19 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
19 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Affiliates Links Clickbank Links and Commision Hijacking

by reapr
15 replies
This was a great read and I learned a few methods from.

Clickbank links and commission hijacking

I was familiar with many of the ways affiliates can get hijacked or loose commission.

I hate seeing op-in forms on vendors pages that is an excellent way to hijack your traffic.
I hate seeing a free offer for chapters .... for the same reason. Unless the merchant is on the up and up and has a way to address how they can track through from the free chapter offers and op-ins to the final sale it is simple wrong.

I hate the bait and switch often noticed when conversions drop and the merchant has recently added an op in, free chapters or a report designed to steal traffic unless as I said above unless the referring affiliate gets full credit through proper tracking of that product through those offers.
#affiliates #clickbank #commision #hijacking #links
  • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
    Originally Posted by reapr View Post

    I hate seeing op-in forms on vendors pages that is an excellent way to hijack your traffic.
    Not always... sometimes its a way for you to make more commissions.

    For example in my own affiliate system we track by IP and cookie and have smart anti affiliate theft detection systems in place.

    The last legitimate referrer always wins and affiliate thieves get screwed. The system tracks even if someone uses a different browser, clears their cookies, or hops on a laptop on the same internet connection.

    Our system pays on front and back end sales so even if a buyer does not buy the product from the initial site they opted in on the affiliate makes commissions on back end sales for other products and services.

    No affiliate system is 100% fool proof but we do our best to get as close to that mark as possible.

    The key question that anyone should ask is whether an affiliate system tracks by more than just mere cookies and whether you get paid on back end sales. You will loose huge portions of your referrals if that is the case.
    Signature
    Nanacast Review
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1507167].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author reapr
      Originally Posted by Josh Anderson View Post

      Not always... sometimes its a way for you to make more commissions.

      For example in my own affiliate system we track by IP and cookie and have smart anti affiliate theft detection systems in place.

      The last legitimate referrer always wins and affiliate thieves get screwed. The system tracks even if someone uses a different browser, clears their cookies, or hops on a laptop on the same internet connection.

      Our system pays on front and back end sales so even if a buyer does not buy the product from the initial site they opted in on the affiliate makes commissions on back end sales for other products and services.

      No affiliate system is 100% fool proof but we do our best to get as close to that mark as possible.

      The key question that anyone should ask is whether an affiliate system tracks by more than just mere cookies and whether you get paid on back end sales. You will loose huge portions of your referrals if that is the case.
      That is what I like to hear ...

      Though how would you explain a drop in conversions once and merchant/vendor adds an opt in box or free chapter? Unless the tracking system is not working?

      I am at a point now where I will not even sign up for a merchant if any optin box or free newsletter offer or nothing related to the sale of that product is on the page.

      We are not talking like a 5% drop but more like 50-75%. I have often opted in to such systems and free chapters and have even purchased through the list or have a friend do it to verify and due to the lack of tracking dropped the merchant. The one I hate is where they offer a toll free number and when you call to place an order there is no asking of where the referal or how you heard about us. I will say almost all merchants are good.
      Signature
      Free Niche Keywords and Niche Ideas!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1507219].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
        Originally Posted by reapr View Post

        That is what I like to hear ...

        Though how would you explain a drop in conversions once and merchant/vendor adds an opt in box or free chapter? Unless the tracking system is not working?
        That is why I suggest you check with the vendor on those things I mentioned.

        Unfortunately the majority of self hosted and many other popular solutions only track by cookie.

        That is one reason we have focused so much on developing the best affiliate tracking technology we can... with all the changes in browser security and other issues that can effect tracking its just not acceptable to only track by cookies these days.

        Also drop in conversions can mean many things...

        For example if they are using a crummy squeeze page it could mean less people actually see the sales page, maybe their follow up sucks etc.

        It could also be because better, cheaper, or even free alternatives have become available or other factors have decreased the desirability of their offering.

        You simply cannot draw conclusions accurately without more info. Contact the vendor and ask them why... ask them what affiliate tracking system they are using... ask them if it tracks by cookie and ip and pays on back end sales.

        Personally I think that any vendor who is using an affiliate system that uses only cookies is screwing their affiliates whether the understand the issues or not. They may not be knowingly doing it but ignorance of the most important technologies that govern your business or settling on solutions because they are cheap and sacrificing accuracy is not the right way to go with affiliate management.

        Clickbank has been notorious for affiliate commission theft problems, adware affiliate link hijacking by bad software creators, immunization against their cookies by popular security software, and alleged tracking failures. Additionally the bad part is that until the last few tracking link updates their system made it easy for people to steal commissions which encouraged people to buy off their own affiliate links and created an environment that created a high level of affiliate commission theft.

        What I mean is if vendors choose to recruit and send new affiliates using clickbank as their affiliate tracking system...

        ...its either being lazy, ignorant, or apathetic about affiliate management and tracking accuracy because frankly... besides the popularity of the network itself for free exposure as set and forget type advertising clickbank is NOT the best affiliate management solution by a long shot because of their history of tracking issues and high levels of affiliate theft.
        Signature
        Nanacast Review
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1507328].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author reapr
          Originally Posted by Josh Anderson View Post

          That is why I suggest you check with the vendor on those things I mentioned.

