SEO

Getting Started With Multilingual Website Tags

Published

2 years ago

May 4, 2022

Often, the best practices of SEO don’t give us a direct ranking signal boost from Google, although they help drive significant traffic to our website.

Herflang tags are a perfect example of this.

While Gary Illyes has stated that hreflang tags don’t serve as a ranking signal in the algorithmic sense, in a cluster, a group of similar content pages in different languages share the same ranking authority.

In our pursuit of optimizing user intent and experience, writing content for different geographic locations and languages provides tremendous value to our website.

That’s where the magic of the hreflang tag comes in.

Rather than having the same webpage competing for users in Australia and France, you could have alternate pages that pop up at the top of SERPs optimized for that country’s language, currency, and privacy laws.

However, hreflang tags are one of the most complicated parts of technical SEO.

Unfortunately, you could do a lot more harm than good by improperly implementing this tag attribute across your website.

That’s why I want to provide this refresher course on everything you need to know about hreflang tags and the best practices to get started with international SEO using these incredibly granular tags.

What Is An Hreflang Tag?

Hreflang tags are a link tag attribute in HTML that enables websites to serve content specifically for users in different countries and languages.

If you view the page source of any given web document, the first tag you’ll often see is this:

The language attribute specifies this webpage employs English text for an English-speaking audience over search.

However, if a website wanted to target French-speaking users in France, they could use an hreflang attribute in the head of their HTML, which would look something like this:

Let’s break this down for easier understanding.

Basically, an hreflang string consists of three critical components:

rel=alternate attribute: This tag specifies this webpage is an alternate version of the original web page, not the canonical.
href= attribute: This tells Google the original URL of the alternate web page.
hreflang= attribute: This tag specifies the language and country this web page is targeting.

In the above example, the alternate tag specified that URL https://fr.example.com was the primary English web page’s alternate.

In addition, the end of the tag also specified that the webpage was for French speakers in France.

In addition, webmasters could also create an alternate page for English speakers in France by adjusting the hreflang attribute to hreflang=”en-fr” which means this page is for English speakers in France.

Thorough hreflang implementation allows you to become more granular with geotargeting and serve up local content to people all across the globe.

What’s not to love from an SEO or content marketing perspective?

Why You Need Hreflang Tags

We can do more with hreflang tags than optimize for different languages.

In fact, hreflang tags enable us to do three critical things with our website:

Optimize webpages for the same language in the same country (Ex. “fr-fr”).
Optimize webpages for different languages in that same country (Ex. “de-fr”).
Optimize webpages for different languages in different countries (Ex. “de-us”).

But why not just create broad English web pages for people in the UK and across the world?

Well, creating alternate web pages for English users in the UK and elsewhere enables customers overseas to purchase products on your website in pounds and localizes content specifically for their interests.

Furthermore, creating clusters of content also accumulates more SEO value for our website and web pages as a whole.

Another benefit of hreflang tags is that website owners can create specific web pages that conform to international laws and tax codes to avoid legal trouble.

Ultimately, proper hreflang tags benefit your website in many key ways, including:

Localizing content for users across the globe.
Gaining access to global markets.
Allowing users to pay in native currencies.
Preventing alternate web pages from competing with each other.
Keeping websites organized.

At this point, I bet that hreflang tags sound like all peaches and cream for your web strategy.

Now, here comes the hard part: Setting up your tags.

I’ll walk you through several different strategies, so you have a solid understanding of how tags work in practice and how to implement them on your website.

First, let’s discuss some of the challenges you’ll encounter along the way if you are new to using hreflang tags.

Common Challenges Setting Up Hreflang Tags

Avoiding Duplicate Content

Improper hreflang tag implementation will result in duplicate content errors.

While Google doesn’t directly punish duplicate content, you don’t want an English page designed for Americans outranking a page meant for English speakers in France.

Segmenting Content Between Different Language And Country Codes

Hreflang tags require time, money, and commitment to properly organize each web page for a specific language and country.

You’ll also need to look up every country and language’s specific HTML codes.

Keeping Hreflang Tags Organized As You Add New Content

This challenge only compounds as you continue to add more content to your site.

