There are some really attractive marketing opportunities in SEO affiliate programs. Many pay high commission percentages and many pay recurring commissions. But, you must be prepared to compete with lots of people with SEO knowledge and experience.
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SEO affiliate programs are a lot like hosting programs. Lot’s of opportunity but you are running with the big dogs.
Ideally, you will have a body of SEO content and a site with some authority. If you are up for a bit of a challenge you can make some good money and help your visitors.
How to Market SEO Programs
The usual strategy of writing compelling content that provides value and brings in organic search will be difficult if you are a new site with no authority in Google’s eyes. You will have trouble outranking those who came before you.
As long as there has been Google there have been SEO practitioners writing about search and tools to help with search marketing, optimization, analysis and more. There is a lot of quality content already created on websites with age and authority.
Some strategies to consider:
- Have a strong video channels with screenflow demos
- Do podcasts with SEO experts (no shortage of those!)
- Focus on new tools. Be first to rank them.
- Have bonus offers of templates, training, etc. if allowed
- Jump right on upgrades and review those
- Rank Branded keywords
- Specialize in an SEO niche and become an authority
Some specific strategies include …
Clients
If you are an agency or SEO consultant the first thing you should do is to market to your client base. These are people that trust your SEO opinion and should be an easy conversion. Be extra careful of the tools you recommend. It would be terrible to jeopardize an SEO client for an affiliate commission.
Blog and Forum Posting
People are always looking for SEO advice. I would always only post a link to an info article not a money page on an SEO forum. And never a link with your affiliate id. The main goal is to be helpful and gain trust and authority.
Creating a Facebook group around a sub-niche of SEO makes a lot of os sense. You can’t just start a general SEO Facebook page unless you really think you can compete with the Neil Pattells of the world. So focus on local, affiliate, on-page, international or some other sub-category of SEO.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is a good channel for new products, sales announcements, etc. You can get email subscribers by having a video or e-book offer in exchange for subscribing.
Content Marketing
This is the backbone of your organic search strategy. Find low competition long-tail keywords that overlap with your affiliate offers. But you will need to look hard for keywords with decent volume that are not too competitive. The keyword “SEMrush review” for instance has over 1850 posts with that keyword in the title. Just one simple metric but you can see that much has been written on this already. Have a good mix of just high-value info posts and money posts like “Best Tool for Site Audits”. I would stick with KGR-like keywords that you will have some opportunity to rank for.
Here are 32 SEO affiliate programs to consider, most with recurring lifetime commissions.
Top 10 SEO Affiliate Programs
Go to our affiliate programs page for more program reviews.
Bright Local Affiliate Program
Bright Local ha s a full suite of local SEO tools. It deals with duplicate and incorrect citations.
The Bright local affiliate program pays 15% and has a 60 day cookie. You can join the Brightlocal affiliate program at ShareASale.
Bright Local
Commission Rate: 15%
Cookie Length: 60 days
Affiliate Info: Bright Local at ShareASAle
LongTailPro Affiliate Program
LongTailPro is a well known keyword research tool. Very straight forward with powerful filtering to find target keywords.
The LongTailPro affiliate program can be joined at either ShareASale or at Post Affiliate Pro. The ShareASale program seems better supported if you have no preference.
LongTailPro
Commission Rate: 30% Recurring
Cookie Length: One Year (ShareASale)
Affiliate Info: Longtail Pro Affiliate Page
Linkody Affiliate Program
Linkody is a backlink monitoring tool. It will let you know when you get or lose a backlink. It will also let you know when your competitor gets a new backlink so you can try for the same one.
The Linkody affiliate program is managed by Fastspring. To apply send an email to support@Linkody.com. Include in the subject line “Me Your New Affiliate”.
Linkody
Commission Rate: 30% recurring
Cookie Length: 30 days
Affiliate Info: Linkody Affiliate Page
Mangools Affiliate Program
Mangools has a great suite of tools. KWFinder is particularly strong and popular.
