Affiliate directories all look alike: a searchable list, categories down the side, a commission figure next to each brand. The differences that matter aren't visible on the surface.
Here's how to tell whether one is worth trusting — including how to apply the test to this site.
1. Does it say when each listing was checked?
The single most useful signal, and the rarest. Affiliate terms change without notice, so a listing without a date is a claim with no expiry — it could have been accurate three years ago.
What good looks like: a visible "last verified" date per program, not a sitewide "updated monthly" banner. Sitewide claims are unfalsifiable and usually untrue.
2. Do the outbound links actually work?
Test five at random. If any 404, the directory isn't being maintained — and dead links are the detectable errors. The commission figures beside them were compiled the same way.
When we audited our own 201 links, 38% were dead. We'd expect similar or worse anywhere the links aren't checked automatically.
3. Does it distinguish affiliate programs from referral schemes?
This is the test most directories fail, because both look the same from outside.
A referral scheme pays an existing customer for inviting a friend. It usually isn't open to publishers, caps out at a small bonus, and has no content terms. An affiliate programme pays a publisher commission on sales they drive.
Checking one category of ours by hand, five of twelve listings were referral schemes or nothing at all. A directory that doesn't draw this line is sending you to apply for things you cannot join.
4. Does it disclose how it makes money?
Most directories are themselves affiliates of the programs they list. That's fine — but it should be stated, and it shouldn't determine the ranking.
Warning signs: every program described as excellent, "top picks" that happen to be the highest-paying, no disclosure page, or affiliate links that aren't marked rel="sponsored".
What good looks like: a plain statement of the commercial relationship, and rankings that don't move with it. Ours is at /disclosure.
5. Does it tell you the network?
Knowing a program runs on Impact, ShareASale or CJ changes how you apply — from inside a dashboard rather than through another form. It also tells you whose terms govern the relationship.
A directory that omits the network, or gets it wrong, costs you time. When we compared listings against brands' own pages, about a quarter had the wrong network recorded.
6. Is the coverage plausible?
A directory claiming thousands of verified programs has not verified them. Verifying one program properly — reading its terms, confirming rate, cookie window and network — takes several minutes. A thousand programs is weeks of full-time work, repeated whenever terms change.
Large numbers signal scraping, not diligence. Prefer a small directory that's honest about its limits.
7. Does it admit what it doesn't know?
The most reliable signal of all. A directory that flags unconfirmed listings is telling you where its data is weak. One that presents every figure with equal confidence is either extraordinarily well maintained or not maintained at all — and you can tell which with test 2.
Applying the tests to this site
It would be strange to publish this without scoring ourselves.
| Test | Where we stand | |---|---| | Verification dates | Yes, per program — but only 3 of 195 are confirmed so far | | Working links | Audited automatically; ~105 live, 42 dead, 48 unverifiable | | Affiliate vs referral | Five referral schemes found and removed; the rest are unaudited | | Monetisation disclosed | Yes — we currently earn nothing and link out to nothing | | Network listed | Yes, but known to be wrong in some cases | | Coverage | 195 programs, which is small by directory standards | | Admits gaps | Every unconfirmed listing says so on the page |
That is not a flattering scorecard. It is an accurate one, and we'd rather publish it than a claim we can't support. The unconfirmed listings are excluded from search indexing until their terms are checked, because we don't think a page should compete for attention on data we haven't verified.
The practical advice
Use directories for discovery and nothing else. They are the fastest way to learn a program exists.
For decisions — what to promote, what to write about, what to expect to earn — go to the source: the program's own page, or better, the terms inside your network dashboard. Those are authoritative; a third-party listing never is.
More on the mechanics: how affiliate cookies work, CPA vs revshare vs recurring, and what free directories are good for.