How Travel Advisors Can Monetize Their Squarespace Website With Affiliate Marketing
Blog Overview: Affiliate marketing isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme—it’s about pairing your genuine travel expertise with products and services your audience actually needs. This post breaks down how travel advisors can monetize their websites by sharing authentic recommendations, building trust, and leveraging tools like Squarespace. From curating travel gear lists to setting up paywalls for exclusive content, you’ll find actionable tips to turn your website into a money-maker.
Note: Some of my recommendations are affiliate links and I may earn a small percentage of the sale if you make a purchase. FWIW, I only recommend businesses I wholeheartedly believe in.
What we’ll cover:
What Affiliate Marketing Is
Affiliate Programs To Apply For
Ways To Add Affiliate Marketing To Your Website
How To Keep Google Happy With Outbound Links
Why You Need An Affiliate Disclaimer
Squarespace Tools That Help With Affiliate Marketing
On-Page Ads
Forget everything you've heard about "passive income." This isn't about sitting back and watching dollar signs roll in. It's about creating genuine value while strategically monetizing your content. You're already dropping knowledge bombs about travel and your industry secrets — why not get paid for it?
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is essentially getting a commission for recommending brands and products you actually love. No fake enthusiasm to make a sale (please, don’t). No selling your soul. Just real authentic recommendations that help your audience and pad your wallet.
TL:DR You can monetize your website no matter what your niche is. This post applies to anyone.
Here’s How Squarespace Can Be Your BFF on This Money-Making Mission
Step One | Create Valuable Content That Converts
Create content so good your audience can't help but click. And by content, I mean you might have to write blog posts. I can picture the eye roll X groan you just made, but blogging can be your superpower!
Blogs not only showcase your expertise, but they continually show Google you’re ‘relevant’ - and blogging allows you to share affiliate links in a way that feels valuable and not spammy.
Need some ideas to get started? You’re in luck!
1. Sign up for Affiliate Programs
Most of your favourite brands or tour operators have Affiliate programs where you share a link to their product or service and they pay you a percentage of the sale as a thank you. Others may pair this with a Brand Ambassador program which can be harder to get into - think influencer status.
note: this isn’t network marketing (Arbonne, Monat, Pampered Chef, etc) but the fundamentals of sharing a product and getting paid for sales via your link are the same.
Brands often partner with affiliate marketing platforms that manage the BTS so you may start with one brand directly, but a larger affiliate platform handles the application process. Once you’re accepted by one brand through an affiliate marketing platform (such as Impact, Travel Payouts, etc) you can then search through brands they support and see if anything else resonates to apply for.
Tip: check the footer of your favourite brands to see if they have a ‘Become an Affiliate’ link to get started!
A few larger programs to sign up for:
Travel Payouts > Expedia, Trip Advisor, Agoda, Viator, Tiquets, Ticket Master, Rail Europe, etc
CJ Affiliate > G Adventures, World Nomads
Rakuten > SAIL, other retail
Impact > eTravel sim, Rosetta Stone, Budget, Avis, American Tourister, Samsonite, Yeti, etc
Flex Offers > Intrepid, Jet Blue
And a few direct:
I will note that some may decline you if you don’t have enough followers on social media channels and a website is often a must!
However, don’t give up! Just apply and you can always reapply if you’re declined.
2. Promote Travel Gear & Essentials
Your clients trust you for travel advice, so why not recommend products that make their travels smoother? Think about what they’re always asking you about - durable luggage, space-saving packing cubes, the best travel stroller, or noise-cancelling headphones.
To answer these common questions, write a blog post like “10 Travel Essentials Every Jetsetter Needs” and link the recommendations to a page or products through affiliate programs like Amazon Associates (or your fav direct links).
For example, within a blog post link out to an Amazon landing page like Travel Essentials as an Amazon Associate or if you have enough social influence you can open an Amazon Store as an Amazon Influencer. Check out Explorateur Travel’s Amazon Influencer store for an example.
You could also add strategic Banner Ads, a section on your blog post or a page on your website called Shop My Favourites with images and direct links to products to make it easy for readers to purchase.
I have this on my website for my personal favourites across a few different affiliate programs. On Squarespace, using the blog feature with summary block, galleries or auto layout sections works well for this.
