I'm comfortable to say they are my favorite.

    I've never really had a problem with the affiliate program (have made upper $x,xxx's using it) on CJ.com and really have enjoyed it for the last year.

    But I will say this, to not promote a company because of their affiliate system, isn't really the direction I'd want to go. I want to promote quality services and that's what HostGator offers, if I didn't make a commission, I'd understand, the point is I want my clients to enjoy their experience.

    Now of course this might just be me, but I think everyone should promote things that WORK, versus what makes them the most money. I didn't enjoy my experience with GoDaddy hosting, Bluehost, Liquidweb, or any other hosting provider. But HostGator has been excellent and extremely fast with resolving every single issue I or any of my clients have had...

    Sorry but that's just #RCS. Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author luvtrees
    Indeed, I used their CJ affiliate program earlier this year, sent 5 design clients to them to purchase hosting for their sites, was only paid for 2. No longer bother promoting them.
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  • Profile picture of the author bayu791
    Thanks Rich, I will check them out.
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  • Profile picture of the author Genesis1
    try to pick another webhosting from CJ panel, they have plenty of them
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  • Profile picture of the author Justin Says
    I just got a check for $1,000 from CJ.com's affiliate program for HostGator. That's by referring 10 clients, which IMO is pretty awesome.

    $1,000 is more than I used to make in a month working nonstop.
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  • Profile picture of the author Weblover50
    I have been with them for years, initially from CJ and now in house. They are honest and do pay on time, I can assure you.

    But yes, the cancellation rates are way too high compared to any other host. It was less than 25% few years back, now it is close to 50% for me.

    One reason why i stick with them is that they are actually better than most shared hosts. I don't feel like recommending the highest bidder, Hostgator is one of the better hosts among oversellers and you can recommend them without a guilty feeling.
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  • Profile picture of the author Justin Says
    I rarely ever see cancellations on hosting.

    I think that one big factor is how you are promoting their service.

    If you are teaching someone something while promoting HostGator, then they'll likely stay longer.

    If you just find random people, I see them reacting a bit differently.
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    My name is Justin Lewis. My digital marketing company has been in business for over 10 years with multiple six-figure years. We do provide a premium web design service.

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    • Profile picture of the author prem khaira
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Justin Lewis View Post

      I rarely ever see cancellations on hosting.

      I think that one big factor is how you are promoting their service.

      If you are teaching someone something while promoting HostGator, then they'll likely stay longer.

      If you just find random people, I see them reacting a bit differently.
      Exactly!!!!...Let's do this. Compare the following :

      1)Promoting hostgator service to a small business owner who is ready to create a website for his new business...

      2)Promoting hostgator service to a person on your "make money online" list (Let's say you teach him/how to create a website etc. and include your aff link)

      Your chances of getting a commission is way higher when promoting NO 1 !!!!

      People in the "make money online" niche quit real easily.
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      • Profile picture of the author BizLadi
        Originally Posted by prem khaira View Post

        Exactly!!!!...Let's do this. Compare the following :

        1)Promoting hostgator service to a small business owner who is ready to create a website for his new business...

        2)Promoting hostgator service to a person on your "make money online" list (Let's say you teach him/how to create a website etc. and include your aff link)

        Your chances of getting a commission is way higher when promoting NO 1 !!!!

        People in the "make money online" niche quit real easily.

        I promote it to customers when setting up sites for them. Customers are usually total newbies and love the live chat. I often set up the sites on my hosting then push them to customer's new account at HG. No problems with payment from CJ.
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  • Profile picture of the author thebitbotdotcom
    Well, I hate to say it, but the Hostgator affiliate program just decided NOT to pay me for an account that I sold to a friend of mine. This morning I woke up and they "decided" it wasn't legit.

    They are now calling it "Duplicate/Invalid".

    This is the first time he has ever purchased hosting and a domain name.

    That is some seriously SHADY business on the part of HOSTGATOR.

    Goodbye Hostgator affiliate program. Thanks for stealing back my commissions.
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  • Profile picture of the author deaddogdesign
    Hostgator has been widely reported as being a lousy affiliate program. While I am not stating they are not a good hosting service. From a business standpoint you will see that there are many unhappy people with Hostgator.

    Hostgator Reverses Commissions – Bad For Affiliates
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    • Profile picture of the author jimmylucas
      [DELETED]
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      • Profile picture of the author prem khaira
        Banned
        I've heard a lot of horrible stories about Hostgator and their affiliate program/payout...

