7 Ways Affiliates Cheat
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There is a post on affiliate blackhat PPC on the PPC Blog that any affiliate manager should read as a primer on cheating affiliates.
The tactics are focused on things like geotargeting and dayparting to hide forbidden affiliate PPC campaigns from affiliate managers.
“There are a number of tricks I have seen used to bend completely flaunt many affiliate programs terms & policies. One of the most common PPC policies is to disallow affiliates from bidding against merchant brand terms, as the merchant will generally get that sale 99% of the time anyway not having to pay a premium to an affiliate for it. From the other side, obviously it makes sense for an affiliate to bid against brand as it cuts away the hard work of finding a niche as & they know it will convert. It’s a low hanging fruit.
Another popular affiliate network policy is to ban affiliates from sending traffic direct to a merchants site because the merchant or ad agency are already running a paid search campaign, the merchant does not trust affiliates to uphold their ‘brand image’ within adverts or perhaps for a variety of other reasons.”
Here are the areas detailed in the post, Flaunting Affiliate Network Rules With Blackhat PPC:
- Bidding At Certain Times
- Geo-targeting
- IP Exclusion
- Advert Tricks
- Masking Affiliate URLs
- Sending Traffic To A Different Domain
- Using Broad Match To Bypass Trademarks
If you don’t already cover these issues in your affiliate agreement, be sure to revise it now.
And don’t just file this away. I know a lot of affiliate managers are already monitoring this sort of behavior – if you manage an affiliate program and don’t keep an eye on this stuff, it’s time to start.
- Posted in Affiliate Opinions, Affiliate Resources
I read that post on Search Anyway’s blog too. I am glad someone is addressing it.
reply to this commentyou are so lame man….all the time it’s only the cheating affiliates. you make sales for the stupid merchant anyways..
reply to this commenthow is it when a merchant doesn’t pay commissions on time ? i don’t see u all up about that.
no worries man, you and your industry won’t stop us from making money..
Dear Raz -
I’m a critic of scumbags of all kinds, whether they are affiliates, merchants or networks.
> how is it when a merchant doesn’t pay commissions on time ? i don’t see u all up about that.
See the video I posted yesterday at http://one.revver.com/watch/445097
Checkmate.
reply to this commentDear Shawn,
thanks for the advice to forget about the money.
you are really helping the affiliates. but i guess one can not bite the hand that feeds him.
what is your advice for someone from Europe who is owned $5,000 by an American merchant ? which merchant was part of one of the top 3 networks ?
and why is someone a scumbag just because they advertise for the stupid merchant and make him money ? should i remind you that this trademark thing includes all variations, so they’d rather not make sales than split with someone else.
anyways, don’t categorize so easily people that just trying to make a living and still make money for an ungrateful merchant. probably the best thing is to buy trademark keywords and advertise their competitors.
not even close to checkmate.
reply to this commentThanks for the post. I spend WAY too much time chasing down affiliates who are hiding brand bidding.
I think that affiliates need to realize that these rules benefit them as well. You don’t want to be competing for a sale against a fellow affiliate doing brand bidding.
A clean program benefits the affiliates and the merchant.
reply to this commentI said to this particular affiliate, who would spend more to engage a lawyer than they could help to get back from the merchant, that they were better off not going the legal route.
By the way, I am an affiliate.
Contact a lawyer based in the U.S. that will provide you with a free consultation and give them the details. If they think you have a good case, then pursue legal avenues.
Because they are intentionally violating the terms to which they agreed. If they’re not violating the terms, then there is no problem.
If you are adding value to a transaction, rather than acting as a parasite, explain what you are doing to the merchant. If they aren’t willing to work with you in such a circumstance, promote their competitors.
But in all cases, if you are unsure whether an activity is permitted, ask first.
reply to this comment