You can check out my Personal Favourites here. This page is a WIP, but you get the idea.
3. Highlight Your Favourite Booking Platforms & Resorts
I know you have in-house relationships and this may sound craazzzy, but working with platforms like Booking.com, Expedia, Trip Advisor or GetYourGuide allows you to earn commissions on hotels, tours, tickets, excursions or car rentals beyond what you may normally offer.
You could also create direct links to your preferred partner booking sites in a blog post or on your services page where clients can use your link & code and still access your VIP perks!
For the DIY traveller, this is a great way for you to earn and for them to maintain control of the process. Win - Win.
4. Curate “Must-Have” Lists for Niche Audiences
The riches are in the niches…so they say. And for the record I say neesh, so this doesn’t actually rhyme.
Get specific with your audience! Whether your clients are adventure travellers, luxury seekers, or family vacationers, tailor your recommendations to their unique needs. This level of personalization builds trust and positions you as the go-to expert.
As an example, for adventure travellers, a post titled “Best Hiking Gear for Patagonia” could feature links to trekking poles, waterproof jackets, and hiking boots. Add practical tips on choosing gear for various terrains to make the post even more useful.
This could easily pair with a promotion you’re offering or a recent trip you went on showing off all the must-haves that made your trip seamless.
Tip: You could use these ‘must have’ lists as a newsletter opt-in to build your email list! Keep it simple with a seamless brand experience using Squarespace Email Marketing.
5. Build a Resource Hub
Create a dedicated page on your website for travel resources your audience will appreciate. Include preferred partner links that can be booked without you and affiliate links to travel insurance providers (if an option), credit cards with travel perks, airport parking discounts, travel sim cards, or trusted luggage brands. Organize everything into categories to keep it user-friendly. Blogs, Galleries, Auto Layouts and/or custom pages are great for this.
As an example, as a web designer, I have the Resource Marketplace which has all my favourite tools for small businesses.
Have you visited it yet? It’s filled with small businesses and tools I trust and love. Some pay me when you buy, others don’t. The point of it is to help my website visitors with things related to web design and running a small business. If I make money sharing some of my favs - bonus!
6. Monetize Your Blog with Paywalls
Squarespace now offers paywalls which can be added directly to blogs using pricing plans. This allows you to charge readers for premium content, like exclusive travel guides or insider tips. Think of it like a Substack but right on your website where you can also control your free content in one spot.
Why Use a Paywall?
Exclusive Value: Save your most detailed itineraries or planning resources for paying subscribers.
Additional Revenue: Create a consistent income stream while still offering free content to attract new readers.
Seamless Setup: Squarespace’s built-in pricing plans make it simple to charge for access—no extra tools needed.
Example: A paywalled blog post like “10 Must-Do Experiences in Italy You Won’t Find on Google” could include insider tips and affiliate links to exclusive hotels, tours, and travel gear. Offer a preview of the content to entice readers to subscribe.
Check out How To Customize a Paywall from Squarespace if you want to start gating some of your ultra-valuable info.
I will say, I think it’s still very important to offer valuable and free content. This is what brings people to your website to begin with via Google search. Gated content is for that next step after you’ve proven yourself, so don’t get too greedy.
Step Two | Keep your Link Game On Point
When sharing affiliate links on your website, you absolutely should use the rel="sponsored" attribute if you care about SEO (and avoiding penalties). Google wants transparency, and not disclosing affiliate links properly could ding your rankings.
Here's the lowdown:
Why "sponsored"? Google introduced this attribute specifically for paid or affiliate links to make it crystal clear that these are part of a partnership or compensation deal.
It’s like waving a flag and saying, “Hey, I’m getting something out of this!” I do this on all my posts that I could make a commission from a sale.
What about "nofollow"? This is the OG way to tell search engines not to follow a link. It’s still okay for affiliate links, but "sponsored" is better because it’s more transparent and aligns with Google’s guidelines.
You’ll find these on all the links I don’t need attribution for, such as all the links to potential affiliate partners at the top of this post.
If this sounds confusing AF, I 1000% recommend the Affiliate Link Genie plugin by Will Myers - and anything else he offers. This plugin gives you a code snippet to add to your Squarespace Code Injection (so you need the Business/Core plan or higher) and a short video to explain exactly what to do next. For only $15 it’s a no-brainer.
