Make money online and affiliate marketing courses seem to be everywhere. One that seems to be getting a lot of attention is The Affiliate Lab by Matt Diggity. But, what is Affiliate Lab and who is Matt Diggity?
More importantly: Is Affiliate Lab legit, and is it worth the investment of your time and hard-earned money? I mean, there are hundreds of affiliate marketing courses and programs out there, with more being produced seemingly every day.
Quick Look
The Affiliate Lab is an affiliate marketing and SEO course by veteran online entrepreneur Matt Diggity. It contains 210 video training lessons on everything from niche selection, website structure and building, Onsite and Offsite SEO strategies and extensive back linking methods. It is a very good course for intermediate to advanced marketers, but may be a bit overwhelming for the complete beginner. It is priced at $997 which can be out of range for many. Overall I give it a 3 out of 5 rating. Check this better alternative that is my #1 recommended online business platform.
And, unfortunately, most are just over hyped, under delivered and will leave you broke and frustrated. There are, however, some legitimate courses that, if you put in the time and work, you can build a real, long-term and profitable online business.
I know, I’ve been in business for myself for over 30 years and reviewed tons of courses and platforms. And, even joined a few. And one thing you need to understand is: Affiliate marketing is not a get-rich-quick or easy money scheme. It takes time, work, and yes even some money to build a legitimate, long-term, profitable affiliate marketing website and business.
It’s a simple business model, but not necessarily easy. The question here is, will The Affiliate Lab help your navigate the process successfully. Keep reading and let’s take a look at what Affiliate Lab is all about and see if it is something worth investing your time, money and energy in.
Just a quick disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Matt Diggity or The Affiliate Lab, I am simply providing a review of the course based on my personal experiences and opinions.
What Is Affiliate Lab?
The Affiliate Lab is an affiliate marketing training course by SEO expert and online marketer Matt Diggity. The course focuses on building niche websites, using Search Engine Optimization to create and rank quality content, monetizing the sites using affiliate marketing, and then how to sell them for a big exit payday.
Matt’s course covers on site and off site SEO fundamentals and other advanced strategies. The course is designed for affiliate marketers, SEO specialist and anyone who has an interest in building and optimizing websites for search engines.
The Affiliate Lab training consists of over 45 hours of video training content covering everything from niche selection, keyword research, content creation, and affiliate marketing. In addition, the course covers subjects such as, how to structure your website, organize your content, back linking, using anchor text and how to increase your conversions.
As part of your purchase, you also get ready-made templates and SEO checklists and membership in The Affiliate Lab’s private Facebook group.
- Course Name: Affiliate Lab
- Course Instructors: Matt Diggity
- Website: affiliatelab.im
- Price: $997 or $597 two-times
- Pros: The course content is quite comprehensive.
- Cons: building an authority site takes years; the course is too expensive; it doesn’t include tools; no 24/7 support; no refund
- Overall Rating: 3/5
- Who is Affiliate Lab For: Affiliate Lab is not for newbies. You may only benefit if you already have a website and want to learn some off-site SEO techniques.
- The Best Alternative: An All-in-One Platform to Make Passive Income Online
Who Is Matt Diggity?
Matt Diggity is an electrical engineer who, like many of you, was working 60 + hours per week. At one point the stress got so bad for Matt that he suffered a nervous breakdown. It was at that point that he knew he needed to do something different.
He became interested in the idea of making money online and spent years of trial and error as he learned SEO and affiliate marketing. Matt built several affiliate marketing websites, but found he didn’t have the time to run them all, so he sold some.
That is when he discovered how lucrative flipping websites can be and began building websites with the purpose of selling them for big paydays. Matt developed The Affiliate Lab course to share his knowledge and experience with other online entrepreneurs and help them realize their online business goals.
In addition to The Affiliate Lab course, Matt offers SEO and back linking services through his website “Authority Builders”. And, you can check him out on his YouTube Channel as well for more valuable content and affiliate marketing information.
Matt Diggity knows his stuff and is a legitimate SEO and affiliate marketing expert. So, let’s continue with our review of his Affilliate Lab training course to see whether it’s a good fit for you and your online business goals.
How Does The Affiliate Lab Work?
The Affiliate Labe is a video based SEO and affiliate marketing training course. As an Affiliate Lab member, you will be given access to over 45 hours of training presented on 210 videos that show you how to build you own niche affiliate marketing website from the ground up.
