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Fraud and its varieties in affiliate marketing
What is fraud? It is the deliberate attraction of low-quality traffic under the guise of valid leads. It is mainly associated with traffic managers who try to cheat the system and make a profit from advertisers. There are also unintentional cases of fraud, especially common among newcomers to the field, when a person thinks he has found a “loophole” that will help him earn extra money. But why do traffic managers resort to this type of traffic?
The answer is simple. Such traffic is much cheaper than targeted traffic and is common in CPA, CPI, CPL and COD payment models. Due to the simple conversion points in them, the temptation to make money with minimal effort is very great. For example, a traffic manager can send a link to a website to all his friends, who, at his request, will register and make a minimum deposit, thus fulfilling the target action of the offer, but their interaction with the advertiser does not continue.
For a traffic manager, a massive fraud detected is a risk of financial loss. If fraud is detected, any affiliate network can block the account and, by right, not pay the due remuneration. For the industry as a whole, this is primarily a loss of reputation, since affiliate marketing is associated with something dishonest. For advertisers, it is wasted money (when paying for this traffic), since there is no way to interact with it in the future.
There are several types of traffic fraud, including:
* Traffic bots - bots that mimic the behavior of real people, performing desired actions through user interfaces. They can leave leads, install applications, answer surveys, etc.
* Motivated traffic - one of the most popular fraud methods. It includes all Internet users who perform targeted actions in exchange for a reward. In this case, the reward for the action is the user's main motivation, but he or she is not interested in the product itself.
* Multiple accounts - traffic is generated through accounts created by the traffic manager and imitates attractive users. This type of fraud is also developed among users (bonus hunting) with the aim of receiving additional welcome bonuses.
* Click fraud - this occurs when bots or individuals not interested in the product click on ads with the sole purpose of inflating click metrics. This type of fraud drains the advertiser's budget without generating real conversions.
* Conversion fraud - sending fake conversions so that advertisers believe that a sale was made or a lead was generated. In many cases, fraudulent affiliates use automated tools to simulate conversions.
* Cookie stuffing - when an affiliate places multiple cookies on a device without the user taking a legitimate action. In this way, the affiliate attempts to claim credit for sales that they did not actually influence.
* Fake impressions - similar to multiple accounts, this fraud involves creating fake ad "viewers" through bots that generate ad views that were never actually seen by humans.
* Traffic hijacking - Fraudulent affiliates can redirect legitimate users to third-party pages without the advertiser noticing, stealing traffic paid for through other channels.
Some methods of traffic extraction are also called fraud (although some advertisers use them):
* mislaid - deliberately manipulating user expectations
* spam - mass mailing on social networks or e-mail
* intrusive advertising - popunders, pop-ups and other types of ads that the user is forced to click or clicks accidentally
* brand impersonation - creating a website or social media page on behalf of a brand and publishing content on its behalf
Fraud ad networks
Not only media buyers, but also advertising networks that want to profit from traffic managers. For example, if you accept an offer and use the services of a dishonest ad network, instead of traffic, you will receive a flood of bots or untargeted traffic that does not convert. The money invested in advertising in this case will only benefit the ad network.
Combating fraud
To combat low-quality traffic, several automated systems are used that analyze user lifetime, GEO, activity, target action speed, etc., and traffic analysis - dwell time.
* Constant monitoring: The key to combating fraud is continuous monitoring and the use of advanced analytics tools to identify abnormal behavior patterns.
* AI and machine learning: AI-based tools can detect suspicious activity in real time, such as an excessive number of clicks or conversions coming from a single source.
* Lead verification: To prevent lead fraud, many advertisers implement verification systems that validate the information of generated leads before compensating publishers.
* Cookie auditing and control: Implementing strict cookie tracking policies can help prevent cookie stuffing.
Dwell time is different for every advertiser. But this method of lead evaluation is currently the primary method of combating fraud. Advertisers evaluate the retention of attracted leads and, based on this, can draw conclusions about the presence of fraud. For the same purpose, there are baselines and redeposits.
Conclusion
Advertisers have been fighting fraud since the beginning of affiliate marketing, while trying to maintain loyalty and attractive stories for traffic managers. But everyone agrees that reducing the share of fraud will only be possible if the number of people who use it as a tool for easy money decreases.
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Source: 1win Partners
