Case Study: Semrush achieves a 400% increase in new partner sign-ups and a modernized, scalable affiliate program with impact.com

From in-house to powerhouse Semrush’s affiliate program transformation

Semrush, a leading digital marketing platform serving over 10 million users, faced limits with its decade-old, in-house affiliate system: a first-click attribution model with a 10-year cookie, poor UX, and limited reporting. Those legacy constraints skewed attribution, discouraged new affiliates, and stalled program growth despite the brand’s expanding partner needs.

Semrush migrated to impact.com, implementing API integrations, training, customizable contracts and dashboards, and switched to a last-click model with a 120-day cookie. The modern platform improved transparency, partner experience and payout flexibility, helped migrate 1,000+ partners, and drove a 400% increase in new partner sign-ups within six months, positioning the program for scalable growth.

Semrush

Olga Leonteva

Senior Operations Manager