Again, think of large-scale ecommerce sites and what they go through daily trying to add new products for customers across the globe.

Hreflang Tags Are Not A Directive

Unfortunately, hreflang tags are not an absolute directive. Mostly, hreflang tags serve as a hint for Google or Yandex to prioritize certain content, but nothing is guaranteed.

Hreflang Tags Work Differently Between Google And Bing

Search engines like Bing barely even look at these tags.

Instead, Bing uses meta tags like the <html lang=”en”> tag, which I showed in the beginning to organize and display content.

Hreflang Principles

We need to understand the relationship between different web pages and HTML to get started.

When implementing hreflang attributes, we want to remember two principles:

Hreflang Tags Need To Be Self-referential

In the past, Google has recommended that every webpage have a self-referential hreflang tag that points back to the original.

For example say your original URL is https://example.com/us. Then your hreflang attributes will be ordered like so:

So for every alternate webpage you create, you must never forget to include a link attribute for that webpage.

For example, a French webpage should have an href attribute for the French URL.

It may feel a tad redundant, but it cuts down on confusion from Google’s end and helps avoid duplicate content errors.

Hreflang Tags Need To Be Bi-directional

This second principle is absolutely required and will eliminate any lost SEO value from clustering your web pages and transferring those awesome metrics between the two.

So let’s take the above example and say that the homepage has an alternate version translated into French for French visitors from France.

We need to implement a tag on the French page that points back to the main U.S. page and self-references itself.

It’s not as confusing as it sounds! Simply just swap them around like this:

If you have dozens of different languages and countries, don’t sweat.

All you need to do is have the original URL listed as self-referencing at the bottom and ensure that every page has tags set up for every language and region, not just your original English page.

Bonus

I also recommend using an X-default page for situations when Google can’t extract their language or region from a user’s browser or IP address.

An x-default page asks visitors what language they prefer and sends them to the appropriate alternate page. The tag will look something like this:

Now that we know how the HTML code works and how to set them up, we just need to learn how to set hreflang tags up.

Setting Up Hreflang Tags

You generally have three great options available to set up hreflang tags and implement them at scale.

HTML/HTTP Headers

Setting up HTML tags is the simplest but most time-consuming method. I recommend this for websites without a sitemap, although you should definitely invest in a sitemap, especially if you have a ton of content or products!

Going through what we’ve discussed so far, set a <link> tag to the alternate version of your page in the header of the HTML to look something like this:

From there, make sure each tag is self-referential and bi-directional.

In addition, if you want to create alternate pages for .pdf files without HTML, you’ll need to implement the same tags in the HTTP header of each page.

Fortunately, the link will look the same and you can apply the same rules for easy implementation.

Of course, you can see how hard this can be to scale, especially if you serve customers in dozens of countries in dozens of languages.

Generally, changing the HTML or HTTP is fine when you need to adjust a few pages over time, but this method won’t serve you well in the long run if you’re dealing with thousands of URLs.

XML Sitemap

I recommend using your XML sitemap to implement all of your tags in a single file and optimize your website at scale.

This method is pretty straightforward.

All you need to do is add <xhtml:link to the front of your URL and add all alternative versions of the page underneath.

<url>

<loc>https://example.com/link</loc>

<xhtml:link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”en-us” href=”x-default”

<xhtml:link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”en” href=”https://example.com/link/” />

<xhtml:link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”fr” href=”https://example.com/lien/” />

Using this method, you can add all of your relevant tags in one file instead of manually adding link attributes to the HTML of every webpage.

Once completed, submit an updated sitemap to Google Search Console.

Of course, there are several ways to automate this process by using a spreadsheet to copy and paste all of your URLs from a sitemap under separate languages and regions.

There are also several hreflang generation tools available online, although I’d recommend doing your research before you end up causing more harm than good to your website.

Common Mistakes Setting Up Hreflang Tags

Based on how meticulous hreflang tags can be, you’ll likely run into several issues during setup. As a result, many of these mistakes will spell duplicate content in the eyes of Google and sour your rankings. Don’t worry because the solutions are pretty straightforward.