Everything from how to select your niche, structure your website, select and purchase a domain name and determine the best keywords to target.
The Affiliate Lab Training is divided into 8 main categories:
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Niche Selection
- 3. Onsite SEO
- 4. Offsite SEO
- 5. Technical Audits
- 6. The Kitchen Sink
- 7. The Authority Site Module
- 8. What’s Next
Let’s take a look at each module to see how it works.
1. Affiliate Lab Introduction
Basically a “welcome to the course” introduction and course overview. Matt also covers some of his general SEO methods and techniques as well as an intro to affiliate marketing.
2. Niche Selection
A niche is basically a group of people with common interests, wants or needs. Your target market or potential customers. Finding and selecting the proper niche is one of the most important steps in creating a profitable affiliate website. In these videos, Matt takes you through the process of selecting the right niche and how to analyze potential niches. And, most importantly, how to avoid choosing a bad niche.
3. Onsite SEO
In this section of the training you will begin the process of setting up and building your niche website with proper SEO. You learn the basics of on page SEO, keyword research, site structure and how to write quality relevant content to increase your chances of ranking and getting the attention of your target audience.
The following are the topics covered:
- Intro
- Domains & Hosting
- Keyword Research
- Site Architecture
- Content Building
- Site Building (Single Page)
- Site Building (Site-Wide)
- Onsite Optimization
- Featured Snippets
- Affiliate Links
- CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization Masterclass)
- Website Maintenance
4. Off-site SEO
Offsite SEO is basically things you can do “off” your website to increase its rankings and traffic. Things like BackLink-building, Social Media posts and more.
The videos in this section of the course cover:
This is one of the best Offsite SEO training courses you will find. You’ll learn everything from back linking, guest post links, link insertion techniques, and when best to use them. You also get a link building spreadsheet to organize your link building efforts.
- Creating a Google Persona
- Social Fortress Creation
- Anchor Text Analysis
- Local Citations
- Social Signals
- The Bulletproof Backlink Strategy
- Optional PBN Linking (not black hat link building)
Technical Audits
This is the section of the course where you will learn about Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and how to use them to conduct audits of your Onpage and Offpage SEO efforts. You will learn how to spot negative SEO factors and how to clean up your SEO so your site ranks faster and higher in the Search Engines.
Topics include:
- Google Search Console
- Negative SEO
- Technical Onpage & Offpage Audits
The Kitchen Sink
Funny sounding name, but this section of the course covers strategies for getting a website that is not growing or ranking and appears to be “stuck”. I guess it implies that, after you’ve thrown everything at it but the kitchen sink, it’s time to try these strategies.
These strategies have been tested and have been successful for getting sites “unstuck” and back on their way to increased traffic and rankings. They are not a guarantee, but when you’ve tried everything else, they could save you a lot of frustration.
The Authority Site
This section of Matt’s training teaches you the steps to turn a niche website into an authority site within your niche. It takes longer to become an authority site. The Affiliate Lab will show you the SEO methods to build site authority, and the pitfalls to watch out for.
The advantages of becoming an Authority Site is that, if you decide to sell “flip” the website, authority sites sell for much higher prices or multiples than your standard niche sites.
- Authority Site Introduction
- Building Authority Sites
- Backlinks for Authority Sites
- What to do When you Hit Authority Mode
- Authority Site Pitfalls
- The Influencer Pitch: Building Real E-A-T
The “What’s Next” Section
In this concluding section of The Affiliate Lab, Matt shares his advice and encouragement on SEO and building profitable affiliate marketing websites. Thee is also a scaling guide video that shows you how to rinse and repeat the process for more niches and more websites to grow your income.
And, that’s it, the rest is up to you. You have to put in the time and work to learn and actually apply what you learn, or nothing will happen. Except, you’ll be out the $997 you spent on The Affiliate Lab course.
Bonuses with Your Purchase of The Affiliate Lab
BONUS #1: The Beginner’s Lab
Step by step instructions on choosing a domain name, selecting a website hosting service, setting up a WordPress account and creating your own website.
BONUS #3: Conversion Rate Optimization Masterclass
In this bonus you will learn how some small, but powerful, changes in your website can increase your conversions, sales and income.
BONUS #5: Authority Blueprint
This bonus provides you with a step-by-step blueprint on how to convert your niche site into an authority site and achieve page one ranking.
BONUS #7: Outreach Masterclass
Methods for building back links to your website which will increase your sites rankings and authority in the search engines.
