Affiliate Program
Earn 20-30% recurring commission referring SEOs and agencies to TraceLinker Pro and Agency plans.
The affiliate program pays recurring commission for as long as your referral remains a paid subscriber. It's the primary way we acquire customers - if you found TraceLinker through a recommendation, that referrer is earning on your subscription.
The program is open to all Pro and Agency users automatically. Free plan users can apply via the form linked at the bottom of /pricing.
Commission structure
| Tier | Your commission |
|---|---|
| Standard (default for all Pro/Agency users) | 20% of every payment |
| Top tier (10+ active referrals) | 30% of every payment |
| Lifetime | All commission is recurring - paid every month/year your referral renews |
Examples:
- Refer 10 Pro accounts → 10 × $9 × 20% = $18/month recurring.
- Refer 10 Agency accounts → 10 × $29 × 20% = $58/month recurring.
- After hitting 10+ active referrals you bump to 30%, so 10 Agency referrals = $147/month recurring.
Annual subscriptions earn the same rate on the annual amount. If your referral pays $290/yr Agency, you earn $58 (20%) once a year, recurring on each renewal.
Getting your link
Open Affiliate settings
Click your account avatar → Settings → Affiliate.
📸 Affiliate settings page with referral link, stats, and payout history
Copy your referral link
Each Pro/Agency user gets a unique link of the form https://backlinkmonitor.com/?ref=alfu123. The token is your username if available, or a generated short code.
Custom slug requests: email support if you want a vanity slug like ?ref=yourname instead of the default.
Share
Anywhere - blog post, YouTube video description, email signature, Slack channel, social profiles. Every click sets a 90-day cookie. If the visitor signs up and pays within 90 days, you're credited.
How attribution works
- Cookie window: 90 days. If someone clicks your link, the cookie remains valid for 90 days. Any signup+paid plan within that window is attributed to you.
- First-touch attribution. If a visitor clicks two affiliates' links, the first one wins.
- Self-referrals not allowed. You cannot earn on your own subscription, including via incognito tricks.
- Refunded subscriptions clawback. If a referral subscribes and refunds within 30 days, the commission is reversed.
Tracking your referrals
The Affiliate settings page has three sections:
Stats top row
- Clicks - lifetime click-throughs on your link.
- Signups - how many of those clicks created an account.
- Paid conversions - how many of those upgraded to Pro/Agency.
- Active subscriptions - how many are currently paying.
- Lifetime earnings - sum of commissions paid out.
- Pending earnings - earned but not yet paid out (we batch monthly).
Referral list
A table of every signup attributed to you, anonymized for privacy:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Date | When they signed up. |
| Plan | Free, Pro, Agency. |
| Status | Active, Cancelled, Refunded. |
| Country | ISO code (geographic distribution only, no PII). |
| Earnings to date | Cumulative commission earned on this referral. |
We don't show emails, names, or company info to protect referral privacy.
Payout history
Past payouts, dates, methods, amounts.
Getting paid
We pay out monthly when your pending balance crosses $50. Below that threshold, the balance rolls over.
Methods supported:
- Stripe Connect - direct deposit to your bank in 30+ countries.
- PayPal - in countries where Stripe Connect isn't available.
- Wise - for users who prefer Wise over Stripe.
Add your payout method in Settings → Affiliate → Payout method. We can't pay until this is set.
Promotional materials
We provide:
- Banner images (300×250, 728×90, 160×600) in PNG and SVG.
- Email swipe copy for newsletters - several variants you can adapt.
- Demo screencast - 90-second video showing audit + monitoring you can embed.
- Custom comparison pages - "vs Ahrefs", "vs Semrush", "vs Linkody" - link directly to these.
Settings → Affiliate → Materials.
📸 Affiliate materials page with downloadable assets
Allowed promotion channels
- ✅ Your blog - product reviews, comparison posts, list articles.
- ✅ Your newsletter - mention in newsletters with affiliate disclosure.
- ✅ YouTube videos - tutorials, reviews, comparisons.
- ✅ Social media - LinkedIn, Twitter, Reddit (in subreddits where promotion is allowed).
- ✅ Direct outreach to your network - mention in client pitches, conference talks, podcast episodes.
Disallowed channels
- ❌ Paid ads on TraceLinker brand keywords - Google/Bing ads on "backlink monitor" exact match cannibalize our own SEO and direct traffic. Generic keyword bids are fine.
- ❌ Spam - email blasts to lists you don't own, comment spam, forum spam.
- ❌ Coupon sites - we don't run coupon promotions and don't want our brand on coupon-aggregator sites.
- ❌ Misleading promotion - making false claims about features, prices, or comparisons.
- ❌ Cookie stuffing - dropping cookies on visitors who didn't intentionally click your link.
Violations result in deactivation and forfeiture of pending balance. We rarely have to enforce - the program is built around honest, content-driven promotion.
Disclosure requirement
If you promote TraceLinker in any channel that requires disclosure (FTC, ASA, EU rules), include a disclosure. A simple footnote like "I earn a commission if you sign up via this link" is enough. We do not police your disclosures, but you are responsible for legal compliance in your jurisdiction.
Top tier promotion (30%)
Once you have 10+ active paying referrals, you automatically jump to the 30% commission tier. The bump applies to all your referrals retroactively from the next billing cycle - existing referrals also start paying you 30%.
If your active count drops below 10 (cancellations), you stay at 30% for the next 3 months as a grace period, then revert to 20%.
Custom partnership / co-marketing
If you have a large audience (100K+ subscribers, large agency network, popular SEO podcast) and want a custom commission structure, co-branded landing page, or featured partnership - email partnerships@backlinkmonitor.com with audience details.
FAQ
How long until I see my first commission? Cookie window is 90 days, then the referral subscribes, then we pay out the next month after their first payment. Realistically 30-120 days from sharing your link to first payout if conversions are normal.
Do I get commission on annual subscriptions? Yes - commission is calculated as percentage of the actual payment, so you get 20-30% of $90 (Pro annual) or $290 (Agency annual) every year.
What happens if my referral downgrades from Agency to Pro? Your commission rate stays the same (20% or 30%) but the dollar amount drops since their payment dropped. You earn 20% × $9 = $1.80/month from that point.
What happens if my referral upgrades from Pro to Agency? Same logic but in your favor - you start earning the higher amount.
Are taxes my responsibility? Yes. We send you a 1099-NEC (US) or equivalent annual statement if you cross $600 in earnings. Tax handling is your responsibility.
Can I refer myself? No - we detect and prevent self-referrals via account email match, IP, and Stripe customer fingerprint.
Can I run paid ads to my affiliate link? Generic keyword ads (e.g. "backlink audit tool") are allowed. Brand-keyword ads on "backlink monitor" or near-variations are not.
Next
- Plans & Pricing - what your referrals will be subscribing to.
- Quick Start - good content to share alongside your referral link.