If you are a fan of Authority Hacker, through their podcast or their Youtube channel – you know and EXPECT whatever they put out to be high quality. For a limited time, get 40% off of The Authority Site System Here:
If you're looking to build affiliate sites that last long term, this is a great place to start.
Gives you all the information you need to get your affiliate site up and running.
One of the most beautifully designed and easy to navigate courses around.
Support is available through a pretty active Facebook group.
In this article, I will review The Authority Site System 3.0 (TASS 3.0).
You can expect to learn:
Not long after I first started Kindle Publishing, I tried my hand at building a niche website for affiliate marketing.
The problem was that the first online course I took to help me get started was pretty average.
I guess that's what got me started down the path of gray-hat affiliate marketing. It didn't really focus on building things the right way and actually taught me some spammy techniques!
Truth be told, before Authority Hacker (AH), I had thought behind every success story there must be some gray-hat (and black-hat) SEO techniques. Partly because white-hat SEO guidelines are usually very vague and unhelpful such as "build the best piece of content and Google will reward you."
Little did I know, and like most things in life, the quick easy way is probably not the best way. And definitely will NOT HAVE the LONGEVITY we are all seeking.
Anyone who has ever built a website knows that Google doesn’t automatically reward you. There is more to the formula including having a solid strategy and thorough implementation.
But back when I started, I didn’t know this. I got lost and started off grey-hatting. But, in time gray hat techniques came back to bite me in the ass.
What Authority Hacker teaches are legitimate and actionable white hat techniques that successful websites use to gain backlinks and grow their audience.
Authority Hacker teaches you:
That's why I wish I had taken Authority Hacker's The Authority Site System course right off the bat.
The Authority Site System 3.0 (TASS 3.0) is a fully blown course to help you design, build, and monetize an affiliate website. The right way!
You can gain knowledge and learn the following skills:
Mark Webster and Gael Breton founded Authority Hacker in 2013 to help people build online businesses in a white-hat ethical way.
Like myself, Mark and Gael dabbled in gray-hat SEO but got hit by penalties during the Google Penguin update. They decided that doing things the gray-hat way was too risky and committed to a completely white-hat approach.
One of the ways Gael and Mark found success was by building authority sites. Authority sites are large websites trusted by people and, in turn, loved by Google!
These sites high E-E-A-T scores (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. As defined by Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines).
It seems that Gael and Mark were on to something. Because E-E-A-T has become increasingly important. Especially in the last 18 months since AI content has been flooding the internet.
Using their previous experience with building gray-hat affiliate sites and running their own internet marketing agency they created a large authority hacker site called Health Ambition.
Health Ambition was a huge health website that got over 500,000 visitors per month. Their success wasn't an accident. It was their first authority site built using the Authority Hacker strategies.
They created processes or SOPs (standard operating procedures) to help their site authority grow in a super competitive niche. Using those skills, they decided to open another authority hacker site in an ultra-competitive niche (online business marketing) to share their insights into creating these "authority websites".
The site was....you guessed it, the Authority Hacker website, which all these years later is still a major success.
I just pulled up AHREFS (see screenshot below) and I guess they say the proof is in the pudding!
The thing that makes Authority Hacker different from other course creators is that the course creators are in the trenches day-to-day working at ranking their own sites.
They don'tdo fancy Adsense campaigns or run Youtube ads showing themselves driving around in Lambos or hanging out on Yachts.
Gael and Mark are just real, down-to-earth nerdy guys who love the game of ranking affiliate sites and getting their ideas and proven methods out there.
If you have listened to their Podcast, you know that they love tracking and testing things. This is what gives them an edge over other affiliates.
Mark and Gael focus on building their online business for the long term by not cutting corners, and creating sites for organic growth, hence there's no shady link building.
When you sign up to TASS you are buying blueprints (step-by-step processes) that you can replicate!
At this point of the Authority Site System review, you might be wondering how it all works?
The core of TASS 3.0 is a video tutorial (mainly over-the-shoulder format) demonstrating a step-by-step approach on how to build your site. The modules are organized, extremely well presented, and focus on all the critical details of building an authority site.
There are also extensive course notes that you can use for future reference or if you prefer to read rather than watch. The videos also come with full transcripts!
