2016: We Came, We Saw, We Conquered
Are you partnering with the right affiliates? Are you paying your publishers too much? Are they working against your interests? Do you know what this is costing your business? PartnerCentric knows the answers. By preventing commission payouts that would have only rewarded bad publishers for their behavior, our clients saved critical marketing dollars by being proactive and interdicting before problems could arise.
As long as there is a “system” in place, there will be people trying to game it. The world of affiliate marketing is no exception. Last year we added more than 500 new websites and publisher accounts to our database of non-compliant affiliates. We intervened in more than 1000 instances of trademark violations, and identified nearly 100 publisher accounts driving fraudulent transactions. It is not enough merely having a Terms of Service agreement. If you are not enforcing those terms, then you are likely losing money.
There are many ways an unguarded affiliate program can be exploited, from trademark infringement to unauthorized promo code use to submitting fake leads in a referral program, to name just a few. Non-compliant publishers will compete against you in your SEM campaigns, regardless of your program terms. These publishers can ad insult to injury, too. After they have increased the cost of your ad-spend, they then expect to be paid a commission for traffic they “drove” to your site--only after they cut in front of you in line! If you are paying publishers for referrals, be sure that someone will try to send you bogus leads in order to reap that hefty payday.
Publishers can also cheat other publishers. This, too, will cost you in lost revenue-generating opportunities. Most publishers will abide by the rules. Don’t let a bad publisher damage a beneficial relationship by increasing your partners’ PPC costs or even stealing their commissions outright. If your publisher partners do not think you are looking out for their well-being, they will find other advertisers to promote. And, if you remove a non-compliant publisher from your program, the work doesn’t stop there. Once a publisher has taken a ride on the gravy train, they will endeavor to climb back on.
Non-compliant publishers are always looking for new ways to beat old safeguards. You must be able to adapt to new and emerging hazards. PartnerCentric has a unique advantage in the affiliate world, in that we see across 16 different platforms and a wide-variety of advertiser verticals. We are able to better develop and hone industry best practices, and know how to tweak them for different scenarios. This vantage point allows us to counteract the constantly evolving tactics employed by unscrupulous publishers. We are constantly revising and improving our methods to prevent the next threat. Our hands-on monitoring of your program will minimize the risk posed by these bad actors. Our mission is not just to be reactive, but proactive as well.
There is a certain type of publisher that is working full-time to cheat you. Are you working full-time to stop them?
Contact us today to find out if your company is paying too much for your affiliate program.