          Unfortunately the majority of self hosted and many other popular solutions only track by cookie.

          That is one reason we have focused so much on developing the best affiliate tracking technology we can... with all the changes in browser security and other issues that can effect tracking its just not acceptable to only track by cookies these days.

          Also drop in conversions can mean many things...

          For example if they are using a crummy squeeze page it could mean less people actually see the sales page, maybe their follow up sucks etc.

          It could also be because better, cheaper, or even free alternatives have become available or other factors have decreased the desirability of their offering.

          You simply cannot draw conclusions accurately without more info. Contact the vendor and ask them why... ask them what affiliate tracking system they are using... ask them if it tracks by cookie and ip and pays on back end sales.

          Personally I think that any vendor who is using an affiliate system that uses only cookies is screwing their affiliates whether the understand the issues or not. They may not be knowingly doing it but ignorance of the most important technologies that govern your business or settling on solutions because they are cheap and sacrificing accuracy is not the right way to go with affiliate management.

          Clickbank has been notorious for affiliate commission theft problems, adware affiliate link hijacking by bad software creators, immunization against their cookies by popular security software, and alleged tracking failures. Additionally the bad part is that until the last few tracking link updates their system made it easy for people to steal commissions which encouraged people to buy off their own affiliate links and created an environment that created a high level of affiliate commission theft.

          What I mean is if vendors choose to recruit and send new affiliates using clickbank as their affiliate tracking system...

          ...its either being lazy, ignorant, or apathetic about affiliate management and tracking accuracy because frankly... besides the popularity of the network itself for free exposure as set and forget type advertising clickbank is NOT the best affiliate management solution by a long shot because of their history of tracking issues and high levels of affiliate theft.
          Lots of insight in your post. Could you recommend further reading on it?
          Signature
          Free Niche Keywords and Niche Ideas!
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1509416].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author Tony Dean
            The 'popups' are getting annoying as well!

            These take traffic off you the affiliate.
            Signature

            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1510107].message }}
            • Profile picture of the author reapr
              Originally Posted by Tony Dean View Post

              The 'popups' are getting annoying as well!

              These take traffic off you the affiliate.
              They are annoying. It was my understanding those pop-up operators though still gave credit on a sale ... am I wrong?
              Signature
              Free Niche Keywords and Niche Ideas!
              {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1510896].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author RGallowitz
    As long as the vendor embeds your affiliate link in their outgoing emails, you will end up making more money in my experience.


    Cheers
    Reinhardt
    Signature
    Make INSANE money by promoting PHYSICAL affiliate products.
    The one and only "GALLO Affiliate System" -
    >> Click Here! <<
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1507190].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author marksinclair
    That's not bad advice. Why not check if they have that stuff before promoting their products?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1507200].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author reapr
      Originally Posted by marksinclair View Post

      That's not bad advice. Why not check if they have that stuff before promoting their products?
      I always check before promoting.

      Where it is a pain is when you have built up a campaign around the sales page and those things start appearing and commissions start dropping.

      I guess there may be value to linking directly to the checkout page .... anyone?
      Signature
      Free Niche Keywords and Niche Ideas!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1507239].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Gee S
    Ok so is there a script that actually gets around these issues. I think popups are fine as long as the affiliate gets the commission. Would something like RAP do the trick?

    Gurpreet
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1510265].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
      Originally Posted by MrEyeconic View Post

      Ok so is there a script that actually gets around these issues. I think popups are fine as long as the affiliate gets the commission. Would something like RAP do the trick?

      Gurpreet
      Most enterprise level affiliate tracking systems will pay on back end sales so popups and squeeze pages do not matter in that sense... what matters is how well a system tracks, whether it pays on back end sales, and whether the vendor themselves has implemented any sneaky or underhanded tactics in the follow up to siphon off leads without paying the commissions on the referred sale.

      You just need to ask the hard questions...

      "Does your affiliate tracking system track by cookie and IP?"

      "Do you pay on back end sales?"

      "Do you use anything in your follow up sequence that might decrease my conversion rate such as overwriting affiliate ID or offering alternative purchase links that do not pay commissions?"

      The problem with "scripts" is that they are a dime a dozen, many are missing essential elements necessary to track more accurately in the current environment of higher browser security and more affiliate theft etc., many are plagued by bugs...

      The key is to pick a solution that tracks by cookie and IP. That is the best way to truly increase tracking accuracy. Refuse to use anything that has a less than accurate tracking record or that only relies on cookies.

      Old scripts that have not been updated or continually developed where the developers are not aware of or do not keep up with these issues should be avoided.

      Again never use any platform, script, service or anything for managing your own affiliate program that uses cookies as its only tracking method. You will be hurting your affiliates if you do.
      Signature
      Nanacast Review
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1511070].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Raul991
        Thanks for all the info! Can you suggest a software to use to protect myself as an affiliate? I have heard that CovertLinks and Samurai Stealth Cloaker could have the solution... hiding the clickbank hoplink for example, does this help to prevent the commission theft? Please help
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2485852].message }}

Trending Topics