BONUS #9: Affiliate Email Marketing Masterclass
How to get your website visitors to give you their email address so you can continue to market to them and earn revenue even after they have left your website.
BONUS #2: Exclusive Facebook Group.
Private “members only” Facebook group where you can ask questions and share experiences and encouragement with other members.
BONUS #4: Featured Snippets Masterclass
Learn how to structure your content for the best chance at getting ranked In position “0” with a featured snippet. And, how you can steal your competitions featured snippet.
BONUS #6: Website Flipping Masterclass
In this class you will learn how to set up your websites to maximize your profits when selling or “flipping” your site. Some websites sell for multiples of 30x – 50x earnings.
BONUS #8: The Kitchen Sink + Medic Buster + Penalty Recovery
Methods to “unstick” websites, deal with search engine algorithm updates and protect yourself from potential penalties.
Is The Affiliate Lab a SCAM?
Affiliate Lab is not a scam. Matt Diggity knows SEO and if you take his course you will learn how to build and rank affiliate marketing websites that you can run yourself or flip for big profits.
The methods taught are proven to work but keep in mind they will take time. Building websites takes work and it could take several months or more before you see any real income.
If you need to make money immediately, this is not the course for you. But, if you can dedicate the time, work and money to follow the training and apply what you learn, you absolutely can build a profitable affiliate marketing website.
This is not get-rich-quick, easy money or overnight success. If you are not ready to put in the work, don’t waste your money. There is no refund, so make sure this is for you before you buy.
Is The Affiliate Lab Legit?
The Affiliate Lab is a legitimate affiliate marketing and website building course. The methods Matt teaches have been proven to work over many years. You can learn to make money with affiliate marketing and website flipping and how to avoid some of the SEO pitfalls plague many novice affiliate marketers.
Some of the techniques taught in the course are what are known as “gray hat” strategies. This means that currently they work but are not in the spirit of what the search engines prefer. In future algorithm updates, you could find your websites being penalized and losing rankings, traffic and revenue.
This is not as simple as paying $997 and becoming rich. There is a lot of work, time and money required to build a profitable niche affiliate marketing website. If you don’t have the time, patience, work ethic or money, this course is not for you. And, there is no try it before you buy it. All sales are final with no refunds.
How Much does The Affiliate Lab Cost?
The Affiliate Lab course by Matt Diggity sells for a one time fee of $997 or two payments of $597 each. For that price you get lifetime access to the course, including all templates, bonuses and future updates. Keep in mind, you will need additional funds for website hosting and other tools to fully implement The Affiliate Lab training.
Is The Affiliate Lab Worth It? Can You Make Money?
Now, only you can determine if The Affiliate Lab is worth it and if it fits with your experience, budget and business goals. Yes, if you complete the training and apply what you learn you absolutely can make money with The Affiliate Lab. It won’t be easy money or overnight success. It could take several months or more before you see any significant income.
The following are, in my opinion, the Pros and Cons of The Affiliate Lab Course. If you have experience with the course and have any additional items or questions, please leave them in the comment section below as we can all learn from one another.
Pros of Affiliate Lab
- Step-by-step, over the shoulder video training
- A very detailed section on the importance of niche selection
- A private “members only” Facebook group for questions
- One of the best courses on Offsite SEO strategies
- Templates included for internal and external links, and anchor text strategies
- Course content is continuously updated and improved
- One time price for lifetime access including all future updates
Cons of Affiliate Lab
- Can be overwhelming for complete newbies
- Teaches some “gray hat” techniques that could become black hat in the future
- No trial period
- No refunds – If you don’t like it, tough Sh*t!
- Price of $997 makes this an expensive investment for most.
- You will need additional funds for web hosting and tools to fully implement the course.
Does The Affiliate Lab Have a Refund Policy?
No, there is no refund policy with The Affiliate Lab. Too many people buy a course, down load the free checklists and templates, grab a few techniques and then request a refund. So, Matt has decided that all sales are final. Be sure that this is something your are committed to doing before you spend your hard-earned money.
If you are concerned about the no refunds, I have put together a 10-day free home business training that covers many of the same topics as The Affiliate Lab. You can check it out by clicking on the picture on the right. No credit card needed and it is completely free.
You can see if affiliate marketing and building websites is for you or not, before you invest any money. You have nothing to lose so feel free to check it out.
What do you get with The Affiliate Lab?
