SEO
SEO Reporting Dashboards (For 3 Different Types of Websites)
Creating an SEO reporting dashboard is often an easier way to share your SEO performance results than a text-heavy SEO report. So, what’s the best way to create one?
The type of dashboard you create often depends on who you’re making it for—your own website, a small business, or an enterprise business.
In this article, I’ll explain the basics of SEO reporting dashboards and how to tailor them for your particular audience.
An SEO reporting dashboard is a visual interface that displays key performance indicators (KPIs) and other metrics that show a website’s SEO performance in search engines like Google. Its main job is to communicate SEO performance over time.
Here’s an example of what an SEO reporting dashboard looks like for Ahrefs.com.
Ahrefs’ Looker Studio Integration – Site Explorer Template
In the above example, we can see the results are positive because the line chart goes up, and the KPI comparisons are also mostly green, showing positive yearly growth.
This is the power of an effective SEO reporting dashboard—you can instantly communicate SEO performance at-a-glance.
The simple answer is anything you want. But it’s best to include SEO metrics that matter to the website you‘re reporting on.
This could include metrics like:
- Clicks
- Sessions
- Click-through-rate (CTR)
- Conversions
- Conversion rate (CR)
- Organic Traffic
- Average Position
- Referring domains
- And so on…
Let’s simplify this further.
At the most basic level, there are two core elements you should include in an SEO reporting dashboard:
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) – KPIs can be anything that is important to report on for your business and could include conversions, revenue, leads, orders, or any other SEO metrics
- Organic traffic performance chart – Tracking your traffic performance across the year
So, how can you create your very own SEO reporting dashboard?
One of the most popular methods is to use a tool called Google Looker Studio (GLS). Dashboard solutions like GLS integrate with many popular data sources for free out of the box, making them perfect for most websites looking to create an SEO reporting dashboard.
Here’s an example of the basic GLS connectors, with some useful ones for SEO highlighted.
Although GLS is great for small personal websites or small-medium businesses (SMBs), in my experience, enterprise businesses usually require more powerful alternatives, as they have more complex demands.
So, based on this, we can say there are three broad categories of websites you can build for:
- Small personal websites
- SMB websites
- Enterprise websites
Let’s explore these further.
Creating an SEO reporting dashboard for a small personal website is a good option if you want to monitor SEO performance but don’t want the hassle of logging into lots of different tools regularly.
This was the conclusion I came to when I wanted to monitor my portfolio of affiliate sites with the least amount of effort possible.
There was no way I was prepared to check every single site’s performance manually. So, I decided to create a mini SEO reporting dashboard in GLS that looked something like this:
This dashboard wasn’t visually impressive, but it was functional and displayed SEO performance at a glance.
It combined two data sources: Sessions from Google Analytics and clicks, impressions, and CTR from Google Search Console. Checking this data manually is possible, but it would be an inefficient use of time, especially across more than one website.
Having this setup meant I could:
- Spend more time improving the websites rather than obsessing over the details and not doing anything that improves performance
- Understand where to focus my efforts in the portfolio – I had many sites in the dashboard, so checking them all wasn’t feasible or efficient use of time
- Identify performance patterns between websites—for example, if there was a Google update, I could get a bird’s-eye view of performance across the website portfolio to see if there were any common performance drops or increases following the roll-out of the update
- View year-over-year (YoY) comparisons: green if they were positive and red if they were negative – this way, I could quickly scan many websites and understand whether SEO performance had increased or decreased for each website
- Able to check quickly – if you’ve used GLS before, you’ll know that the more charts and visualizations you add, the longer it can take to load the page
Even though I felt proud I’d created a minimal dashboard that saved time. I realized afterward that I’d re-created Ahrefs’ Webmaster Tools dashboard with a few added metrics—oh dear.
Sidenote.
The advantages of using AWT for personal websites are:
- It’s free if you are a webmaster
- It’s easy to set up if you have GSC access
- You can view both GSC data and Ahrefs data
So, when creating an SEO reporting dashboard for a small personal website, it’s best to consider what metrics you want to track before you start. This will help you determine the best solution for your reporting demands.
In short:
- If it’s just GSC and for your personal use, use AWT with GSC connected
- If you want to combine multiple data sources and share with others, then use GLS
If you need more detailed GA or GSC data, you can also visualize it quickly using GLS’ dedicated community templates. I used the GSC template below to provide detailed information on each site.
Here’s how you can set this up:
How to connect Google Search Console to Google Looker Studio
If you need more data from GSC or want to visualize performance, Google Looker Studio’s Search Console templates are your friend. A pre-built Google Looker Studio community template can get you up and running in a few minutes.
To do this, log into Google Looker Studio and connect to this template:
Then click on Use my own data and Replace data.
Then, select your site from the list.
Then select either Site Impression and web or URL Impression and web, depending on your preference. I am using URL Impression and web in this example.
Click Add at the bottom right-hand corner. You’ll then probably get a pop-up—click Add to report.