Not Making Hreflang Tags Self-Referential

A missing hreflang self-referencing attribute can be holding back one of your pages from ranking.

Fortunately, multiple site audit tools, including Screaming Frog, SEMrush, and Ahrefs, check for proper hreflang implementation, including self-referencing attributes.

Scan for pages missing this attribute and fix issues in real-time.

No Return Tag

Additionally, it’s easy to violate our second principle of hreflang tags by failing to employ bi-directional tags.

You can spot this error in the International Targeting and Language tab in Google Search Console.

Simply go into your sitemap or adjust the header tag of your webpage to link back to the original or canonical webpage.

Incomplete Or Improper Tags

This issue could arise for several reasons, including human error or your hreflang generator tool.

Some of the most common issues related to improper tags include using the wrong language or country codes or simply inputting improper values in your HTML code.

Fortunately, your crawler will spot any incomplete hreflang tags and alert you so you can have it fixed in no time.

Blocked Or No Index Pages

One of any website’s most common and overlooked issues is no-indexing errors.

For example, Javascript, iFrames, and several additional services are notorious for blocking or no-indexing valuable web pages without our knowledge.

To begin addressing this issue, check your robots.txt file to see if you have any pages blocked that should not be in your file.

Next, check your Javascript and CMS to ensure you don’t have the no-index tag checked off.

I’d also run a crawl and look through your spreadsheet to see what URLs are no-indexed.

Finally, go into your HTML and insert your hreflang tag in the header, above the noindex tag, to prevent Javascript or iFrames from blocking these pages.

Linking To Redirected Pages

As your site grows and matures, you’ll often employ redirects to new content to give your website fresh SEO value.

However, hreflang tags must reference a canonical webpage.

Therefore, if your tag references a redirected web page or comes back with an HTTP response code, Google will simply ignore the entire hreflang tag and decide what content it wants to display.

To fix this, you’ll need to adjust the URL in the hreflang tag to reflect the new canonical webpage.

Double-Check Your Tags

Finally, I feel it’s best to reinforce the need for periodic site audits to ensure you’ve correctly implemented your hreflang tags and that aging international content is still ranking.

A crawler is a good source to determine whether or not your new hreflang tags have any issues or that any aging content on your website needs adjusting.

For example, Screaming Frog allows you to crawl an XML sitemap and then check for the following issues with your hreflang tags in its dropdown menu:

Non-200 hreflang URLs.
Missing X-Default.
Missing Self Reference.
Inconsistent Region and Language Confirmation Links.

You will also be warned of any improper hreflang implementation in Search Console through its International Targeting tab based on declining traffic analytics.

Many enterprise companies often ask me whether or not hreflang tags are truly worth the hassle.

As Google’s search algorithm becomes more developed, it has become better at spotting and serving the correct web pages for different languages and regions.

Additionally, the investment to manage hreflang tags across thousands of webpage is expensive and tedious.

However, if we want to get the most SEO value out of clustering and localizing content by region/language, then implementing hreflang tags is necessary.

Furthermore, multilingual ecommerce sites can gain a massive return out of proper hreflang implementation.

The central issue truly comes down to practice, as human and machine errors can cause more headaches than they solve.

With the right knowledge, tools, and help, managing hreflang tags can be easy.

Hopefully, in this guide, you’ve acquired the knowledge required to get started with implementing and maintaining hreflang tags across your multi-language website.

More resources:

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SEO

Google’s Guidance About The Recent Ranking Update

Published

16 hours ago

September 8, 2024

Max

Google issues a statement about their recent algorithm update

Google’s Danny Sullivan explained the recent update, addressing site recoveries and cautioning against making radical changes to improve rankings. He also offered advice for publishes whose rankings didn’t improve after the last update.

Google’s Still Improving The Algorithm

Danny said that Google is still working on their ranking algorithm, indicating that more changes (for the positive) are likely on the way. The main idea he was getting across is that they’re still trying to fill the gaps in surfacing high quality content from independent sites. Which is good because big brand sites don’t necessarily have the best answers.

