SEMrush Affiliate Program – Read Before Joining

Update

I wanted to do a bit more digging into the unusual cookie policy of the BeRush affiliate program for SEMrush. I have reviewed hundreds of affiliate programs and have never seen a 10-year, first click cookie. I withheld judgment when writing the initial review.

I really don’t like long first-touch cookies. They can be manipulated and don’t reward the site with the most current relevant content. Why should an affiliate be rewarded for someone clicking on a link 8 years ago? How was a 5-year old referral instrumental in closing business today?

SEMrush is a great product so I wanted to give them the benefit of doubt. Well after emailing the company the jury is in …

For many the SEM rush affiliate program is a traffic scam.

Sorry, I see no other way to describe it. They are scamming traffic from reviewers and affiliates who will never be paid with the current cookie policy.

The ten-year, first touch cookie policy is not what you may think. Many would expect that if they are the first affiliate to refer a customer to SEMrush they are protected for 10 years (or until cookies cleared). That sounds good but it is not the first affiliate to send a referral to SEMrush. I emailed the company and here is the response …

“Your link must be the first one the client uses to get to the SEMrush website within the last 10 years in order to get attributed to your affiliate reference code (and for you to be eligible for the commission when the client buys a subscription).”

You must be responsible for their FIRST visit to SEMrush from any source.

So if a prospect has ever been to the SEMrush website via organic search, a direct link, an SEMrush ad, or any other channel, they will NEVER be an affiliate customer.

What are the chances that your content is the first someone has ever seen about SEMrush? And even if you did get an SEMrush virgin they still may do a quick select -> right click -> search to see what the company is all about.

Why would anyone create a campaign or content to get traffic to SEMrush if many of the visitors are already “cookied” and ineligible to be an affiliate?

This ten-year cookie is essentially a lockup program. Of course, many people visit a vendor before researching reviews and tips. Supe-rlong ten-year cookies are assigned to organic search, direct traffic, social traffic, ad traffic, and defunct partner traffic. SEMrush is getting affiliate traffic that has a very, very low chance of converting and paying a commission.

The only marketers that might benefit from the 10-year cookie are those working with new Internet marketers, If your site is geared towards on-boarding newbies to the industry it may work in your favor.

SEMrush should disclose their traffic from affiliates and what percent are eligible for commissions if converted. I think you will find it to be well below industry averages and that SEMrush is getting lots of free traffic.

Clever … but not nice.

Does Ahrefs have an affiliate program? No

Does Moz have an affiliate program?  No

Does SEMrush have an affiliate program? Yes

The SEM rush affiliate program is called BeRush. Let’s take a look.

How to Join the SEMrush Affiliate Program

Joining the BeRush affiliate program is very straight forward. Most applications are auto-approved. Their target affiliates are very broad and include: bloggers, paid search enthusiasts, agencies, and “all-around marketing geniuses!”

There is a very straightforward application form.

Like most affiliate programs,  you can’t promote BeRush and/or SEMrush on any gambling websites, websites with adult/hate/violent/defamatory content etc. And of course no bots, scripts or other sneaky ways of linking.

You can not market their trials as discounts or place them in a coupon or discount part of your website.

SEMrush Products

SEMrush is a full suite of SEO tools. It has everything from keyword research, to link tracking and more. The major features include:

• Competitor analytics
• Keyword research
• Traffic analytics
• Domain Comparisons
• Keyword difficulty
• SEO writing assistance
• Social media tracking
• Brand monitoring
• Backlink Auditing
• Ad builder

Though the do have the ability to do a technical audit on your site I would use one of the dedicated tools like Screaming Frog or DeepCrawl for this.

SEMrush Pricing

The SEMrush pricing has 3 levels starting at the Pro for $99/mo, then the Guru for $199/mo and finally the Business plan at $399/mo. There are also custom plans available for larger agencies and enterprises.

SEMrush Affiliate Commission Rates and Rules

The BeRush program pays SEMrush affiliates 40% of each transaction. The commissions are recurring so as long as SEMrush is getting paid, so are you.