- KWFinder
- SERPChecker
- SERPWatcher
- LinkMiner
- SiteProfiler
The affiliate program pays 30% and is recurring. The cookie is 30 days. As long as the sign up for the free program in the 30 day cookie period you will get paid if they convert.
Mangools
Commission Rate: 30%
Cookie Length: 30 days
Affiliate Info: Mangools Affiliate Page
MOZ Pro Affiliate Program
MOZ is a leading tool kit for SEO. It compares favorably with ahrefs. Most people are familiar with Moz DA ranking of sites.
MOZ like ahrefs has no official affiliate program but do appear to have private arrangements.
MOZ
Commission Rate: NA
Cookie Length: NA
Affiliate Info: NA
SEMRush Affiliate Program
SEMRush is a great tool. It goes head-to-head with ahrefs. They provide keyword research, competitive analysis, and more. You can even put in a competitor site and find the pages on a site that has the most organic search traffic – nice. There affiliate program though – not so nice.
They use a 10-year first touch cookie. Basically lifetime. The problem is that it is not first affiliate touch but first touch by any channel. So if your referred customer has ever been to SEMrush via search, an ad, a direct link a social link … you get no credit.
SEMRush
Commission Rate: 40% recurring
Cookie Length: 10 year first touch
Affiliate Info: SEMRush Affiliate Page
SEO PowerSuite Affiliate Program
SEO Powersuite is a group of tools for SEO including:
- rank checker
- keyword research tool.
- backlink analysis tool
- site auditor
You can become an SEO PowerSuite affiliate at Avangate. SEO PowerSuite pay 33% and has average $197 per referral.
SEO Powersuite
Commission Rate: 33%
Cookie Length: 90 days
Affiliate Info: SEO Powersuite Affiliate Page
SpyFu Affiliate Program
SpyFu is a keyword analysis tool focused on competitive keyword analysis. It has been around for a while under constant maintenance. It os a solid product.
The Affiliate program has a 40% recurring commission rate. The cookie length is one year. Spyfu uses a system of tracking that does not require links with embedded codes. You can direct link to any page and as long as the domain was registered as a Spyfu affiliate site you will be credited.
SpyFu
Commission Rate: 40%
Cookie Length: One Year
Affiliate Info: SpyFu Affiliate Page
The Hoth Affiliate Program
The Hoth provides outsourced SEO services including …
- Managed SEO
- Video Production
- Blog Content
- Guest Posting
The HOTH affiliate program pays 25% for most purchases. With the large ticket Hoth X paying 5%. They are very good marketers and convert well.
The Hoth
Commission Rate: 25%
Cookie Length: 60 days
Affiliate Info: The Hoth Affiliate Page
More SEO Affiliate Programs
Go to our recurring affiliate programs page for more residual affiliate program.
Advanced Web Ranking (AWR)
AWR is a rank tracking and keyword research tool. It also offers a strong site audit tool.
The AWR commission plan pays 50% of the first month commission. It does not appear to be a recurring program.
Commission Rate: 50% of first month
Cookie Length: 60 days
Affiliate Info: AWR Affiliate Page
Audisto
Audisto is designed for larger sites. It has advanced crawlers and continuously audits technical website performance, content and quality.
Audisto has a by invitation only affiliate program.
Commission Rate: NA
Cookie Length: NA
Affiliate Info: NA
Authority Labs
Auhority Labs is a rank tracking tool. They have a number of free tools including …
- Backlink Checker
- Keyword Grouper
- Website Crawler
Authority Labs pays affiliates 50% recurring commission on paid Plus and Pro accounts, 25% recurring on Pro Plus, and 15% recurring on Enterprise accounts
Commission Rate: 15%-50%
Cookie Length: Lifetime
Affiliate Info: Authority Labs Affiliate Page
Content King
Content King provides real-time SEO auditing. It proactively crawls your site and notifies of you of any issues that crop up.
The Content King affiliate program pays 20% recurring commissions and has a 90 day cookie.