He wrote:

“…the work to connect people with “a range of high quality sites, including small or independent sites that are creating useful, original content” is not done with this latest update. We’re continuing to look at this area and how to improve further with future updates.”

A Message To Those Who Were Left Behind

There was a message to those publishers whose work failed to recover with the latest update, to let them know that Google is still working to surface more of the independent content and that there may be relief on the next go.

Danny advised:

“…if you’re feeling confused about what to do in terms of rankings…if you know you’re producing great content for your readers…If you know you’re producing it, keep doing that…it’s to us to keep working on our systems to better reward it.”

Google Cautions Against “Improving” Sites

Something really interesting that he mentioned was a caution against trying to improve rankings of something that’s already on page one in order to rank even higher. Tweaking a site to get from position six or whatever to something higher has always been a risky thing to do for many reasons I won’t elaborate on here. But Danny’s warning increases the pressure to not just think twice before trying to optimize a page for search engines but to think three times and then some more.

Danny cautioned that sites that make it to the top of the SERPs should consider that a win and to let it ride instead of making changes right now in order to improve their rankings. The reason for that caution is that the search results continue to change and the implication is that changing a site now may negatively impact the rankings in a newly updated search index.

He wrote:

“If you’re showing in the top results for queries, that’s generally a sign that we really view your content well. Sometimes people then wonder how to move up a place or two. Rankings can and do change naturally over time. We recommend against making radical changes to try and move up a spot or two”

How Google Handled Feedback

There was also some light shed on what Google did with all the feedback they received from publishers who lost rankings. Danny wrote that the feedback and site examples he received was summarized, with examples, and sent to the search engineers for review. They continue to use that feedback for the next round of improvements.

He explained:

“I went through it all, by hand, to ensure all the sites who submitted were indeed heard. You were, and you continue to be. …I summarized all that feedback, pulling out some of the compelling examples of where our systems could do a better job, especially in terms of rewarding open web creators. Our search engineers have reviewed it and continue to review it, along with other feedback we receive, to see how we can make search better for everyone, including creators.”

Feedback Itself Didn’t Lead To Recovery

Danny also pointed out that sites that recovered their rankings did not do so because of they submitted feedback to Google. Danny wasn’t specific about this point but it conforms with previous statements about Google’s algorithms that they implement fixes at scale. So instead of saying, “Hey let’s fix the rankings of this one site” it’s more about figuring out if the problem is symptomatic of something widescale and how to change things for everybody with the same problem.

Danny wrote:

“No one who submitted, by the way, got some type of recovery in Search because they submitted. Our systems don’t work that way.”

That feedback didn’t lead to recovery but was used as data shouldn’t be surprising. Even as far back as the 2004 Florida Update Matt Cutts collected feedback from people, including myself, and I didn’t see a recovery for a false positive until everyone else also got back their rankings.

Takeaways

Google’s work on their algorithm is ongoing:
Google is continuing to tune its algorithms to improve its ability to rank high quality content, especially from smaller publishers. Danny Sullivan emphasized that this is an ongoing process.

What content creators should focus on:
Danny’s statement encouraged publishers to focus on consistently creating high quality content and not to focus on optimizing for algorithms. Focusing on quality should be the priority.

What should publishers do if their high-quality content isn’t yet rewarded with better rankings?
Publishers who are certain of the quality of their content are encouraged to hold steady and keep it coming because Google’s algorithms are still being refined.

Read the post on LinkedIn.

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Cast Of Thousands

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SEO

Plot Up To Five Metrics At Once

Published

1 day ago

September 7, 2024

Max

Google has rolled out changes to Analytics, adding features to help you make more sense of your data.

The update brings several key improvements:

You can now compare up to five different metrics side by side.
A new tool automatically spots unusual trends in your data.
A more detailed report on transactions gives a closer look at revenue.
The acquisition reports now separate user and session data more clearly.
It’s easier to understand what each report does with new descriptions.

Here’s an overview of these new features, why they matter, and how they might help improve your data analysis and decision-making.

▶ ️We’ve introduced plot rows in detailed reports. You can now visualize up to 5 rows of data directly within your detailed reports to measure their changes over time.