        Fortunately i have never had any problems so far

        So it's working for me... i'm sorry you had problems with them mate.
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  • Profile picture of the author CyborgX
    After seeing the discussions, I'll stay away from the faulty Affiliate Program. Looking for best options.
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  • Profile picture of the author TrafficBot
    I have to agree Hostgator is very shady when it comes to paying affiliates. They just don't like to do it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Elfen Lied
    Typically HG is right on the ball when it comes to suspending overdue accounts, but I also noticed this month that they were behind and I had one account that wasn't suspended for weeks after overdue payment, when it is usually suspended after just a few hours of being overdue.
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  • Profile picture of the author curvesahead33
    I've had the same experience as most of the posters here in promotiong hostgator via commission junction. I had my offline clients purchase via my links, the sales registered initially but were eventually cancelled. I contacted CJ who said they couldn't do anything about. Contacted HG affiliate manager and they requested a couple of reports. Anyway, back and forth, nothing resolved except for my sales being cancelled.

    Wish I knew who the shady party was HG or CJ. Either way, no longer promoting HG.

    Thanks OP for starting this thread. Thought I was the only one!
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  • Profile picture of the author EdVictor791
    Originally Posted by bill05 View Post

    Hostgator hosting is pretty decent. Support is knowledgeable and responsive. Uptime good. I have used them with many accounts for 7 or 8 years.

    Then there is the CJ Hostgator Affiliate Program. (this is not a rant just an fyi)

    Been using CJ for years no problems. Started using Hostgator affiliate program in earnest about 10/12. Payout was fine, extended period then payout.

    My Jan 2012 sales extended to March. In March they "corrected" them. I questioned this and the reply was these folks already had hostgator accounts. I challenged that all of them had prior accounts and that all are invalid.

    They replied by crediting back the commissions. OK sounds good. I thought they would pay in March or April. A month later I asked why they had not "locked" in April. The reply was it would be done by end of week. Fine.

    Instead they put the Jan 2012 Commissions in a New "Extended" period which ended today. I questioned this reversal after being promised payout but, HG would not reply to my emails or support tickets and CJ said they can do what they want.

    Today I see they cancelled (corrected) my reinstated commissions from Jan 2012 and Canceled ALL of my other commissions from March 2012. Go figure.

    What was my source of traffic you may ask? Organic rankings for hosting search terms.

    Anyways, just a FYI. You can only communicate one way via CJ or email because they will not reply and they do not provide a phone number.

    It's a shame that a good hosting company like Hostgator would allow such unprofessional management of their affiliate program.
    Sorry to hear of your poor Hostgator experience. My own personal experience echos your own as I "attempted" to refer two of my associates to Hostgator's services and have had nothing but tedious problems in regards to proper commission allocation. Let's hope they can rectify any possible issues soon.
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  • Profile picture of the author Penn86
    Thanks for starting this thread bill05 (last year) and other posters contributions as I was just about to start promoting HG through CJ but now know better. Still deciding if it's worth becoming a affiliate directly with HG or better to consider other hosting companies aff programs. Prefer to only promote the best one in terms of services and value.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tamalkrishna
    I am using Hostgator for a long time of 2 years. I have more than 50 sites hosted with Hostgator. But i have never faced any problem with them. Uptime is really more than 99% which is great. When i first joined, i was a little skeptical about what they say about their uptime guarantee. But soon i realized that their words were absolutely true. Anyone who is interested to buy Hosting, i would highly recommend Hostgator. I have recently joined their Affiliate program to recommend it to others. If you are looking for a reliable complete Hostgator review, follow the link , Hostgator Reviews : Simply The Best Web Host.
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  • Profile picture of the author qualityin
    I also had same experience of being cheated by web hosting company. It seems, hosting companies also practice Black Hat Techniques to generate more sales and sucks the affiliate commission. Very bad and unprofessional attitude from hosting companies. They must pay attention to this area otherwise they all will lose credibility.
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  • Profile picture of the author Hostgator Coupon
    I have been an affiliate with Hostgator for a while with no problems. I don't think people fully understand how the affiliate system works at Hostgator. first all commisions have to be new custmers, second they have to upload files an point a domain to become active, third they have to keep up to date with payments an not cancel. Hostgator also has alot of people that cancel there account because they offer the first month for free basically on shared hosting. When I first started I wondered why so many commisions would go inactive but I would actually go check the domain for files, activity and who was hosting it and I was always paid for the ones that where valid.
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  • Profile picture of the author PrimaDNA1989
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Hostgator Coupon View Post

    I have been an affiliate with Hostgator for a while with no problems. I don't think people fully understand how the affiliate system works at Hostgator. first all commisions have to be new custmers, second they have to upload files an point a domain to become active, third they have to keep up to date with payments an not cancel. Hostgator also has alot of people that cancel there account because they offer the first month for free basically on shared hosting. When I first started I wondered why so many commisions would go inactive but I would actually go check the domain for files, activity and who was hosting it and I was always paid for the ones that where valid.
    Thanks for this information. The way I see it is that there are a couple of rules to abide by. I was wondering why this is too good to be true.

    Getting paid $50 - $125 per sign up. come on folks? It all makes sense now. I think Hostgator should list this out in a neat format clearly before people even sign up.

    Thanks for the info.
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