October 25, 2022
When done right, affiliate marketing can be a profitable channel, especially when coupled with a formidable referral and reseller strategy.
Whether you’re a small business owner or a CMO at a unicorn tech company doesn't matter. Affiliate marketing can work across many different company sizes and B2B verticals, opening up a new revenue-generating channel for your business.
That's right. Affiliate marketing is not just for B2C.
That’s right. Affiliate marketing is not just for B2C.
Whether you’re a small business owner or a CMO at a unicorn tech company doesn't matter. Affiliate marketing can work across many different company sizes and B2B verticals, opening up a new revenue-generating channel for your business.
But, if you want to reap the benefits of affiliate marketing, you need to start sourcing the best affiliate tracking software to help you recruit, onboard, nurture, and payout your affiliate partners.
Below, we’ll explore some of the options you have for affiliate tracking and our recommendations (even if you already have a portal in place today).
Before we start, what is affiliate tracking software?
An affiliate tracking software is a program that helps you manage your entire affiliate program for your business.
Within the platform, you’ll be able to quickly recruit, onboard, manage, report, and payout commissions to your affiliate partnerships.
You’ll be able to identify top-performing affiliates, grow those partnerships, and allocate more resources to underperforming partners to get them on the right track to earning commissions.
Using affiliate tracking software, you’ll sometimes have access to a network of affiliates you can recruit using affiliate tracking software. The software is also there to help prevent fraud because, like many marketing channels, there are still bad actors out there, and you need a way to protect your brand.
What to look for in an affiliate tracking software?
Our below recommendations are built for B2B companies that already have PRM software in place but lack the capability to run an affiliate program through the platform.
- Product Pricing
Although platform features should still be your main focus when picking a solution, you should still pay attention to the price tag, especially if you are already paying for a PRM solution.
- Key Features
Of course, features are pretty important when purchasing any type of software, but what about specifically for affiliate marketing?
Here are a few to reference during your vetting process:-
In-platform messaging
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Advanced reporting capability
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Document sharing
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Commission payouts
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Partner tiering
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Platform branding
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Tax Information collection process
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Email notifications
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Access to affiliate network
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Adjustable payouts
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Affiliate recruitment features
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Fraud protection
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Customer Support
Like any other product you purchase, make sure you test out the customer support for the affiliate tracking software. Problems will arise during your program launch and growth – will their customer support team be there to help you resolve any issues quickly? - Integrations
Remember, your affiliates also run a business. Therefore, they also want to get paid accurately and on time. You should ensure the platform you choose to go with has a seamless integration into your current CRM or payment platform. That way, you mitigate the risk of poor tracking and angry affiliate partners down the road if something were to come up. - Platform Usability
Pick out a platform built not just for you (the administrator) but a platform your affiliates can easily use and understand. Do not overcomplicate things. You want to make it as easy as possible for your affiliates to sign up, grab their tracking links, learn a little about your business and offers, and begin promoting your brand.
Affiliate Tracking VS. Affiliate Network?
One of the biggest questions you should ask yourself is whether you should launch your affiliate program on an affiliate software or an affiliate network. Here are some key differences:
- Affiliate Tracking Only:
More control over your affiliate program.
Doesn't take additional % off affiliate sale. - Affiliate Network Only:
Platform handles all partner tax info, W9s, etc.
Platform handles app partner commission payouts.
Access to a network of affiliate publishers. etc.
Here’s what Faique Moqeet, the founder & CEO of a well-known affiliate marketing agency, Hamster Garage, has to say about choosing between the two:
“I think it's best to think about the specific needs of the program and what the different tools and platforms are good at. At its core, a platform needs to provide tracking and payment functionality so you can effectively scale your program. Beyond that, to scale recruitment quickly, having a marketplace (making it an affiliate network) can be helpful. However, generally speaking, for SaaS brands, we've found the marketplaces to not be as valuable as the consumer space. For B2B and SaaS brands, having an agency to double down on recruitment is the best approach since the publishers may exist but probably need more convincing or handholding to join your program than just sending an invitation on a marketplace. The network side doesn't replace proper resourcing, so my vote is a robust platform with strategic resourcing!”
Choosing between software vs. a network is essential in launching your affiliate program, so be sure you run through how each of these would fit into your current tech stack, sales processes, and operations within the organization.
What is the best Affiliate tracking software?