We’ve also launched these new report features:

🔎: Anomaly detection to flag unusual data fluctuations
📊:… pic.twitter.com/VDPXe2Q9wQ

— Google Analytics (@googleanalytics) September 5, 2024

Plot Rows: Enhanced Data Visualization

The most prominent addition is the “Plot Rows” feature.

You can now visualize up to five rows of data simultaneously within your reports, allowing for quick comparisons and trend analysis.

This feature is accessible by selecting the desired rows and clicking the “Plot Rows” option.

Anomaly Detection: Spotting Unusual Patterns

Google Analytics has implemented an anomaly detection system to help you identify potential issues or opportunities.

This new tool automatically flags unusual data fluctuations, making it easier to spot unexpected traffic spikes, sudden drops, or other noteworthy trends.

Improved Report Navigation & Understanding

Google Analytics has added hover-over descriptions for report titles.

These brief explanations provide context and include links to more detailed information about each report’s purpose and metrics.

Key Event Marking In Events Report

The Events report allows you to mark significant events for easy reference.

This feature, accessed through a three-dot menu at the end of each event row, helps you prioritize and track important data points.

New Transactions Report For Revenue Insights

For ecommerce businesses, the new Transactions report offers granular insights into revenue streams.

This feature provides information about each transaction, utilizing the transaction_id parameter to give you a comprehensive view of sales data.

Scope Changes In Acquisition Reports

Google has refined its acquisition reports to offer more targeted metrics.

The User Acquisition report now includes user-related metrics such as Total Users, New Users, and Returning Users.

Meanwhile, the Traffic Acquisition report focuses on session-related metrics like Sessions, Engaged Sessions, and Sessions per Event.

What To Do Next

As you explore these new features, keep in mind:

Familiarize yourself with the new Plot Rows function to make the most of comparative data analysis.
Pay attention to the anomaly detection alerts, but always investigate the context behind flagged data points.
Take advantage of the more detailed Transactions report to understand your revenue patterns better.
Experiment with the refined acquisition reports to see which metrics are most valuable for your needs.

As with any new tool, there will likely be a learning curve as you incorporate these features into your workflow.

FAQ

What is the “Plot Rows” feature in Google Analytics?

The “Plot Rows” feature allows you to visualize up to five rows of data at the same time. This makes it easier to compare different metrics side by side within your reports, facilitating quick comparisons and trend analysis. To use this feature, select the desired rows and click the “Plot Rows” option.

How does the new anomaly detection system work in Google Analytics?

Google Analytics’ new anomaly detection system automatically flags unusual data patterns. This tool helps identify potential issues or opportunities by spotting unexpected traffic spikes, sudden drops, or other notable trends, making it easier for users to focus on significant data fluctuations.

What improvements have been made to the Transactions report in Google Analytics?

The enhanced Transactions report provides detailed insights into revenue for ecommerce businesses. It utilizes the transaction_id parameter to offer granular information about each transaction, helping businesses get a better understanding of their revenue streams.

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SEO

Top 10 Affiliate Marketing Platforms To Maximize Sales In 2024

Published

2 days ago

September 6, 2024

Max

Top 10 Affiliate Marketing Platforms To Maximize Sales In 2024

Affiliate marketing has been experiencing explosive growth in recent years, so it’s essential now more than ever for brands to run affiliate programs of their own.

It involves brands hiring affiliates to promote their products and services and rewarding them with a commission from every sale.

As such, affiliate marketing is an excellent low-cost and low-risk way for brands to drive sales and brand awareness without hiring an in-house advertising and marketing team of their own.

Affiliate marketing spending worldwide is estimated at around $14 billion in 2024 – and the industry is predicted to reach a worth of over $38 billion by 2031.

Affiliate Marketing And SEO

Affiliate marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) both share a common goal of attracting relevant and high-quality traffic to a site with the goal of increasing sales.

As such, both of these marketing activities shouldn’t be perceived as two separate, competing entities.

Instead, you should look at them as one and the same that work together in perfect harmony to increase website traffic and generate more revenue.

The most successful publishers in the affiliate marketing space combine the two to get the best of both worlds.

