8 Affiliate Marketing Tools Every Affiliate Manager Needs in 2023

The last year has brought affiliate marketing business to new heights and it shows no signs of slowing down in the next 12 months either. With affiliate marketing tools, affiliate managers can manage their campaigns more efficiently and bring more value to the business they represent, all while giving their affiliates greater opportunity to succeed. So, if you’re an affiliate manager and haven’t tried any of these 10 best affiliate marketing tools, do yourself (and your business) a favor and get on it! If you already use some of these tools, keep up the good work!

1) Timer tool

If you’re managing an affiliate program, you probably have many different affiliates with access to your account and promotions. Having a timer tool on hand that gives you daily reports on who is working hard and who isn’t can help make sure all of your affiliates are doing their job properly.

2) Keyword research tool

These days, you can use almost any keyword research tool out there to find profitable affiliate products. Which ones should you choose? It depends on your industry and goals, but here are a few options to consider: Semrush, SpyFu, MerchantWords, Moz Keyword Explorer. I prefer Semrush for finding high-volume and hard-to-find keywords because it shows me their search volume and it’s very easy to use.

3) Link management tool

Since your affiliate marketing efforts rely on having high-quality links to send traffic to, you will want a tool that will help you track them. This is another space where Long Tail Pro could shine. If you’re going to do serious affiliate marketing, then you’ll probably want an SEO tool that can keep track of all your links and numbers, including keyword ranking stats.

4) Backlink monitoring tool

Backlink monitoring tools like Serpstat let you monitor thousands of your site’s backlinks at a time. The tool provides you with several helpful charts and graphs, giving you real-time insights into how your website is performing and helping to identify when it needs some more love. It can also help identify broken links on your site. (Source: Eric Enge)

5) Editorial calendar management tool

When writing an editorial calendar, it’s important to be proactive and think about your audience. Instead of simply listing out all your articles for a month and letting them publish without direction, you should have a plan for when your content will post, where it will publish, how people will find it and how they can engage with each piece.

6) Customer relationship management software for affiliates

Should you be doing your affiliate marketing work through an affiliate network or by building your own affiliate program? This is a legitimate debate, as each has its pros and cons. But regardless of how you decide to approach your affiliate marketing strategy, having customer relationship management (CRM) software can dramatically improve efficiency and give you a competitive edge. Here are some of our favorite CRM tools for affiliates and why they’re so critical to staying ahead of competition and top-of-mind with current and potential partners.

7) Payment processor software for affiliates

eMarketer estimates that $3.2 billion will be spent on affiliate marketing and marketing relationships in 2023, which equates to an astounding 24% of total sales. In order to maximize your returns, you’ll need a way to track payments and commissions. Shopify Payments and Commission Junction can help with that.

8) Sales funnel automation software for affiliates

Starting an affiliate business can be hard—especially if you’re a solo operator. There are a lot of moving parts, and it can be hard to keep track of everything. Whether you’re an agency or manage a single website, it’s important to have some sort of organization for your affiliate campaigns. Here’s where sales funnel automation comes into play: It serves as your affiliate manager in that sense by making sure every aspect of your campaign is organized and accounted for.