- Everflow
Everflow provides you with a partner marketing platform for managing your partnerships, tracking all of your marketing channels, and amplifying your growth. Quickly onboard existing partnerships, discover relevant new affiliates, and pay partners when they deliver results. Make actionable marketing decisions using consolidated performance reporting from your organic, paid media and partnership channels. Align your marketing efforts around the data that matters to you using built-in integrations with shopping carts, CRMs, and media buying platforms. They provide you with all of the tools you need to sustainably scale both your partnerships and marketing.
Integrations: Hubspot, Salesforce, Shopify, BigCommerce, Google Ads, Facebook, TikTok
Pricing: $$$
For final pricing, you’ll need to contact the Everflow sales team. That said, you can expect to pay roughly $500/month for new programs, but that pricing will scale as your program scales up.
Key Features:-
In-platform messaging
-
Advanced reporting capability
-
Document sharing
-
Commission payouts
-
Partner tiering
-
Platform branding
-
Tax Information collection process
-
Email notifications
-
Access to affiliate network
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Adjustable payouts
-
Affiliate recruitment features
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Fraud protection
(source: Everflow)
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- Impact
With the Impact partnership platform, you can launch and grow almost any type of partnership – from influencers, referrals, publishers, tech, and more – you’ll be able to customize your program based on the needs of your organization. The platform has a beautiful UI for both admins and your partners to easily access, communicate, and optimize channel performance. But, they didn’t stop at partnerships. You’re also able to analyze touchpoints across multiple channels (social media, Google ads, affiliates, etc.) to see a holistic picture of a customer’s journey and only payout on your terms, so you’re not impacting your customer acquisition costs. It’s a must-see platform for partnership leaders.
Integrations: Hubspot, Salesforce, Shopify, Wordpress, Custom
Pricing: $$$
For final pricing, you’ll need to contact the Impact sales team. That said, you can expect to pay roughly $500/month for new programs, but that pricing will scale as your program scales up.
Key Features:-
In-platform messaging
-
Advanced reporting capability
-
Document sharing
-
Commission payouts
-
Partner Tiering
- Platform Branding
-
Tax Information collection process
-
Email notifications
-
Access to affiliate network
-
Adjustable payouts
-
Affiliate recruitment features
-
Fraud Protection
(source: Impact)
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- Firstpromoter
FirstPromoter was built with SaaS brands in mind. That’s why they are one of the most recommended affiliate software providers for SaaS companies who want to launch or migrate from their current provider. From their UI to seamless integrations with some significant payment gateways and CRM platforms, they’ve made it easy for any founder, affiliate manager, or marketer to quickly get up and running with a program. With their platform, you can not only build an affiliate program to work with publishers and influencers, but they allow you the opportunity to build a referral network with your current customer base – making it easy for you to begin generating new leads and customers from your most promoters.
Integrations: Stripe, Paddle, Recurly, Braintree, Chargebee
Pricing: $
For the FirstPromoter platform, monthly pricing starts at $49/month and can reach up to $149/month for more advanced features needed for your business.
Key Features:-
In-platform messaging
-
Advanced reporting capability
-
Document sharing
-
Commission payouts
-
Partner tiering
-
Platform branding
-
Tax Information collection process
-
Email notifications
-
Access to affiliate network
-
Adjustable payouts
-
Affiliate recruitment features
-
Fraud protection
(source: FirstPromoter)
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- Growth Hero
GrowthHero is one of the leading affiliate software for SaaS businesses because they make it easy to kick-start your affiliate program in no time. They’ve built a clean UI that makes navigating, optimizing, and growing your affiliate partnerships easy for your affiliates and affiliate managers. Unlike many other affiliate tracking software, they have features to help you recruit and onboard new affiliates – activating them quickly to start generating leads and revenue for your business.
Integrations: Custom integrations via API
Pricing: $
For the GrowthHero platform, monthly pricing starts at $49/month and can reach up to $199/month for more advanced features needed for your business.
Key Features:-
In-platform messaging
-
Advanced reporting capability
-
Document sharing
-
Commission payouts
-
Partner tiering
-
Platform branding
-
Tax Information collection process
-
Email notifications
-
Access to affiliate network
-
Adjustable payouts
-
Affiliate recruitment features
-
Fraud protection
(source: GrowthHero)
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- Scaleo
Scaleo is a cloud-based affiliate marketing software that allows you to manage all aspects of your online business in one place. With Scaleo, you can easily manage and track your affiliate programs, campaigns, and offers across multiple platforms and channels. You can also easily connect with your affiliates to give them the support and information they need to succeed. Their team developed the platform with entrepreneurs, startups, and media buyers in mind, so you can rest easy knowing you’ll have an affiliate platform that works for your type of business.
Integrations: Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, PayPal, Custom
Pricing: $$
For the Scaleo platform, monthly pricing starts at $299/month and can reach up to $999/month for more advanced features needed for your business.