Commission Rate: 20% recurring
Cookie Length: 90 days
Affiliate Info: Content King Affiliate Page
FATJOE
FATJOE provides outsourced SEO services. Including …
The affiliate program has a 30 day cookie and pays 10% lifetime recurring commissions. Typical customer lifetime with FATJOE is greater than 1 year.
Commission Rate: 10%
Cookie Length: 30 day
Affiliate Info: Afterglow Affiliate Page
Linkredible
Linkredible provides a broad array of SEO services. They primarily focus on ..
- Blogger Outreach
- Link Pyramids
- Blog Writing
- Local SEO services
Linkredible has a tiered affiliate commission rate …
| Affiliate Level | Lifetime Earnings | Commission Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze | Starting Commission | 20% |
| Silver | $10,000+ | 25% |
| Gold | $50,000+ | 30% |
Commission Rate: 20% – 30%
Cookie Length: 60 days
Affiliate Info: Linkredible Affiliate Page
Link Research Tool
A link analysis tool that can even show you which links are at risk of causing a Google penalty. It helps identify spammy links.
There is an affiliate program under development.
Commission Rate: NA
Cookie Length: NA
Affiliate Info: Affiliate Waiting List
Netpeak
Netpeak is a spider and website checker for doing technical audits of websites. It requires a Windows based PC with a Mac version being developed.
The Netpeak affiliate program provides an initial 10% discount for your sales. The more customers you refer, the bigger commissions. If you get 5 unique paid customers your commission increases to 20% commission and 10 unique paid customers 30% commissions.
Commission Rate: 10%-30% recurring
Cookie Length: 7 days
Affiliate Info: Netpeak Affiliate Page
Ninja Outreach
Ninja Outreach is an outreach tool to find influencers and create outreach campaigns.
The Ninja program pays a 25% commission and is recurring for the lifetime of the customer. With a long 6 month cookie you can invest in a longer campaign.
Commission Rate: 20% lifetime recurring
Cookie Length: 6 Months
Affiliate Info: Ninja Outreach Affiliate Program
Rank Active
Agency SEO tools for SEO agencies with white label reporting. Capabilities include …
- Rank Tracking
- Analytics
- Competitive Analysis
- Keyword research
The RankActive affiliate program pays 25% recurring commission.
Commission Rate: 25% recurring
Cookie Length: Lifetime
Affiliate Info: Rank Active Affiliate Page
Raven Tools
Raven Tools is targeted at digital marketing agencies. They have one of the best site auditor tools in the industry. Raven is particularly strong at provides steps to fix issues discovered.
You can join the Raven Tools affiliate program at ShareASale.
Commission Rate: 10% – 20%
Cookie Length: 180 days
Affiliate Info: Raventools at ShareASale
Ryte
Ryte is a technical on-page analysis tool. They have a strong TF-IDF capability to help analyze your content vs. those ranking above you.
The commission program pays 10% recurring commissions and a 90 day cookie. They also pay $2.50 per lead for free trials.
Commission Rate: 10%
Cookie Length: 90 Days
Affiliate Info: Ryte Affiliate Page
Search Metrics
Searchmetrics is all-in-one SEO platform. The objective is to discover gaps, set strategy, and prioritize opportunities to attract your audience and increase revenue.
The Searchmetrics affiliate program is managed by Commission Junction. The pay …
- 30% commission on every sale
- +15€ bonus for your first sale
- +10% commission from your 10th sale on for the rest of the year
The program primarily focused on Europe.
Commission Rate: 30%
Cookie Length: 120 days
Affiliate Info: Search Metrics Affiliate Page
SECockpit
SECockpit is a powerful keyword research tool. It analyzes data from Google AdWords keyword source, Google Related Searches and Google Suggest. Swissmademarketing also creates YTCockpit to find YouTube opportunities.
The affiliate program uses flash-cookies and IP tracking. Even if someone changes browsers, computers or clear their cookies, your leads will still be credited to you.
Commission Rate: 30%
Cookie Length: Lifetime
Affiliate Info: SE Cockpit Affiliate Page
SEOprofiler
A Freemium model product. The free version have a very strong backlink analysis tool. The paid version also does on page analysis and full site audits. You can enter your competitors and SEOProfiler will show you who links to them.
