Best SEO Affiliate Programs for Earning Extra Income

What better time to be an affiliate marketer than now. The industry is booming and is expected to do even better going forward. 

According to a Statista report, the affiliate industry is expected to fetch up to $8.2 billion by the end of 2022, down from $1.6 billion in 2010. 

To get a piece of this multi-billion industry, you have to do two things right. One is to choose a profitable niche. You already did that by choosing SEO which is a  very lucrative industry. Now you have to do the second thing right- choose the best  SEO affiliate programs to join.

If you don’t know where to start, this is the post for you. We will help you choose by narrowing down to the three top SEO affiliate programs you can join.

How Do SEO Affiliate Programs Work?

SEO affiliate programs are affiliate programs that promote SEO Software, tools, courses, and other SEO-related products. They work pretty much the same way other affiliate programs function. 

You apply to join the program, and once approved, a unique link is generated for you to be placed on your website. You then get a commission when a person visits your site and makes a purchase through the link.

SEO affiliate programs offer high commissions that range from 20% to 50% and are either a one-time commission or over the subscription lifetime.

Bloggers, internet marketers, influencers, content marketers, and digital entrepreneurs can all join SEO affiliate programs to earn an extra passive income.

When selecting an SEO affiliate program, essential things to look for include their commission rate, payment frequency, payout channels, and cookie period. 

Another critical factor to consider is how supportive the program is to its affiliate marketers. Find out if they offer access to promotional materials, marketing campaigns, community forums, and other helpful resources. This kind of support goes a long way in ensuring that you are a successful affiliate marketer.

Benefits of Using SEO Affiliate Programs

There are plenty of reasons to join SEO affiliate and marketing programs, but top on the list is the recurring income. Since most SEO tools affiliate programs bill their users for monthly and annual subscriptions, you can be sure of regular passive income for the subscription lifetime, which can run into decades.

SEO affiliate programs pay hefty commissions compared to many other affiliate programs. Some of the best SEO affiliate programs pay commissions of up to 50%. This is significantly high considering that some programs pay as low as 1%, like the Amazon affiliate program.

The other benefit is that SEO content is easy to create. As long as you have some basic SEO knowledge, creating high-converting content on SEO should be easy, even for beginners. And the more content you create, the more the earning.

And while content is easy for you to create, SEO is still a complex topic for most people, and they would highly appreciate a tool that simplifies the whole concept for them. That is why American brands and Agencies spent  $79.27 billion in 2020 alone on SEO services. This shows you how much demand there is for SEO tools, services, and information and subsequently demand for SEO affiliates and marketers.

Our Top 3 Best SEO Affiliate Programs For 2021

SEO niche is super competitive, and given that there are hundreds of SEO affiliate programs out there, it may be confusing to know where to start. If you are particularly looking for a well-paying, reliable affiliate program, here are the three best SEO affiliate programs to join in 2021:

1. BeRush Affiliate program for SEMRush: Best for Bloggers

BeRush, which is the affiliate program for SEMRush, is one of the most popular programs. It is a particularly very popular affiliate program for bloggers and internet marketers.

Affiliate marketers in this program earn a recurring commission rate of up to 40% per sale. This is a pretty good rate considering that it has a ten-year cookie period.

They make payments twice every month ( every 10th and 25th) via Paypal or wire transfer, but you can also get your affiliate program payment as soon as you meet your threshold.

Their affiliate support is commendable; they are available for help at any time and provide their affiliate marketers with free access to their promotional materials. 

Pros

• Fast and easy to join
• Excellent affiliate support
• 10-year cookie life under the “First Cookie Wins” model
• On-time payment
• Payment is made twice a month

Cons

• It uses the “First Cookie Wins,” which can sometimes be a disadvantage to the marketer.
• Highly competitive

2. Spyfu Affiliate Program: Best for internet marketers

SpyFu is another high ticket SEO affiliate program. It offers up to 40% commission on every successful sale made, and the commissions are paid out twice every month. 

This is an excellent program if targeting SEO beginners with a limited budget as they have some of the cheapest pricing plans. Their cheapest plan retails at $39 and offers keyword analytics, site audit, among others. The fact that it’s affordable and has superior features makes it easy to market.

They make payments via Paypal or wire transfer, and their minimum threshold for payout is $100.

Unlike most other SEO affiliate programs, you can link directly to SpyFu’s site, and they will acknowledge your site as the referrer and credit your account.

Joining SpyFu’s affiliate program is free and super easy. You only need to fill out the registration form, and once approved, you can instantly start marketing their products.

Pros

• Pays 40% monthly recurring commissions
• A 365-day tracking cookie
• Payments are made twice a month
• Pays via Paypal and wire transfer
• Fast and easy to join

Cons

• Since their plans start low, you will need to make more sales to get a decent income.

3.  NinjaOutReach Affiliate Program: Best for Influencers

NinjaOutreach is ultimately the best and the most popular tool for lead generation and blogger outreach among bloggers, digital entrepreneurs, and internet marketers. 

Post Affiliate Pro, the tool’s affiliate program, is similarly one of the best SEO affiliate programs as far as affiliate program payment goes. They offer a lifetime recurring monthly commission of up to 50% on the approved sales of any of their products. 

NinjaOutreach program has two products that you can promote- NinjaOutreach academy, where you market their training, and NinjaOutreach software tool.

Their minimum payout is $100, which is paid out 60 days after the actual sale date. They make their payments once every month.

Pros

• Offer access to promo and marketing materials
• Monthly payouts
• 50% lifetime recurring monthly commissions on every sale
• You can advertise on search engines
• 6-month cookie life

Cons

• Though not so much a con, NinjaOutreach is not an exclusive SEO tool
• Relatively short cookie life

The Winner Is?

The winner has got to be the SEMRush affiliate program. Being a well-established SEO tool with a solid reputation, it takes very little convincing to make a sale. They offer a high recurring commission of 40%  and make payments twice a month. They also have the most prolonged cookie period of 10 years.