How do you use data to identify and avoid fraudulent or low-quality affiliates?

To detect fraudulent affiliates, you must log the quality of the traffic they bring to your website. It's important to keep track of your conversion rates, but also of the typical user behavior. Monitoring data points relating to user behavior allows you to flag suspicious traffic that comes with affiliate fraud.

By monitoring the conversion rate. If the conversion rate is too high, it’s likely an issue. With our clients, every sale is checked on the backend to make sure it’s valid.

Make sure that your T&Cs are tight, and that you have agreed with the affiliate on all the details - geos of traffic, traffic types, CPA triggers etc. One of the first red flags - anything outside the agreed terms, or a sudden increase in Clicks - notice, and check.

Traffic patterns look different for different types of affiliates. For example, if we're using a last-click attribution model, search affiliates may yield a higher conversion rate, while content affiliates display a lower conversion rate. However, content affiliates may be more likely to drive higher-value customers. The key is to gauge affiliate performance, and the quality of their traffic, based on segmented benchmarks.

A quick background check of the affiliate, their business, LinkedIn profile, and website is a good way to reduce fraud sign-ups for your program. Also, I've let go of a few regions which are not a target focus for me or the product (For eg, Lebanon, Pakistan, etc).

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When working with a new affiliate, it's crucial to closely monitor their traffic and conversion patterns to spot any potential fraudulent or low-quality activity. Be wary of unusual trends, such as high traffic with low conversions or vice versa, as these can be red flags. To safeguard your business, investigate the sources of their traffic and consider withholding payments initially until you can verify the legitimacy of their performance and allow any chargebacks to surface. By doing this, you can protect your programme from fraudulent affiliates.

To identify and avoid fraudulent or low-quality affiliates, analyze data for red flags such as unusually high traffic with low conversions, inconsistent sales patterns, or frequent returns. Use advanced analytics tools to track user behavior and affiliate performance across multiple channels. Implement IP tracking and geo-location to detect suspicious activity. Regularly audit affiliate accounts, setting clear quality standards. By closely monitoring data, you can spot anomalies early and take corrective action to maintain program integrity.

I would highlight the significance of staying adaptable in your data approach. Regularly reassess the relevance of chosen metrics based on evolving business goals and industry trends. A dynamic data strategy ensures that the metrics being tracked align with your current objectives, providing actionable insights for continuous improvement in affiliate performance.

That’s an easy one just look at the conversion rate, click to sale, or click to lead. If it’s too high, over your typical average conversion rate, dig into it. If you find fraud terminate the Affiliate. If you determine they have done something that violates terms.

Affiliates come in various types, including content creators, influencers, bloggers, coupon sites, loyalty programs, and comparison sites. Each type leverages its unique approach to drive traffic and sales. Content creators focus on quality content, influencers use their social reach, bloggers provide in-depth reviews, coupon sites offer discounts, loyalty programs retain customers, and comparison sites help users make informed decisions. Understanding these diverse affiliate types enables businesses to tailor their strategies and collaborations for maximum effectiveness.

you can segment by type of affiliate, i.e. coupon, content, browser extension, influencer, etc. and determine how they do what they and what value it brings to the company.

When it comes to spotting fraudulent affiliates in Affiliate Marketing, it's all about data. First, gather data on your affiliates and segment them by criteria like traffic source or location. Compare their performance to identify the stars, the average ones, and the underperformers. 🚀 Speaking from my 25+ years of industry experience, using a tool like ClearTrust can be a game-changer. It's like having a Jedi lightsaber to combat Ad Fraud. ClearTrust validates traffic, protects clicks, and filters out the bad stuff. It's the hero we need in Affiliate Marketing!

Definitely segment affiliates by traffic source - this will later help to notice any abnormalities, when comparing similar affiliates and their actions.