SEOProfiler use Post Affiliate Pro to manage the program. A uniques feature is that it does not require cookies to track referrals.
Commission Rate: 50%
Cookie Length: Lifetime
Affiliate Info: SEOProfiler Affiliate Page
SEO Reseller
Outsource your SEO, SEM, Web Design, Social Media, Link Building and more. SEO Reseller provides …
- White Label SEO
- White Label Local SEO
- White Label Website Design
The SEOReseller program provides a 5% commission. It is a two-tiered commission structure with 1% additional commission for your sub-affiliates
Commission Rate: 5% recurring
Cookie Length: Lifetime
Affiliate Info: SEOReseller Affiliate Page
SE Ranking
SE Ranking is a rank tracking tool that includes keyword suggestions and site auditing.
Their affiliate program has a 120 day cookie and 30% lifetime recurring commissions. Their payment methods are Paypal or Webmoney
Commission Rate: 30% recurring
Cookie Length: 120 days
Affiliate Info: SE Ranking Affiliate Page
SERPStat
SERPStat is a keyword research tool. It is typically used for keyword ideas and brainstorming. They also provide SERP questions for your keywords being researched.
The SERPStat affiliate program pays a 30% recurring commission. One unique feature is that you can use your commissions to pay your SERPStat bill. If you choose to do this you will receive 150% of the commission balance.
Commission Rate: 30% recurring
Cookie Length: 30 days
Affiliate Info: SERPSTAT Affiliate Page
SERPWoo
A great rank tracking tool that shows where a page ranks, and rankings have changed over time. There is a volatility feature to show keywords that are bouncing around.
The affiliate program has a 30 day cookie. During this time the referral must purchase or start a trial. 90 days are provided for the trial to convert and affiliate be credited. The standard plans pay a 20% lifetime recurring and the Enterprise or custom pays 10% recurring.
Commission Rate: 10%-20% recurring
Cookie Length: 30 days
Affiliate Info: SERPWoo Affiliate Page
Site Analyzer
Site Analyzer a high-quality site audit tool. Yes, $10 for a 100 page scan is a little steep. But the tool hooks you up with a lot of helpful information, especially when it comes to page optimization.
Commission Rate: 10%
Cookie Length: Lifetime
Affiliate Info: Site Analyzer Affiliate Page
Supermetrics
Reporting automation tool for PPC, SEO, social and web analytics.
The affiliate program is managed in house and pays recurring commission for the customer’s lifetime with Supermetrics.
Commission Rate: 20% recurring
Cookie Length: 90 Day
Affiliate Info: Supermetrics Affiliate Page
WebCEO
WebCEO is an SEO platform. They provide keyword research, technical SEO, internal link optimizer, backlink tools, mobile optimization and more. They provide a clever DIY SEO Guide for beginners.
The affiliate program features direct linking. As long as your site is registered in the affiliate program, any link going to WEBCEO is credited. No need for ugly affiliate links. You can also get standard links with your affiliate id embedded for email and other outreach campaigns.
Commission Rate: $81 per sale
Cookie Length: 12 months
Affiliate Info: WebCEO Affiliate Page
FAQ
Why SEO affiliate programs?
SEO techniques are changing all of the time. Site owners, SEO agencies and others need the latest tools.
How much can you make with SEO affiliate programs?
SEO programs pay well. The lifetime customer value is very high so they can afford to pay well for customer acquisition.
How do SEO programs pay affiliates?
Most SEO products use a Software as a Service (SaaS) model. This means they are getting paid monthly and many will pay lifetime commissions monthly.
Are there any downsides to SEO affiliate programs?
The SEO tools market is very competitive. For vendors and affiliates. Your competitors are likely to have strong SEO skills.
Wrapping Up
SEO tools provide a lot of value to all web site owners. You really are not vertically limited as SEO tools are not tied to a specific industry. Research your keywords well and do a lot of manual inspection. You will want to be creative and look for social, video and other traffic to supplement search traffic.