Once that’s added, you should get something that looks like this but with your website’s data showing.
And there you go—your very own GSC-flavored SEO reporting dashboard.
This dashboard reports on:
- Impressions
- Clicks
- CTR
- Top Landing Pages
- Top Queries
- Device performance
- Country performance
Of course, you can customize it to your requirements, but I usually find this a good starting point for visualizing basic GSC data.
How to connect Google Analytics (GA4) to GLS
Similar to this, you can create a dedicated GA4 SEO reporting dashboard by using a GLS community template.
To do this, log into GLS and connect to this template.
Once you’ve done that, you’ll get a template that looks something like this:
If GA4 reporting is important for your business, you’ll find a good selection of metrics to explore here. Again, you can customize or add new tabs to expand or reduce the report’s scope, depending on your website’s reporting requirements.
At its most basic level, most SMBs want to know whether their SEO campaign is moving positively.
If so, you only need to share the SEO performance chart and the year-over-year KPIs.
It’s straightforward to share this using Ahrefs’ Site Explorer Google Looker Studio integration.
Ahrefs’ SEO reporting dashboards
If you need more specific SEO data to report on, you might want to explore some of our other Ahrefs’ dashboards.
For example, our Site Audit dashboard is best for monitoring the technical SEO performance of any website.
This would be a useful SEO reporting dashboard for development teams to track whether site improvements have been successfully implemented.
Our Rank Tracker dashboard is best for monitoring keyword rankings in Google for any website.
The most obvious choice for an SEO reporting dashboard is the Rank Tracker template. As it reports on positions, SERP features, competitors, tags, traffic share, and other keyword metrics.
This would be useful for sharing with SMBs that want to know more about SEO rankings and the specific performance of their keywords.
With so much SEO data available here, this usually covers most of an SMB’s reporting demands. And if you have any other custom data you can usually include it through Google Sheets on a custom dashboard.
Sidenote.
The advantage of using these dashboard templates is that they come from a trusted source—Ahrefs—and are fast to set up. You can also easily white-label them by replacing the logo, making them a simple, cost-effective dashboard solution for SEO consultants and SEO agencies.
Brand vs. non-brand traffic split
So far, we’ve explained the basics of using Ahrefs’ dashboards for SEO reporting, but sometimes, SMBs want something more specific. One area where they often request this is brand vs. non-brand traffic.
Growing businesses want to build their brands. Monitoring whether they are driving enough brand traffic is part of understanding whether they are doing this or not.
Although you can fiddle around with regex in GLS to get the brand/non-brand split for clicks and impressions, it’s often faster to use or modify an existing SEO reporting template.
Here’s a clean-looking GLS template created by John Reinesch that does exactly that.
This template clearly shows brand vs. non-brand data over time using GSC data. If the SMB you’re working with wants to monitor brand activity closely, a separate brand and non-brand dashboard like the above could be a good option.
Tip
Unlike SMBs and personal websites, enterprise businesses face three specific SEO reporting challenges due to the scale and complexity of their operations and business.
First, we’ll consider what the most common SEO reporting challenges are, and then what tools you can use for creating an enterprise SEO reporting dashboard.
Common enterprise reporting challenges
- Vast amounts of data – Often, multiple data sources, multiple territories
- Complex segmentation demands – Customer type segmentation, behavioral segmentation, geographical segmentation
- Cross-team collaboration demands – For example, the C-suite should be able to understand whether SEO is providing a good ROI, development teams need to know where to focus their efforts, marketing heads need to know which channel to assign more budget to
Let’s explore these challenges in more detail.
Vast amounts of data
With GLS generally considered the de facto solution for dashboard SEO reporting for SMBs and small websites, it’s easy to assume you could roll out the same solution for enterprise businesses. However, this is not always possible.
At the enterprise level, the first major hurdle is data size. While many SMBs primarily focus on a single territory as their primary source of organic traffic, enterprise businesses are often multi-territory, which instantly increases the amount of number crunching required.
One of my former enterprise clients wanted an SEO reporting dashboard that displayed SEO performance data and other marketing data for the top 25 territories—it was critical for their business as a flight operator.
While this level of data may be possible to visualize with GLS, it’s often not practical across the entire enterprise website.
Added to this is the vast amount of data sources required to report on. Although enterprise businesses may have certain platforms they rely upon for core metrics, they will be interested in getting a second opinion from other data sources, which puts additional pressure on a reporting platform solution.
Complex data segmentation demands
Data segmentation at enterprise level is usually where things get complicated. At its most basic level, customer segmentation can be achieved by geographic region, but often, segmentation for enterprise businesses goes deeper into defining, analyzing, and recording consumer behaviors.
For example, performance analysis can be divided into different geographic regions, product categories, or business segments. An enterprise company I worked with wanted to understand the behavior of new and existing customers, so this formed a central part of their SEO reporting.