The Authority Site System (TASS) is the base course, and it is what this article will focus on. It is a course designed for beginners with no prior website building or affiliate marketing knowledge through to intermediate users.
The Authority Site System 3.0 is the latest release of the course with lots of important updates and developments (including AI and how this has affected content sites).
According to Gael and Mark, authority websites can be broken down into 3 stages.
The Authority Site System focuses on helping you create a "Stage 1" authority site as described in AH's blog post.
A Stage 1 site focuses on building website traffic to generate passive income from either affiliate sales or page views.
The whole point of building a Stage 1 website is to keep it simple, learn the ropes, employ solid structure and build upon the structure of your site
A Stage 1 authority website is generally a site getting traction and is making between $1k to $5k per month.
TASS 3.0 is meant to teach you how to build a website that gives you 'job replacement income levels'.
Authority Hacker Pro covers building Stage 2 and 3 sites which are sites that make $5k per month all the way up to $100k+ per month and have additional structures and methods for reaching users and converting customers.
Authority Hacker Pro is meant for people who are already making money with their affiliate marketing website and are looking for a 6-7 figure exit.
For an in depth look at AH Pro, refer to our review article.
The base version of Authority Hacker, aka The Authority Site System, or TASS 3.0 costs $997. Currently, there is a 40% off deal for TASS 3.0, all you have to do is watch this webinar (which is pretty informative and full of great tips anyway).
Even if you don’t buy the course the webinar is useful! It’s completely free and then you can decide if it's for you and follow the prompts.
There are upgrades for Authority Hacker, but the upgrades aren't needed right away (especially as a beginner) because you will be taught everything you need to know to get your site to making $1k+ per month.
The first upgrade, Authority Hacker Pro, costs $2497 or 12 monthly payments of $249.
The second upgrade product, Authority Hacker Pro Platinum, costs $1797 or 12 monthly payments of $179.
But be aware that unless you have a TASS subscription you will need to wait for the one or two opportunities a year when Authority Hacker opens its doors to new students for both Pro and Authority Hacker Platinum.
More on this in our other article Authority Hacker Pro.
Sorry to repeat, but this is the only current offer - You can get a limited-time 40% discount on The Authority Site System for only $599 by watching their webinar or joining their free training session.
Don’t worry, they don’t try to pull the wool over your eyes or up-sell you, it is actually a useful video and well worth the watch.
The Authority Hacker course really opened my eyes to the shortcuts I was taking and made me focus on making good material first – and then focusing on everything else second. These are just some of the difficulties in becoming an online authority:
In my situation, I’ve been applying the TASS strategies to hustlelife.net.
When I started out with this blog, I had my hand in too many pies. I was trying out various side hustles but didn’t have expertise in any one topic. I could only share my experience. Over time my main side hustle has become affiliate marketing. But I wanted to create a resource for other side hustles too. So, I created a community of contributors to create E-E-A-T across affiliate marketing, eCommerce, and marketing funnels.
If you look back at some of my earlier content you can see the difference in the quality of articles versus the content that we create today. I’m kind of embarrassed to admit that!!
There are a ton of affiliate marketing training courses available currently, and like with everything there are the good, the bad, and the...complete time wasters!
The most important thing is finding the course that will suit your needs at your experience level and ensuring they cover all the key areas.
Speaking about time wasters and not throwing money away, make sure you consider whether affiliate marketing is truly suited to you, it's definitely not for everyone.
We have a great article specifically covering the ins and outs of affiliate marketing:
If you got questions or concerns it is definitely worth a quick read and will cover in detail the following topic areas that an affiliate marketing training course simply must have:
The goal of the is to give you the confidence and skills needed to be a badass .
The System 3.0 gives you everything you need to know to make a profitable, stage 1, long-term white hat site that you can be proud of.
Not some crappy site that has unengaging that no one wants to read, but that ranks for a whole bunch of terms. We all know what the google bot eventually has in store for sites like those.
To get a good feel for what Authority Hacker is all about, check out their free training – by joining, you will also have a chance to get a 40% discount!
The Authority Hacker system is all about building authority sites the right way. The strategies they teach are evergreen, meaning that you don't have to stress about your site getting penalized by Google for bad practices.