I would like to highlight that sometimes it is enough to compare the traffic per country within the same affiliate. One can launch pop-up with huge volumes of clicks and reasonable CR into leads for some countries, while for the high paying countries, there will be a different traffic source unexpectedly with extremely high CR into leads and no user activity after at all. Apparently, this indicates about anomaly.The partner can use comments like 'you know my traffic, you can rely on it'. But that doesn't work, it is not the reason to trust. The performance of all countries within the same affiliate must be reviewed separately.

High conversion rate doesn't always mean fraud. Cashback affiliates naturally have high conversion rates. And if you see fraudulent sale coming from a cashback affiliate, don't kick them out of the program just yet. Reach out and ask to disable user accounts that driving fraudulent orders and find out what the affiliate is doing to minimize it in the future.

Segmentation is important for both analysis and traffic orchestration; keeping a database that includes your affiliates media properties, their traffic channels (app, email, web, social), and their dominant geographies. This not only helps you to analyze and compare traffic volume and quality, but is crucial for succesfull campaign orchestration.

Check all the sales referred by affiliates each week or each month to ensure no affiliates are paid out for any bad sales. This is called a monthly reconciliation process.

Use tools like Brandverity and SPyfu to monitor your program from trademark bidders and partners generating ads that make your brand look bad.

One thing that majorly helps prevent fraud and low-quality affiliates is having an approval process. For my keyword research tool, I only allow approval affiliates that either: 1. Have their own audience (course, youtube channel, twitter following, etc...) 2. Are active members of the community This not only helps prevent fraud but reduces the chance of people spamming their affiliate link and harming your brand.

In B2B SaaS, there's a low chance of fraud if your affiliate program rewards on conversions Vs clicks or impressions or leads signed up. Set your program in the right order.

An often-overlooked tactic is to actively speak with affiliates who drive a significant amount of sales. Let them share their methods with you. Ask them to demonstrate the websites and sources they use to better understand the business. A serious affiliate will have no problems providing this information.

When it comes to affiliate marketing, avoiding fraud is crucial. I've got years of experience in this field, and I can't stress enough how vital it is to use data. ClearTrust is a top-notch solution for detecting and preventing fraud. It's like having a trusty sidekick in your marketing journey. Give it a try and watch your program thrive!

BrandVerity, Peeformline, WatchTower.......can help, but ultimately you need someone who has an eye for it and also knows how to setup these tools

Detecting fraud is multi prong, beginning with a rigorous approach to traffic monitoring, including keeping an eye out for traffic spikes, conversion rate anomaly's, device types (android, iphone, desktop) and location (are users displaced across the US generally relative to census or do they appear to be isolated in 2-3 locations)... and finally, client data... All too often, affiliates will shy away from asking clients about quality but this is crucial feedback for building a long lasting, efficient and profitable affiliate program.

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A great insight I'd like to share - give your top affiliates a page on your website with their company / CEO branding! Boom - every top affiliate loves this and drives more conversions.

Make the affiliate traffic convert as well as possible is always the goal. The better their traffic converts, the happier they will be and therefore put more resources and energy into promoting the brand.

Harness the power of data to refine and incentivize your affiliate network, propelling your program to greater heights. Dive into analytics to perfect your landing pages, offers, and promotional materials, aiming to skyrocket conversions and return on ad spend. Leverage data insights to tailor your approach to your audience's unique tastes and behaviors. Craft a commission model that fairly compensates your affiliates for their hard-earned results, ensuring it's competitive and rewarding. Beyond financial incentives, consider offering bonuses, running contests, and providing constructive feedback or training sessions to keep your affiliates motivated and equipped for success.

Provide custom landingpages for affiliates that perform well. Including their logo on the landing page sometimes might help increase conversions as it builds up on the trust the affiliate generated on their side.

Within 60 days of program launch, you can use your built-up-data to inform commission rates, payouts and bonuses. Use this data to reward your best converting affiliates with higher payouts or extra bonuses for meeting specific milestones.