Record permission before choosing a commission
The program table is a shortlist, not permission to promote. For each candidate, record the exact rule for your intended channel, brand terms, incentives, geography and account requirements.
Tool and reader problem: Program terms URL / date checked: Intended channel and placement: Exact permission or restriction: Application and payout requirements: Question still unresolved / written reply reference: Decision: eligible to apply, hold, or reject:
Worked example: attractive terms with an unresolved channel rule
Fictional example. A publisher plans a paid search campaign. The program’s commission looks attractive, but the brand-bidding restriction is unclear. They mark the program “hold,” keep the terms URL and date, and seek a written answer. They do not treat a long cookie window or a high score as permission to run the campaign.
If there is no suitable program, the article can still solve the reader’s problem with ordinary source links. Use the application readiness check and the existing promotion-rule examples before applying. Do not purchase a tool solely to create an affiliate recommendation.
Key takeaways
- Nine programs compared from their own official pages, retrieved February 2026; no hands-on testing, and no affiliate links to any of them on this page.
- Cookie windows in the sources range from 30 days to 120 days, so a shorter cookie can quietly cap your earnings.
- A few programs state there is no approval step or a same-day review, which suits a brand-new site.
- Paid search, coupon content and email rules differ per program — read those three clauses before you promote.
- No program page on a vendor's own site means no program to plan around; verify before you write the article.
The short answer on choosing an SEO software affiliate program
Pick one or two SEO software affiliate programs for tools you already use, then read three clauses before you promote: paid search, email and coupons. The best fit has a cookie window long enough for your content, a payout threshold you can reach, and rules you can follow without breaking them.
Some programs void commissions or terminate the partnership for restricted activity [3][8] — so read the clause before you send. What protects you now is speed and honesty: stop the activity that breaks the clause, read the exact wording, and ask the program directly before you send anything else. The exact steps are in the Promotion rules section below. This panic can start on a terms page that was skimmed in a hurry.
We compared the official program pages of nine SEO and content tools, listed in the sources at the end of this page [1-9]. We read those pages; we did not test the products hands-on, and nothing below comes from a trial account. SE Ranking's page shows a commissions-paid tally marked 'Updated January 2026' [2], and no page-level update dates were visible on the other program pages, so treat every figure here as a snapshot and re-check the program page before you apply.
Reality check: no program page can promise you earnings, and this page won't either. Commission rates and rules are a starting point; your results depend on your content, traffic, and following the terms.
Start with a tool you would recommend anyway
Affiliate programs reward recommendations, and that only works if the recommendation is real. Before you compare commission rates, answer one question in writing: which SEO tool would you point a friend to if nobody paid you? If you are still choosing hosting, funnel, or email tools, use this page after you have picked a tool you would recommend anyway. If the answer is "none yet", you are not ready to promote SEO software — you are ready to use some.
The free route comes first. Mangools, SE Ranking and Writesonic each describe a free way in [2][3][9]; check the others individually. Mangools gives affiliates access through a free account [3]; SE Ranking says you can take part with a free account and that no paid subscription is required [2]; Writesonic points to a free trial that shows a new user an AI visibility score [9]. Use the free version, form an opinion, then decide whether the paid plan deserves a recommendation — and only then look at the program.
Copy this into a note and fill it in for each tool you are considering:
Tool: ______ What I actually do with it: ______ Who it helped and how: ______ Free route I would suggest first: ______ One thing it does badly: ______ Rule I must check before promoting: ______
Writing a review you can stand behind is a separate skill from picking a program: our guide to writing an honest product review when you have not bought the product covers the wording, and the product due-diligence checklist helps you decide whether the tool deserves the recommendation at all. If you are still choosing what to promote, start with how to find affiliate programs on the main site.
How we compared these programs
We compared official program pages and their published documentation — not demos, not trials [1-9]. For each program we recorded the same six things, taken from the vendor's own wording:
- What the commission actually is, and whether it recurs.
- The cookie or attribution window, which decides whether a reader who returns next month still counts [1][6].
- Whether there is an approval step, and roughly how long the page says it takes [5][7].
- Payout threshold and schedule — earning a commission and being paid for it are different events [2][3].
- Promotion restrictions: paid search, coupons, email, self-referrals [1][6][8].
- Disclosure requirements [1][6].
What this page is not
We did not test, buy or measure any of these tools for this comparison, and we are not going to imply otherwise. We also do not earn a commission if you join any program listed here — this page carries no affiliate links to them. How the site is funded in general is set out on our affiliate disclosure page.
