3 Genuine Reasons Why SiteGround stopping services for few countries including India

SiteGround just inform their affiliate partners from India that they have decided to discontinue the Affiliate program for the Indian region, and they will permanently suspend Indian affiliate accounts on November 5, 2020.

1. Why SiteGround close operations in some countries including India?

SiteGround claims, taking this decision was not easy for them as they have many loyal affiliates who have partnered with them for years.

Unfortunately, due to a combination of poor performance indicators and the growing regulatory complexities in some regions including India, it becomes ineffective to support the program.

2. What are poor performance indicators?

• The affiliate relationship is a pay-for-performance model, where they pay for every sale, they generate through affiliate partners.
• The commission rates typical for the hosting industry, which they offer to their affiliate partners, are among the highest out there and traditionally they exceed the value of an initial sale.
• Therefore, they closely monitor Key Performance Indicator (KPIs) such as
  • Referred accounts’ lifetime span
  • Value
  • Renewal rates
• These parameters determine the ability to secure a fair revenue share for affiliate partners and the long-term sustainability of the affiliate program.
• Unfortunately, SiteGround’s latest analysis illustrates the sales coming from the Indian region have declining KPIs, including among others
  • Alarmingly low renewal rates
  • Higher cancellation rate than program averages
  • The short life span of the referred accounts.

3. Salient Cause: Regulatory and tax complexities

Another negative trend that SiteGround has been observed in India and several other regions is the heavier regulations and growing tax complexities that impose an additional financial and bureaucratic burden on the affiliate program.

All these factors impose a growing financial risk for them, and they can no longer guarantee the sustainability of the program overall. That is why they have taken the hard decision to discontinue operations in India and several other regions.

What does this mean for current Indian affiliate partners?

• On November 5, 2020, SiteGround will suspend all affiliate account belong to India. It means that Indian affiliate partners will be no longer able to log into their Affiliate area.
• If you are their client (hosting & other service users) then you will still be able to access the user area. However, you will no longer have access to its Affiliate section.
• Don’t worry, your outstanding affiliate sales, accumulated prior to the account suspension, will be processed as per their standard terms and conditions.
• All approved commissions till then will be duly paid out to all affiliate partners.
• No commission will be due for sales generated after the suspension date (sales generated since November 6, 2020).
• They are requesting to remove all SiteGround-related information, including banners, logos, reviews, and links from related websites prior to November 5, 2020, to prevent generating new affiliate sales & violating the SiteGround Affiliate Terms & Condition (T&C).
• As per section 9 of T&C, they reserve the right to revoke affiliate users’ right to use their trademark and other brand items.

What after SiteGround’s suspension?

SiteGround is famous among the hosting users thanks to its Google-hosted solution & unique admin panel. Appreciations to affiliate partners who attracted a large chunk of hosting customers toward SiteGround. Unfortunately, they no longer take advantage of SiteGround’s affiliate program.

Of course, hosting seekers & campaigners will start exploring new opportunities. Innately, this decision of SiteGround will benefit renowned hosting companies like Bluehost & Hostinger.

By the way, which hosting do you prefer & why? let me know via comments.