Step Three | Keep Things Legal with an Affiliate Disclaimer
Nobody likes to be taken advantage of and transparency is key to ensuring your loyal following stays loyal. Authenticity always wins.
Each affiliate program also has rules about how you can share your link on their terms, in addition to disclosing if you are making money from sharing a product link. For example, Amazon only allows you to share product links via social networks and a website, not via email, WhatsApp or text. Make sure you know the terms so you don’t get booted.
As per Jaime from Contracts Market, my Canadian go-to for all things legal,
‘Your affiliate disclosure should be close to your affiliate link, meaning that someone shouldn’t have to go hunting for the disclosure. It should be clear and easy to find. Don’t simply link to your affiliate clause in your Terms of Use. While you absolutely CAN do that as well, you should ALSO disclose your affiliate relationship within your content, near the link.’
Read the full post by Contracts Market here: Your Requirements as an Affiliate or Influencer.
BTW, Contracts Market has the best templates for your Website Privacy Policy and Terms which also covers Affiliate Disclaimers for your website!
If you prefer a way for your Website Privacy Policy & Terms to auto-update as rules change instead of a template, you might like Termageddon. BTW, save 10% off with code BIRCH at checkout!
See the post shared below for all the details on keeping your website legal.
Tools You Can Use in Squarespace To Help Maximize Your Affiliate Potential
Squarespace is known to be an intuitive website platform with drag-and-drop functionality to help you design how you want, a fairly easy-to-use backend so you can update with confidence and robust features and tools to help you monetize your website.
Here’s a few ways it shines:
Blog: as mentioned, sharing your knowledge, writing listicles, and linking to your favourite things is easy to do while still being authentic
Blog: use the blog backend with an image + excerpt as a way to pull your favourite things via summary blocks throughout your website. Check out this video How To Use Summary Blocks by Becca at Inside the Square for lots of helpful info!
Shop + Image Blocks/Galleries + Auto Layouts: set up your shop or use image blocks, galleries and auto layouts to display your favourite products and reference your affiliate links
Videos: embed YouTube or external video showcasing reviews you’ve made with referral links
SEO tools that help people find your content: check out the post Boost Your Squarespace Blog Traffic With These 5 Must-Have Strategies for help optimizing your blog settings to get found on Google
Member Areas and Blog Paywalls for exclusive, money-making content
Amazon Blocks which can be utilized to share images directly from Amazon and a Buy Now button, currently for US customers only
Analytics that show you what's working (and what's not)
get 10% off your first subscription payment with code birch10 at checkout!
save 20% when we work together on a project!
The Next Level | Monetizing With On-Page Ads
TBH, I have mixed feelings about this, but it needs to be mentioned…last. If you have a high-traffic website it can make sense for you as you’re often paid based on traffic, read eyes on the page, vs sales with your referral links.
The caveat for me is to find an Ad Network that doesn’t spam their ads all over the place making it impossible to read what you actually went to the site for. Food bloggers - I’m looking at you.
The best move?
Strategic ad placement with smart, targeted ads that complement your content. Keep it clean and professional.
Travel gear review? Slip in a relevant ad
Destination guide? Background ads that make sense
Ad networks to explore:
Google AdSense (the classic choice)
Media.net (niche travel content gold)
AdThrive (for serious traffic)
Mediavine (another solid creator option)
Most networks have traffic minimums. While building your audience, focus on go-to valuable content and strategic affiliate partnerships. The ads will come - and so will the cash.
The Wrap
Affiliate marketing is a practical way for travel advisors - or anyone - to grow their income while offering value to their clients. With Squarespace, setting up affiliate links, resource hubs, and paywalled content is straightforward and polished.
By combining your expertise with thoughtful recommendations, you can create a site that not only supports your business but also becomes a go-to resource for your audience.
At Birch & Bud Design Co., I understand the heart and soul you put into your work. Your website should be a reflection of that passion, a space where your clients can see the care and thoughtfulness you bring to your role.
If you’re ready to invest in a website that truly represents your brand, I’m here to help!
In today's digital world, understanding legal requirements isn't just about the rules - it's a foundation for trust and professionalism. Consider this your guide to the website legal essentials.