Advanced visualization of data segments helps communicate a story to other teams and senior stakeholders. This story could be used as part of a business case to secure more investment in SEO. So, the visualization, as well as the data, needs to be compelling.
My previous client wanted to understand the impact of the weather on certain product categories, and to break this down by the different types of customers they had defined. We used this visualization to get increased investment in SEO for certain parts of the website that needed improvement.
Cross-team collaboration demands
Enterprise companies work with multiple stakeholders in different teams, both internally and externally. Therefore, reporting platforms must be able to accommodate data sharing between many different teams.
- Different teams value different metrics, so the dashboard needs to reflect all of these different reporting demands
- Different teams must be able to understand the data that’s presented
- Dashboards in enterprise companies serve as a benchmark for performance, although they may be accompanied by a static report, the dashboards are often used to tell a story about a website’s performance in between times
What tools to use
Based on my experience of working with enterprise businesses, I’ve seen there are two tools often used to create SEO reporting dashboards at the enterprise level: Power BI and Tableau
Power BI
Power BI is a Microsoft tool for creating interactive dashboards from different data sources. It’s also useful for creating SEO reporting dashboards.
Here’s an example of a third-party SEO reporting dashboard created in Power BI.
By Coupler.io: Get the template here.
Power BI’s insights and rich visualization options help inform decision-making for enterprise businesses.
Here are the pros and cons of Power BI:
Pros
- Ability to connect to various data sources like Google Analytics, Search Console, rank tracking tools
- Powerful data visualization capabilities
- Easy sharing and collaboration features to distribute reports/dashboards
- Affordable pricing compared to some BI tools
- Good integration with Microsoft ecosystem (Excel, Azure, etc.)
Cons
- Limited native SEO data connectors may require additional tools or custom data prep
- A steep learning curve, especially for advanced analysis Performance, can degrade with very large datasets or complex visualizations
- The dashboard interface can appear cluttered or overwhelming for some users
- Time-consuming to process and transform data for optimal reporting
Tableau
I used Tableau with two different enterprise clients and found that, if set up properly, it’s one of the most powerful dashboarding tools for SEO dashboard reporting.
It’s a great choice if you work with an enterprise business that covers multiple territories, as I did a few years ago.
Here’s the overview page from an SEO reporting dashboard that reports over 20 territories.
It may look simple, but the data behind this was pulled from multiple sources, and it was just one of many parts of the dashboard.
If you’re thinking of using Tableau, here’s my opinion on its pros and cons:
Pros
- Powerful data visualization capabilities
- Range of integrations like Google Analytics and Google Sheets
- The drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to analyze and visualize SEO data without coding
- Collaboration features allow teams to share and distribute reports/dashboards easily
- Tableau Server or Tableau Online enables secure sharing and deployment within the enterprise
- Useful for multiple territory reporting – I’ve personally tested it with 20+ territories
Cons
- A steep learning curve for advanced analysis and calculations
- Limited native SEO data connectors may require additional tools or custom data prep
- Customization of visualizations can be limited compared to custom solutions
As both of these solutions don’t always cover everything you need, as an enterprise SEO, you may need more SEO-specific tools to provide extra details about their website’s performance—like Ahrefs.
Combining tools
Although Tableau and Power BI are powerful dashboard reporting tools, they can often be less SEO-specific—especially if they’ve been built internally by the enterprise business.
Combining tools can help enhance your SEO reporting by providing a second opinion. I preferred this option when working with enterprise brands because it allowed me to gain insights from multiple sources rather than relying on one platform as a single source of truth.
The clients I worked with had access to Tableau and platforms like GA360 and Adobe Analytics, but to make sense of it all, I often returned to SEO tools like Ahrefs to get a more detailed SEO perspective.
Here’s an example of what a custom reporting solution could look like at its most basic level. You can use this to supplement your existing SEO reporting dashboard.
Creating a dashboard like this allows you to compare and contrast first and third-party data and add any other data you have.
- First-party data – Like Google Search Console and Google Analytics
- 3rd-party data – Like Ahrefs or another SEO tool
- Custom data – Like Google Sheets or any other database
Tip
Final thoughts
Creating an SEO reporting dashboard is a good investment for businesses that want to track their SEO performance, automate SEO reporting, and identify areas for improvement in their SEO campaign.
However, creating a dashboard isn’t always easy if you don’t have any experience building one. That’s why Ahrefs’ Looker Studio Integration is the perfect starting point for most businesses. With just a few clicks, you can have a fully functioning SEO reporting dashboard without the headache of designing and building one from scratch.
Got questions? Let me know on LinkedIn.
SEO
Google’s Guidance About The Recent Ranking 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.
Featured Image by Shutterstock/Cast Of Thousands
SEO
Plot Up To Five Metrics At Once
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.
Featured Image: Vladimka production/Shutterstock
SEO
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
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 2024Impact 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 2024For 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 2024Awin, 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 2024CAKE 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 2024ClickBank 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 2024CJ 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 2024Designed 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 2024LeadDyno 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 2024With 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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