SEO affiliate marketing involves choosing the right products and affiliate programs that attract the most search traffic and offer the best commissions.

Publishers often make the most of affiliate marketing by creating content that adds real value for their readers and prioritizes their experience.

Publishers often do this by creating “Best of” or “Top X” oriented posts that address their audience’s needs and pain points, while, at the same time, allowing them to monetize their content by using affiliate links throughout the posts.

By adding relevant and contextual affiliate links in such posts, publishers foster an authentic user experience that puts their readers first.

This is one of the most significant advantages of affiliate marketing compared to alternative marketing methods such as sponsored posts.

Today’s consumers are increasingly distancing themselves from heavily business-oriented content, as it’s often perceived as inauthentic and disingenuous.

By focusing on high-quality content that adds value to readers and combining it with relevant and contextual affiliate links, everyone wins!

Additionally, Google rewards publishers who create original content and add real value for their readers.

They reward such publishers by placing them higher in search results and driving more traffic to them.

But, in today’s highly competitive and increasingly dynamic market, how can brands find the time to manage and grow their affiliate marketing program?

The answer is with the help of the right affiliate marketing software that streamlines the entire process.

Once upon a time, running a successful affiliate marketing program meant manually managing every aspect – a time-consuming and inefficient process.

Thankfully, these days, affiliate marketing software and solutions have evolved to offer all the necessary tools in a single place, which simplifies the whole process and enables brands to optimize their programs and focus on growth.

Therefore, brands need to utilize the right affiliate marketing software to stay competitive and maximize ROI in today’s highly competitive affiliate marketing space.

This article will go over what affiliate marketing software is and what makes a great affiliate software platform.

We’ll also review the top 10 affiliate marketing software platforms that brands can use to take their affiliate program to the next level.

What Is An Affiliate Marketing Software?

In a nutshell, affiliate marketing software is a comprehensive tool that facilitates all aspects of affiliate marketing program management.

It allows brands to track, manage, and grow their affiliate marketing campaigns.

Most affiliate marketing software platforms share standard features such as affiliate onboarding, collaboration with affiliate partners, affiliate tracking and reporting, and referral, cost, and commission payment management.

What Makes A Good Affiliate Marketing Software Platform?

Though most affiliate marketing software platforms share many of the same features, what sets apart the good platforms from the bad is what’s important.

For starters, the actual platform must have an intuitive and user-friendly interface.

An affiliate marketing platform can boast all of the best affiliate tools and features available.

Still, it’s a moot effort if the dashboard is complicated for most people.

Additionally, since brands usually utilize a variety of Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms for ecommerce and affiliate marketing, affiliate marketing software platforms need to offer tons of third-party SaaS integrations.

The best affiliate marketing software platforms offer robust tracking and reporting capabilities.

Brands need to be able to precisely track their affiliate sales and access real-time granular data to measure the ROI of their affiliate campaigns effectively.

Additionally, a good affiliate marketing platform will provide brands with all the affiliate tools they need to launch, manage, promote, and scale their affiliate programs, such as flexible commission management and customizable real-time affiliate tracking and reporting capabilities.

At the same time, they should offer their clients peace of mind by providing the highest level of fraud detection and other security features.

Lastly, the best affiliate marketing software platforms mean nothing if there isn’t quality customer service available 24/7 to back it up. Readily available customer assistance is equally important for brands as it is for affiliates.

Top 10 Affiliate Marketing Software

1. Refersion

Screenshot from refersion.com, August 2024

With over 60,000+ registered merchants, 6.6 million affiliates managed, and $2 billion in affiliate revenue tracked, Refersion is one of the leading affiliate marketing software platforms on the market.

Its robust and highly personalized dashboard allows brands to manage all aspects of their affiliate program, such as monitoring all aspects of their affiliate activity with extensive real-time reporting capability.

Refersion offers brands all the tools they need to scale and promote their affiliate programs, such as managing commissions, payouts, and providing simplified tax automation. It also offers easy integration with popular tools like Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce.