Treat the figures as a snapshot. Program pages get rewritten between your reading and your application, so the safest habit is to open the vendor's own page, look for a date (SE Ranking's showed January 2026 [2]), and compare it with what you read here. Nothing on this page is legal or tax advice; for anything that affects your business structure or reporting, ask a qualified professional.
Commission, cookie and approval at a glance
| Program | Commission as published | Cookie / attribution | Approval | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semrush | Up to $450 per sale and $10 per trial activation, by product and tier [1] | 120 days, last-click [1] | Application reviewed; hosted on Impact [1] | Locked 27 days after the end of the month, paid 21 days after the end of the month in which they were locked [1] |
| SE Ranking | 30% commission on each subscription sale [2] | 120 days, first click [2] | Free account, no paid subscription needed [2] | $50 minimum, twice a month via PayPal [2] |
| Mangools | Up to 35% recurring [3] | 30 days [3] | No approval process stated [3] | $150 minimum, monthly via PayPal [3] |
| Rank Math | €0.20 per free sign-up; €17–€149 per premium purchase [4] | 60 days [4] | Sign-up stated as under 60 seconds [4] | $200 minimum [4] |
| AIOSEO | 20%, stated as up to $59.92 per sale [5] | 30 days in the site's cookie list [5] | Manual review, up to 48 hours [5] | Monthly around the 1st, 30-day hold [5] |
| Surfer | 75–125% of the first monthly payment; 15–25% of an annual one, by tier [6] | 90 days, last-click [6] | Reviewed; reply within 24 hours, Mon–Fri [6] | Withdraw from account; approved 45 days after payment [6] |
| Frase | 30% recurring for 12 months [7] | 60 days [7] | Reviewed within 2–3 business days [7] | $100 minimum, monthly via PayPal [7] |
| Scalenut | 30%–50% recurring [8] | 60 days [8] | Application reviewed [8] | $50 minimum, net-30 [8] |
| Writesonic | 20% recurring for 12 months [9] | 60 days, last-click [9] | Most reviewed within 24 hours, no traffic minimum [9] | Monthly via FirstPromoter [9] |
Three ways the table misleads if you skim it
- A headline maximum is a ceiling, not an average. Semrush states up to $450 per sale and $10 per trial activation, varying by product and partner tier [1]. That is the top of a range, not a number a new affiliate should plan around.
- "Recurring" has an end date. Mangools pays up to 35% for the lifetime of a referred subscription [3]; Writesonic pays 20% for up to 12 months per referral [9]; Frase pays 30% recurring for 12 months [7]. Different promises, different arithmetic.
- Cookie length is not payout timing. Surfer uses a 90-day cookie [6] but approves commission 45 days after the referral pays [6]; Semrush locks transactions 27 days after the end of the month, and pays 21 days after the end of the month in which they were locked [1].
Illustrative example. Suppose four readers each start a $50/month plan on a program that pays 30% recurring: 4 × $50 × 0.30 = $60 per month while all four stay subscribed, or $720 over twelve months if none cancels. That is arithmetic, not a forecast — refunds, cancellations and reversed commissions change it, which is why pending versus approved matters (see why affiliate earnings are not money yet).
Proof check: when we pulled SE Ranking's program page in February 2026, it showed a commissions-paid tally marked 'Updated January 2026' [2] — that's the kind of dated evidence you want to see before trusting any numbers.
The mechanics of tracking windows are explained in affiliate cookie duration and attribution windows, and the year-long maths of recurring payouts is in recurring affiliate commissions.
One line we repeat in every section: check the vendor's current pricing page before you promise anyone a price. Plans change and this page cannot follow them in real time.
Programs a new site can join without a review
"No review" does not mean "no rules". It means you can start promoting the same day, which matters when your site is new and you have no traffic figures to impress anyone with. Among the programs below, Mangools states there is no approval process [3], Writesonic says most applications are reviewed within 24 hours [9], and SE Ranking says a free account is enough with no paid subscription required, without stating a review time [2]. If you want the tool side rather than the program side first, our main-site SEO tools comparison covers what each tool does.
Mangools
Mangools is an SEO toolkit aimed at people who want keyword, SERP and backlink tools without a steep learning curve [3]. The affiliate side is unusually open: the page states there is no approval process and that a free Mangools account gives you access to the affiliate section [3]. Commission is up to 35% recurring for the lifetime of the referred subscription, the cookie is 30 days, and payouts go out monthly via PayPal once you reach $150 [3].