When you purchase The Affiliate Lab, you get 45 hours of over the shoulder, step by step video training lessons on how to build, rank, monetize and flip niche affiliate marketing websites. In the core course training, there are 210 videos organized in 8 general sections as follows:
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Niche Selection
- 3. Onsite SEO
- 4. Offsite SEO
- 5. Technical Audits
- 6. The Kitchen Sink
- 7. The Authority Site Module
- 8. What’s Next
The Affiliate Lab also includes the following bonuses
- Website Flipping Masterclass
- The Beginners Lab
- Featured Snippets Masterclass
- Outreach Masterclass
- The Affiliate Email Marketing Masterclass
- The Authority Blueprint
- The Conversion Rate Optimizer
- The Kitchen Sink penalty recovery
In addition to the core training, you get access to the members only private Facebook group where you can ask questions and learn from other members. And, you get downloadable templates, checklists and standard operating procedures to help guide your through the building and development of your websites.
As a paid customer of the Affiliate Lab, you get lifetime access that includes all future updates and improvements.
Who is The Affiliate Lab For?
The Affiliate Lab is a very detailed course that teaches some very advanced SEO strategies and techniques. It can become a bit overwhelming for complete newbies. They do have a course section aimed at complete beginners, but it will still be a steep learning cured if your are brand new.
For those who already have a website or those who work in SEO, you can gain some valuable lessons and strategies to improve your site rankings, conversions and authority. If you find your website stuck or not ranking as your would like, The Affiliate Lab could be a good investment for you.
The Affiliate Labe is NOT for anyone looking for a get-rich-quick, overnight success or easy money scheme. Building an affiliate marketing niche website takes time, work and yes money. It could take months before you see any real returns for your efforts.
If you are not willing, or simply can’t, put in the time and work necessary then save your money because there are no refunds and you will end up disappointed and out $997. Also, remember you will need additional funds for things like SEO tools and website hosting in addition to your course fee.
The Affiliate Lab Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Affiliate Lab good for beginners?
There is a 14 video section aimed at complete beginners. It can still be a bit overwhelming for the complete newbie. I would not recommend complete newbies start with this course.
Does The Affiliate Lab teach you how to find a good niche?
Finding a proper niche is one of the most important steps in building a profitable affiliate marketing website. The Affiliate Lab training has a great section on niche analysis and selection.
The Affiliate Lab does have training on the SEO techniques and methods to build an authority website. Including the pitfalls to watch out for.
Does The Affiliate Lab teach how to produce quality website content that will rank high in search engines?
The Affiliate Lab does have training on the SEO techniques and methods to build an authority website, including the pitfalls to watch out for. Content is, and always will be, KING. The Affiliate Lab course contains seven videos dedicated to content creation and on-page SEO for content that ranks.
Does The Affiliate Lab have a community forum or private Facebook Group?
Yes, the course includes access to a private “members-only” Facebook Group.
Are there additional business costs?
Yes, in order to fully implement what you learn, you will need additional funds for things like website hosting, keyword research tool, and email autoresponder, to name a few. These tools could run you an extra $100 – $200 per month.
Is this a white-hat SEO course?
The Affiliate Lab teaches mainly white hat SEO strategies, however, some of the techniques get a little gray when it comes to building back links. Both white hat link building and gray hat strategies are taught in the course.
How much time will I have to put in?
Affiliate marketing websites take longer to rank now than they used to. But, if you follow Matt’s training, and invest at least 10 – 20 hours per week, you should start to see some results in as little as a few months to one year.
The Affiliate Lab Overview and Final Thoughts:
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Overall, The Affiliate Lab is a very good and detailed course for building niche affiliate marketing websites that rank, convert, and generate income. It has some excellent on page and off page SEO strategies. You will also learn how to flip websites for big paydays. In my opinion, the price is a bit high even though it is a one-time fee.
You still need extra funds for web hosting, SEO tools, website plugins, and email marketing that could run you an extra $200 per month or more. And, that can be hard for someone just getting started. Some of the back-linking strategies Matt teaches are “gray hat” techniques that could become “black hat” with future Google algorithm updates and end up penalizing your websites.
If you already have a website and are looking for strategies to grow and scale it, The Affiliate Lab could be a good choice for you. There is no technical support available for website issues. Not a problem if you’re experienced, but could be very discouraging for a beginner. If you are a complete newbie, it can be a bit overwhelming and expensive. There is no trial period, money back guarantee, or refunds. So buyer beware!