Key Features:-
In-platform messaging
-
Advanced reporting capability
-
Document sharing
-
Commission payouts
-
Partner tiering
-
Platform branding
-
Tax Information collection process
-
Email notifications
-
Access to affiliate network
-
Adjustable payouts
-
Affiliate recruitment features
-
Fraud protection
(source: Scaleo)
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- AffiliateWP
Did you build your company’s website on WordPress like millions of others who trust their CMS? If that’s the case, you should check out AffiliateWP if you’re trying to get up and running with an affiliate program for your business. AffiliateWP is one of the best affiliate marketing plugins you can seamlessly hook up to your WordPress website, integrate it within your payment gateway, and start recruiting and onboarding new affiliates right away. They make it extremely easy for anyone to run a new affiliate program with their clean UI and reporting capabilities to help you identify growth opportunities.
Integrations: Wordpress, PayPal, WooCommerce, MemberPress, WPforms
Pricing: $$
For the AffiliateWP platform, monthly pricing starts at $149/month and can reach up to $299/month for more advanced features needed for your business.
Key Features:-
In-platform messaging
-
Advanced reporting capability
-
Document sharing
-
Commission payouts
-
Partner tiering
-
Platform branding
-
Tax Information collection process
-
Email notifications
-
Access to affiliate network
-
Adjustable payouts
-
Affiliate recruitment features
-
Fraud protection
(source: AffiliateWP)
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- Post Affiliate Pro
Post Affiliate Pro is one of the first affiliate program software on the market, dating back to 2004. Over the years, they’ve been building out new features and redesigning the UI to make it easier for their 25,000+ users to build, launch, and grow an affiliate marketing platform. If you’re looking for a solid affiliate platform to complement your current partnership tech stack, leveraging Post Affiliate Pro would be a great option to test out. With their 230+ integration partners, it’s no question they know a thing or two about building a partner ecosystem.
Integrations: Wordpress, Braintree, Stripe, Mailchimp
Pricing: $$
For the Post Affiliate Pro platform, monthly pricing starts at $129/month and can reach up to $249/month for more advanced features needed for your business.
Key Features:-
In-platform messaging
-
Advanced reporting capability
-
Document sharing
-
Commission payouts
-
Partner tiering
-
Platform branding
-
Tax Information collection process
-
Email notifications
-
Access to affiliate network
-
Adjustable payouts
-
Affiliate recruitment features
-
Fraud protection
(source: Post Affiliate Pro)
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- Leaddyno
LeadDyno is a more fundamental and low-cost affiliate marketing solution, but it still does a great job in helping you manage your entire affiliate program in one place. If you’re looking for straightforward affiliate marketing software to get up and running quickly, LeadDyno may be an excellent option to test out for your company. We’ll say that if you’re particular about UI, you may want to look elsewhere because the platform could use some aesthetic updates.
Integrations: HubSpot, Shopify, WooCommerce, Mailchimp, Stripe, WordPress
Pricing: $
For the LeadDyno platform, monthly pricing starts at $49/month and can reach up to $749/month for more advanced features needed for your business.
Key Features:-
In-platform messaging
-
Advanced reporting capability
-
Document sharing
-
Commission payouts
-
Partner tiering
-
Platform branding
-
Tax Information collection process
-
Email notifications
-
Access to affiliate network
-
Adjustable payouts
-
Affiliate recruitment features
-
Fraud protection
(source: LeadDyno)
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Wrapping up the best affiliate tracking software
There you have it.
Our list of recommended affiliate tracking software for B2B companies. Of course, there are solutions we haven’t listed here, but these are some of the top affiliate tracking solutions we believe would be great fits for B2B brands looking to launch a new program from the ground up or even migrate from another platform.
But remember this: Picking out affiliate software is only part of the equation for a successful program.
The software is there to help enable you to form long-lasting partnerships with your affiliates, not just create transactional relationships. All affiliate partnerships are different, so you should be setting up your program in ways to attract, retain, and grow it in the long term.
If you have follow-up questions about launching your affiliate program, reach out to the team at PartnerPortal or send the team at Growann a message. We’d both be happy to chat about all things partnerships!
Author: Nick Cotter
Author Bio: Nick Cotter is the founder of Growann, a digital media + affiliate consultancy company based in Boston, MA. Over the past seven years, he has worked with hundreds of SaaS brands and agencies, building effective partner marketing programs that drive impactful growth for these organizations. Subscribe to his content on Growann, where he dives into the ins and outs of the affiliate and partner marketing space.