Where it may not fit: restricted activities listed on the page include coupon sites, PPC advertising to Mangools pages, brand names in domains or social profiles, and self-referrals [3]. The $150 threshold also means a slow first month pays nothing yet [3].
Skip it if your plan depends on coupon content or paid search, or if you need cash in the first fortnight.
SE Ranking
SE Ranking's program page says you can join with a free account, that no paid subscription is required, and that the affiliate area stays available even if your subscription expires [2]. It lists 30% commission on subscription sales, a 120-day cookie with first-click attribution, and payouts twice a month via PayPal once you reach $50 [2].
Where it may not fit: the page says to share your referral link anywhere except paid ads [2], so a Google or Meta ads plan is the wrong fit here.
Skip it if paid search is your main traffic source, or if you want to run brand-bidding campaigns for commissions.
Writesonic
Writesonic's page presents 20% recurring commission for up to 12 months per referral, a 60-day last-click cookie, monthly payouts via FirstPromoter, and says most applications are reviewed within 24 hours with no traffic minimum [9]. It also points to a free trial that gives a new user an AI visibility score without a card [9].
Where it may not fit: the earning window is 12 months per referral [9], so a customer who stays for three years pays you for one.
Skip it if your audience needs a technical SEO suite rather than an AI writing and visibility tool, or if lifetime commission is a hard requirement.
| Tool | Free route | When paying makes sense | Who should skip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mangools | Free account gives access to the affiliate section [3] | When the free version stops covering the questions you actually research | Coupon site owners and paid-search marketers [3] |
| SE Ranking | Free account; no paid subscription needed to be an affiliate [2] | When a client project needs limits the free account does not carry | Anyone whose main traffic is paid ads [2] |
| Writesonic | Free trial that shows an AI visibility score, no card [9] | When you publish often enough that the trial runs out every month | Affiliates who want commission beyond 12 months per referral [9] |
Promotion rules that can cost you commissions
Commission rates get the attention; restrictions decide whether you ever get paid. These are the four rule areas that produce the most damage, based on what the program pages actually say.
Paid search and brand bidding
Surfer's page bans bidding on its brand terms and their misspellings, bans direct linking from ads, and asks affiliates to clear any other paid campaign first [6]. Scalenut requires affiliates running Google or Bing ads to set negative keywords on its brand names, and says a sale traced to brand-term paid traffic means no commission and a deactivated link [8]. Semrush's restrictions include using its trademarks in domain names, social accounts or community names [1]. If ads are part of your plan, this is the first clause to read, not the last.
Coupons, discounts and free trials
Surfer declines coupon, incentive and cashback sites by default [6]. Semrush prohibits presenting a free trial as a coupon or discount, and prohibits referencing discounts that do not exist [1]. A page built on "discount code" searches is therefore a business model some programs will not accept at all — and it is also a weak foundation for an honest site.
Email and list permission
Semrush prohibits emailing lists you do not have permission to contact, describing it as spam [1]. Policies differ between vendors, so do not carry one program's email rules across to another — read the page of the program you are actually joining. Our separate guide to affiliate links in email covers permission and disclosure basics.
Self-referrals, commission sharing and disclosure
Semrush prohibits self-referrals and commission sharing outright [1]; Scalenut says self-referral attempts can terminate both the affiliate and the user account [8]. Disclosure is not optional: Semrush requires FTC-compliant disclosure [1] and Surfer states plainly that affiliates must say they may earn a commission [6]. Worked wording for blogs, email and video is in FTC affiliate disclosure examples.
The five-minute terms scan (copy this checklist)
- Paid search: is PPC banned outright [4], are negative keywords on brand terms required [8], or must other paid campaigns be cleared first [6]?
- Brand in a domain, subdomain, social handle or ad copy? [1][3]
- Coupon or deal content: allowed, or an automatic decline? [6]
- Email: permitted, and only to lists with permission? [1]
- Self-referrals and paying others a share of your commission: prohibited? [1][8]
- Cookie length versus how long your readers take to buy [1][3][6]
- Payout threshold: $50, $100, $150 or $200 [2][7][3][4]
- Refund or reversal hold: 30 days, 45 days, or month-end locking [4][6][1]
- Disclosure wording the program requires [1][6]
- Termination wording — some programs reserve the right to refuse or revoke membership at their discretion [5]
If a clause is ambiguous, ask the affiliate team in writing and keep the reply. Programs change terms; the version you agreed to is the one that counts, which is why a dated screenshot of the terms page is a cheap habit. Our 12 clauses to read in an affiliate program's terms takes this further, and the affiliate marketing checklist turns the scan into a repeatable pre-join routine.
