Semrush pays $200 per subscription sale and $10 per free trial signup. Both are flat amounts, and the trial payout is the part most affiliates ignore even though it's where the volume is.
What you're selling
Semrush is the SEO platform most marketing teams end up standardising on: keyword research, rank tracking, backlink analysis, site audits, and a content toolkit bolted on top. Plans run from $139 a month for Pro to around $499 for Business, so a subscriber is worth far more to Semrush than the $200 they hand you.
The buyer is a business, not a hobbyist. Agencies, in-house marketers and consultants sign up. That shapes everything about how you should write for it.
The 120-day cookie is the real asset
Four months of attribution is unusually generous, and it changes the maths on this program. Someone can read your comparison post, sit on the decision through a whole quarterly planning cycle, and still count as your referral. Very few SaaS programs give you that.
The trial payout matters more than it looks. $10 per free signup with no purchase required means a post that drives 200 trial starts pays $2,000 before anybody buys anything. Structure your calls to action around the trial, not the paid plan.
Payouts run through Impact, twice a month, on the 10th and 25th. Impact's threshold is low, $10 for most payment options, though wire transfers need considerably more. High performers get moved onto a tiered rate that pays $300 to $450 per sale.
Who converts
Comparison content against Ahrefs, Moz and Ubersuggest converts best, because that's the query someone types when they've already decided to buy something. Tutorial content using Semrush screenshots works well too, since readers following along want the tool open.
Beginner blogging audiences don't convert. Neither do "free SEO tools" posts, which attract exactly the readers who will never pay $139 a month. If your traffic is students and hobbyists, this program will disappoint you regardless of how much of it you send.
Semrush vs Ahrefs for affiliates
Semrush
Ahrefs
Per sale
$200 flat
No public affiliate program
Trial payout
$10
None
Cookie
120 days
Not applicable
Network
Impact
Not applicable
Ahrefs shut its affiliate program years ago and has never brought it back, which is precisely why Semrush is worth your effort. Every "Ahrefs vs Semrush" post on the internet monetises through one side only, and it isn't Ahrefs. That asymmetry is a real opportunity if you rank for those terms.
Getting approved
Apply through Impact. Semrush reviews manually and looks for marketing-relevant content and genuine traffic. Approval usually lands within a few days. Sites built purely around coupons get rejected, and so does anything bidding on Semrush brand terms in paid search, which the terms prohibit.
Verdict
The strongest SEO affiliate program available, mostly because its main competitor doesn't run one. The 120-day cookie and the $10 trial bounty make it forgiving for content that takes time to rank. Write for people who already buy software, keep the trial as your primary call to action, and this becomes one of the better-paying programs on any marketing site.
Does Semrush pay for free trial signups?
Yes. Semrush pays $10 for a trial signup with no purchase required, which is where most of the volume in this program comes from.
How long is the Semrush cookie?
120 days, which is unusually long and lets a reader convert up to four months after the click.
When does Semrush pay affiliates?
Twice a month through Impact, on the 10th and the 25th. Impact clears at around $10 for most payment methods, though wire transfers need a much higher balance.
Can I earn more than $200 per sale?
Yes. High performers move onto a tiered rate paying roughly $300 to $450 per sale depending on quarterly volume.
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