The best SEO tool affiliate programs right now split into two camps: recurring payers like SE Ranking (30% of every payment, 120-day cookie) and Mangools (25-35% recurring), and flat-bounty payers like Semrush ($100-$300 per sale plus $10 per trial) and Moz (up to $350 per Moz Pro signup). If your audience sticks with tools for years, take the recurring deal. If they churn or you need cash this quarter, the bounties win.
That's the short version. The rest of this page is the reasoning, the numbers, and the fine print that decides whether you actually get paid.
PartnersWatch isn't affiliated with the brands below. Every rate here comes from the brand's own partner page as of the date shown on its listing; programs change terms without much warning, so check before you build a page around one.
The shortlist
These are the SEO and marketing-tool programs we track with published terms. The table is generated from live listings, so it updates when a brand changes its page.
| Program | Partner types | Terms | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| SE Ranking | Affiliate | 30% commission on payments from referred users | Recurring |
| Semrush | Affiliate | $10 per trial activation; $100–$300 per sale (up to $450 with loyalty tiers); $200–$1,500 quarterly content bonus | One-time |
| Moz | Affiliate | Up to $350 per Moz Pro signup, $250 per Moz Local | Flat fee / bounty |
| Mangools | Affiliate | 25-35% on every recurring payment | Recurring |
| Surfer | Affiliate | 75-125% of first monthly payment or 15-25% of annual subscription, by tier | One-time |
| Brand24 | Affiliate, Referral partner | 20% / 25% / 30% recurring by tier (Bronze, Silver, Gold) | Recurring |
| SocialBee | Affiliate, Reseller, Integrator / MSP | 20% recurring on plans, 10% on ConciergeBee services | Recurring |
| Leadpages | Affiliate, Agency, Integrator / MSP | Up to $400 per referred customer depending on plan (page markets 30% recurring) | Recurring |
| Unbounce | Affiliate, Referral partner | 25-35% recurring for up to 12 months | Recurring |
| Instapage | Affiliate | On request | — |
| Leadfeeder | Reseller, Agency, Affiliate | On request | — |
| HubSpot | Affiliate | 30% recurring commission for up to one year (up to $1,000+ per sale); custom commission at Elite tier | Recurring |
Want the wider pool? Every recurring software program and the full software category are a click away.
SE Ranking: the one I'd start with
SE Ranking's affiliate program pays 30% on payments from users you refer, with no earnings cap. The cookie is 120 days and it's first-click, which matters more than people think. SEO buyers research for weeks. They read your comparison, then three others, then sign up a month later. A 120-day first-click window means you still get credit if you were the first serious touch.
The catches are small. You need an SE Ranking account to join, and the minimum payout is $50, paid twice a month through PayPal. If you don't use PayPal, that's a real friction point, so sort it out before you apply.
Who it suits: bloggers and YouTubers reviewing SEO tools for freelancers, small agencies and in-house marketers on a budget. SE Ranking's pricing sits below the big suites, which makes it an easy "cheaper alternative" recommendation, and that angle converts.
Semrush: big brand, flat money
People search "Semrush affiliate program commission 2026" a lot, so here's the straight answer from the listing: $10 per trial activation, $100 to $300 per sale, up to $450 per sale with loyalty tiers, and a quarterly content bonus of $200 to $1,500. The cookie runs 120 days.
That's a one-time model. You get paid once per customer, no matter how long they stay. On a product people often keep for years, that leaves money on the table compared with a recurring deal. On the other hand, Semrush's brand does a lot of the selling for you, and trial payouts mean you earn something even when the visitor never converts to paid.
The entry bar is the highest on this list. Semrush asks for at least 1,000 unique monthly visitors for a site, or 1,000+ organic followers on social. Coupon, cashback, unfinished, adult and gambling sites get turned away. Decisions come within four days, so you won't wait long to hear no.
My take: if you already rank for "Semrush review" or "Semrush vs" terms, join. If you're a new site, start with SE Ranking or Mangools and come back once you clear the traffic bar.
Moz (and yes, "SEOmoz")
Plenty of people still search "SEOmoz affiliate program". Same company. Moz's program pays up to $350 per Moz Pro signup and $250 per Moz Local referral, both flat fees. Applications go through Impact, so if you already have an Impact account, setup is quick.
Moz Local is the interesting half. Local SEO buyers are a different audience from rank-tracking nerds: dentists, multi-location retailers, franchise marketers. If you write for local businesses, a $250 bounty on a product most of them have never heard of is a decent niche to own.
Moz doesn't publish a cookie length on its page, so we don't list one. Ask your affiliate manager before you assume.
Mangools: small checks, every month
Mangools pays 25-35% on every recurring payment. The tools are cheap, which means the per-month amount is small, but it compounds. The minimum payout is $150, the highest threshold here, so a new affiliate may wait a few months before the first transfer.
Mangools works well for beginner-focused content. Its keyword tool is friendly to people who find Semrush overwhelming, and "easy keyword research tool" readers convert.
Surfer: front-loaded payouts
Surfer does something unusual. It pays 75-125% of a monthly subscriber's first payment, or 15-25% of an annual subscription, depending on your tier. The cookie is 90 days. You won't see recurring income, but the first-month payout can be bigger than the customer's first bill.