Next step after the scan: run the full pre-join routine with the free affiliate marketing checklist before you click join.
Popular SEO tools with no affiliate program
When we assembled the sources for this guide, we did not review programs for tools such as Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Ahrefs, or Screaming Frog. That is a statement about our review scope, not proof about those companies: some may have no program or invite-only. Check each vendor's site directly before you assume there is no program.
How to verify in three minutes
- Search the vendor's own domain for "affiliate" or "partner program" and check the footer. A page on the vendor's site beats a roundup every time.
- Check whether the program runs on a named network. Semrush uses Impact, Surfer uses PartnerStack, Scalenut and Writesonic use FirstPromoter, and Frase uses FirstPromoter [1][6][8][9][7]. If a live network page exists, the program exists.
- Look for a date or version on the program page, then read the terms linked from the sign-up form — Semrush puts its terms behind the "Join now" button [1].
If there is no program, write the page anyway
A tool with no program can still be the most useful thing you recommend. A tutorial that mentions a free tool by name, with no link and no commission, is a trust signal rather than a wasted article — and it makes the paid recommendations around it easier to believe. Two practical ways to use it:
- Write the walkthrough you needed when you started, name the free tool, and earn the email signup instead of a commission.
- Keep those pieces in the same cluster as your commercial pages, so readers see free options recommended alongside paid ones. Our comparison post template shows how to structure a page that includes a no-link option without it feeling like filler.
Related guides: Keyword Research With Free Tools Only; Search Intent for Affiliate Content; 12 Clauses to Read in an Affiliate Program's Terms Before You Join; How to Judge a Product Before You Promote It.
Run the terms scan before you click join
The affiliate marketing checklist walks through the terms, the disclosure and the first-page setup in order, so you can read a program page once and know what to write down. Free to use.
Frequently asked questions
Do affiliate programs allow email marketing?
Some do, but only if you have permission to contact the list. Semrush prohibits emailing lists you do not have permission to contact, describing it as spam [1]. Policies differ between vendors, so never carry one program's email rules across to another. Check the program page for the exact wording before you add affiliate links to any email.
What's a realistic cookie window?
The programs compared here range from 30 days to 120 days [1][3][6]. A 30-day cookie means if a reader buys on day 31 after clicking your link, you earn nothing. Look at your content's typical time-to-purchase: if readers research for weeks, a longer cookie matters more. Last-click attribution also means the last affiliate link before purchase gets credit, so keep that in mind.
Why was my commission reversed?
Common reasons include self-referral, brand bidding without negative keywords, coupon misuse, refund or chargeback, or a sale from a banned traffic source. Scalenut says a sale traced to brand-term paid traffic means no commission [8]. Also check the reversal hold: Surfer approves commission 45 days after payment [6], and Semrush locks transactions 27 days after month-end [1]. If your commission was reversed, read the exact clause and contact the program.
Can I join more than one SEO software affiliate program?
Usually yes, and most beginners should start with one or two rather than nine. Check each program's terms separately because restrictions differ: one may ban paid search outright, another may allow it with prior approval, and thresholds and cookie windows rarely match. Keep the tools distinct so your pages do not become the same recommendation repeated five ways.
Sources
- Affiliate Program — Semrush (official page, retrieved October 2026)
- Join SE Ranking’s Affiliate Program to Start Earning With Ease (official page, retrieved October 2026)
- Affiliate Program | Mangools (official page, retrieved October 2026)
- Rank Math Affiliate Program » Rank Math (official page, retrieved October 2026)
- AIOSEO Affiliate Program - AIOSEO (official page, retrieved October 2026)
- Surfer Affiliate Program: Earn up to 125% Commission (official page, retrieved October 2026)
- Frase Affiliate Program | Earn Recurring Commissions on SEO + GEO Platform | Frase (official page, retrieved October 2026)
- Scalenut Affiliate Program (official page, retrieved October 2026)
- Writesonic Affiliate Program | Earn 20% Recurring for 12 Months (official page, retrieved October 2026)
This guide is general education, not legal, tax or financial advice. Tools, prices and provider terms change; check the linked official pages for the current version. How we write: editorial policy. This page has no affiliate links.