By Dhiraj Gupta
Affiliate marketing is undeniably a lucrative channel for brands to connect with their target audience, but it has also become a hotspot for fraudulent activities. Dishonest affiliates employ deceptive practices to claim their commissions, impacting the trust in affiliate programmes and harming genuine affiliates.
As an affiliate manager, vigilance is key. Here are critical warning signs that may indicate fraudulent activities in your campaigns:
Too-good-to-be-true KPI performance: In digital marketing, perfection is rare― and affiliate campaigns are no exception. If an affiliate consistently meets or exceeds every KPI, such as lead or sales targets, it’s time to investigate. While their performance may appear stellar, it could be a cover for deceptive tactics like cookie stuffing, click spamming and injections. Affiliates hijack organic traffic and share it as their paid traffic. So, brands end up paying for their own sales / leads (which were coming organically) and are under the delusion that the affiliates are giving them a great performance.
Spike in CPC for branded keywords on search ads: An unexplained surge in cost-per-click (CPC) for branded keywords may indicate affiliates are bidding on your brand keywords on search ads. These terms typically drive high-quality, low-cost traffic from loyal customers. Affiliates often mimic these ads, directing users to the brand’s website while attributing conversions to themselves. This tactic inflates your ad spend as affiliates drive up bid prices while pocketing commissions for genuine, high-intent users.
Orders without deliveries: Some affiliates inflate order volumes by placing fake orders to junk addresses. These orders, especially cash-on-delivery (COD), fail delivery attempts and are marked as returns (RTO). Despite no actual fulfillment, the analytics show orders, leading brands to pay undeserved commissions to affiliates.
Resellers exploiting affiliate campaigns: Affiliates may partner with resellers, offering them a portion of their commission to undercut your pricing. For instance, if a brand’s product is listed at ₹100 and affiliates receive a 10% commission, resellers could purchase at ₹100, get ₹5 from the affiliate, and sell it at ₹97. This means that affiliates effectively use the brand’s commission to offer discounts, making your products cheaper on reseller platforms than your own website.
Fake influencers: Some affiliates masquerade as influencers but fail to drive genuine engagement. Instead of leveraging their audience, they put discount codes given to them by brands on coupon sites or deal-sharing platforms, from where users end up on the brand’s website creating an illusion of performance. As a result, they get commission using their discount codes and without bringing any genuine user to the brand’s website.
If you spot any of these signs in your affiliate campaigns, act quickly. Fraudulent practices not only waste ad spend but also undermine trust in the affiliate ecosystem. To combat this demand transparency. Ensure complete visibility into campaign data to assess performance objectively. Also, validate traffic quality. Regularly monitor and validate affiliate traffic to detect and mitigate risks. Above all, foster trustworthy partnerships. Work with affiliates who prioritise ethical practices to build sustainable, long-term relationships.
By staying proactive and prioritizing transparency, brands can protect their investments and foster an affiliate ecosystem that benefits all stakeholders.
The author is co-founder & CTO, mFilterIT. The views expressed are personal and not necessarily those of financialexpress.com.