Two restrictions to read carefully: no coupon or cashback sites, and no branded paid ads. If your plan was to bid on "Surfer SEO" in Google Ads, drop it.
Marketing tools beyond pure SEO
SEO readers also buy landing page builders, social tools and lead-gen software. These programs are worth adding to the same content.
Leadpages. The page states up to $400 per referred customer depending on plan, while also marketing a 30% recurring rate. Those two claims can both be true for different plans, but confirm which applies to you before you write the rate into a review. No minimum audience size, applications checked for brand fit, $50 minimum payout, monthly payouts via PayPal or direct deposit. There are separate agency and technology partner tracks too.
Unbounce. 25-35% recurring for up to 12 months, a 90-day cookie, and a referral discount your readers get. A discount helps more than people admit. "Use my link, get X off" converts better than a plain link.
Instapage. Instapage pays a referral fee per signup but doesn't publish the amount on its page. Apply and ask. Instapage sells to teams running paid traffic, so the contract values tend to be higher than solo-marketer tools.
Leadfeeder. Reseller, solution, affiliate and introducer tracks for its web-visitor identification product. No public rates. If you run a B2B marketing agency, the reseller or solution track is probably a better fit than a plain affiliate link.
Brand24. 20%, 25% or 30% recurring depending on tier. Social listening fits nicely beside SEO content about brand mentions and digital PR.
SocialBee. 20% recurring on plans and 10% on its done-for-you ConciergeBee services, plus a free plan for partners.
HubSpot. Not an SEO tool, but SEO audiences buy CRMs. 30% recurring for up to a year, a 180-day cookie, and you don't need to be a customer to join.
Recurring vs bounty: run the numbers
Here's the math I use. Take the monthly price your reader will most likely pick. Multiply by the rate. Multiply by how many months a typical customer stays, capped by whatever duration limit the program sets. Compare that to the flat bounty.
A cheap tool with high churn favors the bounty. A mid-priced tool that agencies bake into client reporting favors recurring, because agencies don't switch rank trackers casually. Once 40 client projects live in a tool, the cost of moving is real.
Don't forget the cookie. A 120-day window (SE Ranking, Semrush) catches the slow researcher. A shorter or unpublished window means you lose credit for anyone who comes back after a long think. On high-consideration B2B tools, that's a lot of people.
For the longer version of this trade-off, see recurring vs one-time commission.
What gets you approved (and what gets you banned)
Most SEO tool programs reject the same three things: coupon and cashback sites, brand bidding in paid search, and thin pages with a link and no opinion. Semrush and Surfer say so outright on their pages. Others enforce it quietly.
What works instead:
- Comparison pages with a real verdict. "SE Ranking vs Semrush for a two-person agency" beats "Top 10 SEO tools". Pick a winner for a specific reader.
- Screenshots from your own account. Reviewers notice. Readers notice more.
- Tutorials that use the tool. A keyword research walkthrough in Mangools sells Mangools without a hard pitch.
- Honest "who it's not for" sections. They build the trust that makes the recommendation stick.
And disclose. Put the affiliate note near the link, not in the footer. Regulators expect it, programs require it, and readers don't mind when you're upfront.
Where SEO affiliates go next
Once you're earning from links, the bigger money is usually in deeper partnerships. Agencies that implement tools for clients often do better with agency partner programs or SaaS reseller programs, which pay margin or revenue share instead of a one-off bounty. If AI writing and visibility tools are your thing, the AI affiliate programs guide covers that corner. For everything else, the best SaaS affiliate programs list is the broader starting point.
FAQ
What is the best SEO affiliate program?
For most publishers, SE Ranking is the best starting point: 30% of every payment from referred users, a 120-day first-click cookie and no earnings cap. Semrush pays bigger one-time bounties ($100 to $300 per sale) but requires at least 1,000 monthly visitors to join.
How much does the Semrush affiliate program pay in 2026?
Semrush lists $10 per trial activation, $100 to $300 per sale (up to $450 with loyalty tiers) and a $200 to $1,500 quarterly content bonus. Its cookie lasts 120 days. Payouts are one-time, not recurring.
Does SE Ranking have an affiliate program?
Yes. SE Ranking pays 30% commission on payments from users you refer, uses a 120-day first-click cookie, and pays twice a month via PayPal once you reach $50. You need an SE Ranking account to join.
Is there still a Moz (SEOmoz) affiliate program?
Yes. Moz pays up to $350 per Moz Pro signup and $250 per Moz Local referral. Applications are reviewed through the Impact affiliate platform.
Which SEO affiliate programs pay recurring commission?
SE Ranking (30%), Mangools (25-35%), Brand24 (20-30% by tier) and SocialBee (20%) pay on recurring payments. Unbounce pays 25-35% recurring for up to 12 months. Semrush, Moz and Surfer pay one-time amounts.
Can I bid on brand keywords as an SEO tool affiliate?
Usually not. Surfer explicitly bans branded paid ads, and most SEO tool programs prohibit bidding on their brand names. Check the terms of each program before running any paid search.
Do I need a big audience to join an SEO affiliate program?
Not for most of them. Leadpages has no minimum audience size, and SE Ranking only requires an account. Semrush is the exception, asking for 1,000+ monthly visitors or organic followers.