While Refersion does come with a higher price point than some competitors – starting at $99 per month – it’s hard to find a solution that offers the same level of top-notch affiliate tools, marketplace, and customer service.

Pricing:

The professional tier starts at $99/month (if paid annually) for up to 50 monthly order conversions.
The business tier starts at $249/month (if paid annually) for up to 200 monthly order conversions.
The enterprise tier is available with unlimited monthly order conversions – you’ll need to contact Refersion for pricing details.

2. Impact

Screenshot from Impact.com, August 2024

Impact is one of the biggest affiliate marketing software platforms for cloud automation.

Its signature product, the Impact Partnership Cloud, allows brands to automate their affiliate and influencer marketing campaigns. It offers a marketplace where brands can connect with a network of affiliates, influencers, ambassadors, and other possible partners.

The platform’s tools also include dynamic commissioning, reporting, advanced analytics, and third-party integrations for companies to track and manage their affiliate programs.

However, pricing is not readily available, and you must contact the Impact sales team for a custom quote.

Pricing:

Custom quotes are available upon request.

3. Tapfiliate

Screenshot from Tapfiliate.com, August 2024

For businesses primarily operating and generating their revenue on ecommerce SaaS platforms, Tapfiliate may be a great choice.

It features a range of automation capabilities, including an autopilot mode that can automate things such as onboarding new affiliates, sharing via social media, or even drip campaigns.

Tapfiliate easily integrates with major ecommerce players like Shopify and WooCommerce, and offers advanced tracking and reporting capabilities. However, most of the features are accessible only through the Pro plan, which starts at $149 a month – nothing to sneeze at.

Pricing:

The essential plan starts at $74/month for 1 team member and basic features.
The pro plan starts at $124/month for 5 team members and more advanced features.
The enterprise plan offers custom pricing for unlimited team members, unlimited tracking requests, a dedicated personal manager, and more.

4. Awin

Screenshot from Awin.com, August 2024

Awin, previously known as Zanox, merged with Affilinet in 2017 to become one of the largest affiliate marketing platforms, providing “unlimited access to over 1M vetted partners.”

It features a handful of marketing and reporting features you’d expect from such an extensive network, like tools for cross-device tracking, real-time reporting, and automated compliance management.

The platform’s Awin Access program is an interesting option for smaller businesses or teams newer to affiliate marketing, as it offers a straightforward setup process and flexible pricing to make joining the network easier.

Registration is free on Awin, but it uses a performance-based pricing model. This means brands pay a predetermined cost-per-acquisition (CPA), and specific pricing details are only available upon request.

Pricing:

Custom quotes are available upon request.

5. CAKE

Screenshot from getcake.com, August 2024

CAKE is another SaaS-based affiliate marketing platform, meaning you can access it from anywhere (with an Internet connection).

CAKE partners with a bunch of partners to offer a variety of streamlined and automated features. It’s known for its great tracking and reporting capabilities, which enable you to follow and optimize your campaigns in real time.

The platform boasts more than 500 advertisers, networks, and publishers across 50+ countries, and it offers 24/7 customer support to its users. It has customizable features, granular data analysis, and impressive fraud protection to give customers peace of mind.

Unfortunately, CAKE’s pricing is not readily available on its website. It also doesn’t feature any pre-made promotional tools for marketers, which doesn’t make it quite suitable for novice users just starting out with their affiliate program

Pricing:

Custom quotes are available upon request.

6. ClickBank

Screenshot from ClickBank.com, August 2024

ClickBank was one of the first affiliate platforms, launching all the way back in 1998. Since then, it’s grown to one of the largest affiliate marketplaces with over 200 million customers.

According to the company’s website, there are 300,000+ daily purchases made on ClickBank – and it boasts $4.2B in paid commissions.

ClickBank stands out for its native support for subscription services, which makes it easy for brands to create one-click, repeatable purchases. This allows them to provide monthly products without requiring manual monthly payments.

It also offers some of the standard features commonly found on most affiliate platforms, such as affiliate reporting, payments, commissions management, and third-party integrations. It’s quick and easy to list your products and set up affiliate programs on the platform.