Many of the positive reviews you read are written by affiliates of the program who earn nearly $500 for everyone that makes a purchase from their recommendations. And that’s OK, that is how affiliate marketing works. But, some will right great reviews because they can earn great commissions.
Alternatives to The Affiliate Lab
There are a number of good alternatives to The affiliate Lab. None are perfect, but each has its own pluses and minuses, and overall they are legit affiliate marketing training courses.
- The Easiest System Ever
- Savage Affiliates
- The Authority Site System
- Wealthy Affiliate
The Easiest System Ever, by Devon Brown (formerly The12 minute affiliate) is an affiliate marketing business in a box. It is very easy to get started and you learn how to build effective sales funnels for affiliate products.
You won’t learn SEO, or website building, but you can start earning commissions potentially earlier. The Affiliate Lab is a much more complete affiliate marketing training, but also more expensive.
Savage Affiliates, by Franklin Hatchett, is an excellent affiliate marketing course and covers everything from website building, email marketing, paid ads, social media marketing, backlinking, and SEO strategies. In my opinion, it is a more complete affiliate marketing course than even The Affiliate Lab, and its price is less than half. Savage Affiliates also has a 30-day money-back guarantee.
The Authority Site System is priced the same as The Affiliate Lab and the training covers even more than The Affiliate Lab. They have many more customer testimonials. A very extensive YouTube presence and Blog where they provide valuable tips and techniques free of charge. But, like the Affiliate Lab, you will need additional funds for tools and website hosting. They do also offer a 30-day money back guarantee.
The Wealthy Affiliate is also a great platform. It has a very good affiliate marketing training as it’s core curriculum. But, offers hundreds of other training resources in areas such as YouTube, Podcasting, Website flipping, paid ads, social media marketing, email marketing and much more.
At the Wealthy Affiliate, you also get the tools you need included with your membership. Website hosting for up to 10 websites, the Jaaxy keyword research tool, 24/7/365 website technical support, and a community of nearly 2 million members all helping each other succeed.
Now, The Affiliate Lab has better training on building backlinks, and is a one-time fee of $997, whereas the Wealthy Affiliate is a monthly or annual fee. Wealthy Affiliate does offer a Free trial where you can try it before you buy it and see if it’s for you or not.
My Best Recommendations
If you are an experienced affiliate marketer that is looking for strategies to boost your current website rankings, traffic and or conversions, then The Affiliate Lab could be a good choice for you. The Authority Site System would also be a good option and they have a 30-day money back guarantee so you can get a refund of your money.
If you are new to affiliate marketing, online business, and website building, I would recommend you start by taking advantage of some of the free training offerings like at Wealthy Affiliate. Why not find out, for free, if it is something you would like doing or not before you spend nearly a thousand dollars with no refunds. Affiliate marketing and website building is not for everyone. It takes a lot of time, work, patience, and yes some money.
Another very good free training is available from The Commission Academy. It consists of over-the-shoulder video training that will take you step by step from beginner to having your own affiliate marketing website up and running. You can check out the Commission Academhy Free training by clicking on the picture on the right.
And, it would also be worth your time to take the Free trial of the Wealthy Affiliate platform so you can see for yourself what it has to offer and if it would be a good fit for you. I also recommend you check out the YouTube channel Authority Hacker (The Authority Site System) where you can get some great tips and strategies for free.
Only you know what your experience level, budget and business goals are, so only you can know what platform or opportunity will work best for you. If you have any comments, questions, suggestions, ideas or concerns please leave them in the comment section below and I will get back to you ASAP. I am happy to help where and when I can. Thanks for Reading!
Wishing You all the best,
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- my.wealthyaffiliate.com/rex10
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Rex
P.S. Again, Wealthy Affiliate is COMPLETELY FREE to get started. No catch, no obligation, no bait and switch. I will personally be in touch with you upon joining to offer my support and guidance to help you get up and running online.
P.P.S. If you have any questions or are unsure of anything, I am here and I promise I will get back to you on all of your questions and comments. Just leave them below in the comment section. Follow me on Twitter: @onlinebenjamin1, Instagram: dotcomdinero, and Facebook: Online Benjamins
I’m Rex, owner of Dotcom Dinero. And, being a self employed entrepreneur for nearly 30 years, I have learned a lot about business, being your own boss and how to make “dinero”. Follow me here and I’ll share with you my experiences, tips, and strategies for building a profitable online business. We’ll review the latest money making products and scams to help you navigate the sometimes “shady” world of making money “dinero” online.