Each month BeRush runs the BeRush Contest where affiliates have a chance to win $100 for the best content.

One interesting thing about the SEMrush commission system is that cookie method. It is a bit different than most affiliate tracking systems.

semRush uses a first-click ten-year cookie. The first affiliate link to get the customer to SEMrush has locked up the customer – for 10 years. Of course, the user can delete their cookies, change browsers, change computers, etc. I have mixed feelings about this. Particularly in the SEO space, I can see clever marketers finding clever ways to just get as many people as possible to the SEM rush website. Redirections, sneaky links, coupon claims, etc.  This puts the quality content folks potentially at a disadvantage. They may have written an epic post that compares Ahrefs, SEMrush and Moz convinces the prospect to choose SEMrush over its competitor. Having chosen SEMrush they head off to purchase form the reviewer’s site. The reviewer will get no payment if the prospect had ever followed an affiliate link to SEMrush in the past 10 years.

This also means that if the user first arrived at SEMrush directly from organic search and they later visit from an affiliate, no affiliate commission is paid as the first-click was from organic search — that’s awful!

Therefore, if users arrive at SEMrush.com for their first time through an Affiliate’s Reference Link, they will be recorded as an affiliate user. In other cases (ex. User’s first-time visit to semrush.com is from organic search and then they later visit the site from affiliate’s blog) user won’t be counted as affiliate’s user.

Interestingly, the Cookie life period for End Users from China is 30 (thirty) days, due to the implementation of BeRush Affiliate Program in that region .

I would love to see some data on how this cookie system plays out. It would seem to be very problematic for content marketing affiliates.

Affiliate Tools and Support

There are a number of tools to help you market the SEMrush products including …

• video guide
• promotional material in 7 languages
• how to guides
• SEO Toolkit
• Advertising Toolkit
• Content Marketing Toolkit
• Competitive Research Toolkit
• Social Media Toolkit
• Management Toolkit
• webinar participation

How to Promote SEMrush Online

Given the cookie policy, I would focus on new players. Early adopters who are just getting started. They have a video that gives you some ideas on how to market their products …

Look for longtail keywords that would appeal to people learning about SEO. Unfortunately, the SEO keyword landscape is very competitive. And the other content creators typically know a bit about SEO and ranking their content.

Pros and Cons — SEMrush Affiliate Program

DISADVANTAGES

first-click 10-year cookie policy

Ahrefs Affiliate Program

Ahrefs by many would be the leader of the three kings. It is a shame that they do not have an affiliate program. They had one for a while …

but cancelled it 15 April 2015 …

If you are an influencer or high-traffic site I would contact them directly. I get the feeling there may be a private program/partnership of sorts. I have seen some of the big bloggers have Ahrefs affiliate disclosure statements in their SEO tool reviews and content.

Moz Affiliate Program

MOZ does not have a public affiliate marketing program.

Moz is the third player in the big all-encompassing SEO tools market. Some are starting to feel that a gap is opening between them and Ahrefs & SEMrush.
An affiliate program would be a great way to get some additional customers and regain traction. Let’s hope we see one soon.

FAQ

Should You Become an SEMrush Affiliate?

This is a tough one and I am conflicted. The SEO tools keywords are often competitive so it will take a bt of effort to get ranking. Add in the cookie concerned and I would say if it is your main topical niche go for it. If you are a more general niche marketer your content efforts may pay off better elsewhere.

SEMrush is certainly a solid product. For my needs they are a very close call with Ahrefs. I could use either fine. I would be happy to promote it to my audience. I just want to be sure I am compensated for the traffic.

I am not crazy about the cookie policy. I just don’t like the unknown of creating lots of content, getting SEO traffic and then when they like my content and go off to SEMrush to purchase – bam. There is some old cookie from an affiliate who heaven even knows if they are still part of the BeRush program.

I also really don’t like that if a customer arrived to SEMrush via organic search prior to an affiliate they are never an affiliate customer.