However, compared to some of the other affiliate platforms on this list, it doesn’t offer a demo, free trial, or monthly pricing. Instead, ClickBank charges a one-time activation to list products on the platform and then a fee per sale.

Pricing:

One-Time Activation Fee: $49.95.
Transaction Fee: 7.5% + $1 per sale.

7. CJ Affiliate

Screenshot from cj.com, August 2024

CJ Affiliate is a well-known and reputable affiliate marketing platform. It offers access to hundreds of advertisers, publishers, and potential partners in one platform.

CJ Affiliate provides a customizable dashboard and a variety of reports and specialized tools, including advanced tracking and reporting capabilities. Most notably, it offers specialized tools, such as Deep Link Automation and Product Widgets, that enable brands to improve their affiliate program ROI.

While CJ Affiliate is a great choice for businesses of all sizes, it’s worth noting that the company doesn’t provide a free trial or demo, operates on a performance-based pricing model, and you’ll need to reach out for specific details.

Pricing:

Custom quotes are available upon request.

8. TUNE

Screenshot from Tune.com, August 2024

Designed for companies that require detailed tracking and analytics, TUNE allows brands to build, manage, and grow their affiliate partner networks through its proprietary marketing technology.

TUNE offers a flexible platform, which users can tweak and tailor to fit their needs. Within the platform, you have customizable tools, commissions, payments, and real-time affiliate tracking and reporting.

However, it doesn’t provide affiliate promotional tools like most other platforms, and there is no straightforward pricing listed on the website.

It does, however, list details on its different plans, including a Pro Plan with basic features up to an Enterprise Plan with features like custom integrations, premium support, enhanced fraud prevention, and more.

Pricing:

Custom quote available upon request.

9. LeadDyno

Screenshot from LeadDyno.com, August 2024

LeadDyno specializes in affiliate program promotion and perhaps offers the most promotional tools available in an affiliate marketing software platform.

LeadDyno offers tools that enable brands to create various promotional campaigns, such as email, newsletters, and social media campaigns, making it a wonderful choice for companies that want to expand the reach of their programs.

It provides a straightforward user experience that makes it easy to onboard affiliates, track your performance, and manage payouts. Extensive real-time tracking and reporting features give businesses the ability to monitor and optimize their campaigns.

Pricing is on the affordable side and LeadDyno offers a free trial – which not all tools on this list do!

Pricing:

The lite plan starts at $49/month for up to 50 active affiliates, one commission plan, one reward structure, and other basics.
The essential plan is $129.month and offers up to 150 active affiliates, three commission plans, and one reward structure, as well as other advanced features like a landing page, 1:1 call and video support, and more.
The advanced plan is $349/month and offers up to 500 active affiliates, unlimited reward structures and commission plans, and many other advanced features.
The unlimited plan is $749/month and offers unlimited active affiliates, unlimited reward structures and commission plans, and more.

10. ShareASale

Screenshot from ShareASale.com, August 2024

With over 20 years of experience, ShareASale has been around for quite some time. It’s a reliable solution for merchants and affiliates alike, and carries a variety of tools to help boost your affiliate marketing programs.

If you’re looking for an extensive network of affiliates and partners across a ton of industries, ShareASale is a good option for you. You’ll also get access to customizable affiliable management, real-time tracking, detailed reporting, custom banner, and link generation, and plenty more.

One thing to note: like a few of the other tools listed here, ShareASale uses a performance-based pricing model that includes a one-time network access fee and then transaction fees.

Pricing:

There is a one-time setup fee of $650.
Transaction fees: 20% of each affiliate commission, with a minimum of $35/month.

Wrapping Up

Great affiliate marketing solutions enable brands to easily launch and manage affiliate programs, as well as track referrals and sales made by their affiliate partners.

The best affiliate marketing software provides brands with all the tools needed to launch, promote, and grow their affiliate program.

At the same time, they provide customizable and easy-to-use reporting capabilities for real-time performance tracking.

Without reliable tracking and reporting tools, brands cannot effectively assess the success and profitability of their affiliate campaigns and partnerships.

More resources:

Featured Image: Panchenko Vladimir/Shutterstock

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