Also, by creating 'authority content sites', you will be creating a passive stream of income that you can use to help pay for the lifestyle you want. Or, you could continue on your journey with Authority Hacker Pro and sell the site later on for a 30x-40x month multiple.
Other courses, such as Wealthy Affiliate, Income School, and Affiliate Lab, are other good affiliate marketing courses. They have different methods and teach completely different ways to build websites.
Having been a member of The Authority Hacker community for almost 5 years now, I have to say that investing in The Authority Site System has been one of the best investments I have made.
Gael and Mark really focus on customer service, and keeping their finger on the pulse... the updates just keep coming! If you join the Authority Site System 3.0 you will gain access to the latest tried and tested affiliate marketing methods.
They have again overhauled the entire course (nearly doubling in size from 2022)!!
The latest updates include:
Authority Hacker provides its lessons primarily through video lessons. The lessons are engaging and to the point. There are no 60-minute videos that drag on forever.
The basic course will teach you how to build authority websites and establish the beginnings of your efforts to build a “stage 1” affiliate site.
A stage 1 niche site is what the base version of Affiliate Hacker focuses on. A stage 1 affiliate site is a website that is making up to $5k per month and has all the basic fundamentals to generate traffic while staying in the good graces of google.
The second upgrade level is known as Authority Hacker Pro. By upgrading, students gain access to 18 different blueprints that can be implemented to take your authority sites to a stage 2 or stage 3 affiliate site, which should be making $5k+ per month.
Finally, there is Authority Hacker Pro Platinum, which focuses on taking authority websites to stage 3, bringing anywhere from $10k to $100k+ per month and preparing your exit strategy.
A great feature of Authority Hacker is access to real-life case studies (their own sites and from other students) These are important because not only do they demonstrate that this system works, but they also offer an insight into how other people have done it.
In TASS 3.0 they also demonstrate a site build from scratch. Using Dog Food Heaven as a case study. You can watch (over the shoulder) as the TASS team builds this real authority site. This is a powerful “show one do one” teaching technique, especially if you’ve never built a website before!
Throughout the course, they constantly refer back to the dog food case study (and other sites), and you can see how an authority site is built and monetized from start to finish.
Whether it’s about inspiration or learning more about the system, these real-life case studies could be the fuel you need to succeed.
Building authority websites doesn’t require you to be a designer or developer. Authority Hacker will give you access to 18 different templates (at this time) for getting your site up and going.
These templates can be a real game-changer because they allow you to see and make high-quality content that other authority websites use. You don’t reinvent the wheel you just copy/paste.
These copy/paste templates include SOPs, AI prompts, content creation, social media, and GenerateBlocks design templates.
Feeling alone when taking courses can be frustrating. You might have specific questions about your business or those not covered by the video lessons or blueprints.
Authority Hacker provides access to a private Facebook group to all of its students (5400+). The community consists of both novices and veterans. The cool thing is that the founders of Authority Hacker are also active in this Facebook group and answer direct questions from students pretty regularly.
You can tell Gael and Mark really want to go above and beyond to make the affiliate course easy and practical for you.
The dashboard makes it easy to navigate but the actual course is structured and if you follow it in a linear fashion, you build your knowledge and skill from the ground up.
They also have a To-Do List that is step-by-step with everything you need to do when starting a niche affiliate site.
The main objective of the course is to help you make an online income!
Instead of talking theory, TASS shows you how to find affiliates, setup your affiliate accounts, manage links and even gives you example affiliate statement.
There are even several lessons dedicated to Amazon including SiteStripe and Amazon Associates.
You've likely read many success stories on the Authority Hacker website, but that's not enough. So, we ooked up some reviews to find out more about what current and past students think of the course:
"A few weeks back, I had my very first day with more than 1,000 visitors. Today, I just passed another milestone: more than $1500 in Amazon earnings for March. 2 years ago when I started my website, I would have never thought that this would be possible.
For all of you out there struggling to make money: follow closely what TASS is teaching, this stuff works 100%. It takes a lot of effort and work to get started (I literally spent all my weekends and most of my weeknights working on the site) - but it pays off in the end. I was on vacation for 10 days this month and every day I made between $40 to $100 - passive income feels like magic."
