Some affiliates design web pages or even banner ads to drop affiliate cookies when a user merely visits another web page. This violates the rules of affiliate marketing: Commission is only supposed to be paid if a user 1) sees an affiliate link, 2) clicks the link, and 3) makes a purchase. By skipping step 2, low-intention traffic can get paid vastly more, but sends the advertiser traffic that the advertiser would otherwise have gotten for free
Historically, analysts often called this practice “cookie stuffing” because perpetrators would load (“stuff”) cookies into invisible windows such as 1×1 IFRAMEs. These days, some websites instead “click-jack” users’ clicks, so that a user requesting one thing gets something else instead or in addition. Meanwhile, some ad networks specialize in selling this traffic, making a complicated web of affiliates, networks, and sites where the misconduct hits users.
We track these problems to protect advertisers. We follow even the most complicated JavaScript and other obfuscation to figure out who’s involved – not just ID numbers, but every intermediary in a chain.
Low-intention traffic effectively asks large advertisers to pay for traffic it would otherwise get for free. Example: At stealthisvideo.com, a popunder loads an affiliate link to mega-advertiser.com. Users ignore the popunder. But some users happen to buy from mega-advertisers anyway – assuming it’s a huge and popular site. According to the mega-advertiser’s affiliate program rules, commission is payable if a user buys within 7 days of the affiliate link. If a rogue affiliate buys enough popunder traffic, it will happen to hit some users who shop from a mega-advertiser within the next 7 days, and it will get paid accordingly. That’s a bad deal for a mega-advertiser – asking the advertiser to pay for traffic that was entirely nonincremental.
Small advertisers also have reason to be concerned. If a user is at a site with unlawful or objectionable content – be it copyright infringement, pornography, gambling, or other content harmful to a brand – most advertisers won’t want to be involved. And no one likes popups or popunders.
We use custom automation to test hundreds of sites known to engage in low-intention traffic. We deploy numerous simultaneous browsers on a range of devices and conditions, in order to detect all manner of attempts at low-intention traffic. When we find traffic targeting the advertisers and networks we work with, we let them know.
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VPT helps clients keep their affiliate programs clean. Every dollar paid to fraudsters is a dollar less for legitimate affiliates that drive genuine and incremental value. Let us help you focus your spend on the affiliates that matter!