David Sertillange
AH Student
"The Authority Hacker team has built the best internet marketing course to learn how to make money online that I’ve ever seen!"
Miles Beckler
Affiliate Legendary Marketer
"I have followed The Authority Site System to the letter a couple months ago and my site is now growing and making more money every month. I am very excited about the future of my Authority site and the Facebook community has been incredibly helpful to me!"
David Pedley
AH Student
Before you decide to purchase AH's Authority Site System, you probably want to know how it stacks up to other courses on the market.
If you want to skip this part, then I will simply say that I consider The Authority Site System to be the best affiliate marketing course overall.
But if you want to see exactly why that is, keep reading...
To begin with, we will start with a Wealthy Affiliate vs Affiliate Hacker review.
Wealthy Affiliate is an affiliate marketing course that has become one of the most popular marketing courses and includes website hosting.
But what are the main differences you have to be aware of?
Income School’s Project 24 is another top-rated affiliate marketing course that first launched in late 2018. Project 24 is made by likable due Jim Harmer and Ricky Kesler, who runs the successful Income School Youtube Channel.
Like AH‘s The Authority Site System, Income School’s Project 24 is constantly updated with new material, so you are always getting up-to-date information on changes to Google’s algorithm.
Project 24 also comes with great article templates to outsource your writing and get high-quality articles back. Project 24 is more focused on creating content sites and monetizing them through ads, so the course is fully focused on content creation instead of link building.
From my experience going through both courses, both ways of creating sites work!
However, it will take a lot longer to turn a profit using Income School’s methods than from Authority Hacker methods. This is why for me, AH is the best affiliate system I have seen.
What Are The Differences Between AH And Income School Project 24?
Another product you may not have heard of is SEO Affiliate Domination. SEO Affiliate Domination is suitable for both beginners that are looking for cash flow. All the content is up to date and relevant today.
But the most significant difference between this course and AH is that SEO Affiliate Domination relies primarily on gray hat tactics and doesn’t focus on long-term asset building.
How Does It Stack Up To AH?
So if you are looking more for making money right away, SEO Affiliate Domination is a good choice. But if you are wary of using gray/black hat tactics, AH is for you.
The Affiliate Lab (TAL) is the biggest competition to AH, as far as I can tell. It is made by another legit affiliate marketer Matt Diggity.
However, TAL takes a different approach to link building than AH and dabbles in some grey hat areas that AH avoids.
How Does It Stack Up To AH?
Although TAL doesn’t focus exclusively on grey hat techniques, some SEO strategies are taught that can get you dinged by Google.
Whereas with AH, it might take you longer to rank – but at least you won’t have to worry long term.
Choosing an affiliate marketing course can be a minefield. There are plenty of BS courses out there!
Authority Hacker course is a legit course and is definitely amongst the best!
It fills in many of the gaps left by other popular courses and is one of the few courses that offer a full selection of EVERYTHING you need to know to build and monetize an authority site the right way!
Regardless, if you are a beginner or an experienced affiliate marketer, you are almost guaranteed to learn something that will help you in your affiliate marketing journey.
I highly recommend TASS 3.0, and if you are thinking of purchasing, I recommend you watch the webinar first so you can claim the 40% off AND see if the teaching style will work for you. Plus you get a bunch of useful tactics that some paid courses don't even teach.
This course has made me re-evaluate how I build affiliate sites and has forced me to focus on quality, not quantity.
I hope you enjoyed this Authority Hacker review. In this review, I’ve focused on TASS 3.0 and given you a sense of the course, what you can learn, how it’s delivered how you can get a discount, and how it compares to other affiliate marketing courses. If you found it useful, please let me know.
At Hustle Life we love bringing you well-researched content to help you online side hustle grow into a thriving business. So that we continue to create great content without opening the site to annoying advertising, we accept affiliate payments. Thank you for using our Authority Hacker affiliate links.
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Jeremy Harrison started this blog to share his journey and encourage other ambitious solopreneurs. He shares his highs and lows from experience with Amazon KDP, affiliate marketing and eCommerce.
We're An Affiliate - We are reluctant to allow advertising on this blog, which we believe will spoil the user experience. Instead (so that we can continue sharing our knowledge and expanding our content), we have decided to include affiliate links for the products that we use and/or rate highly.
