ClickBank Link Theft: Is It Really That Bad?

If you have visited any of the affiliate-related websites or read any of the various ebooks about affiliate marketing, you've almost certainly seen references to the thorny subject of link theft. Indeed, so contentious is this issue that it is frequently discussed in forums and a whole arsenal of third party weapons has evolved to help defeat it. But is the problem really as serious it is made out to be?

As an affiliate, it is almost impossible to quantify the amount of commission you lose through deliberate link hijacking or other, less malicious, forms of commission losses. You can accurately measure the number of referrals you make to any particular merchant or product and your sales stats will tell you what percentage of these referrals result in sales. But you have no way of knowing how many sales occur in a manner that somehow deprives you of your commission.

Even merchants, who see the other side of the business relationship, can only guess at the true extent of commission losses. When a merchant reviews his overall sales stats he will see two types of sales: those on which an affiliate commission was paid and those for which there is no known affiliate. Within the former group, the majority will derive from genuine affiliate referrals, but a percentage will be the result of link theft. Similarly, within the latter group, a proportion will derive from the merchant's own promotional efforts and the remainder from other forms of losses, including bypassing. But that's as far as the analysis goes. There is no accurate way of isolating link theft from genuine referrals and, likewise, no way to determine the level of other losses disguised as direct sales. Even a merchant who undertakes no active promotion of his own cannot be sure that all of his un-attributed sales arise out of referral losses. Some of them may come from unsolicited search engine listings or inbound links from other non-affiliated websites.

However, an interesting experiment was conducted by Bogdan Ravaru, author of The HTML Security Report, in which he created the conditions necessary to accurately measure link theft. After launching a new software product, using a newly established ClickBank account, he signed himself up as the sole affiliate. By not publicizing his affiliate program, he could be certain that there would be no other legitimate affiliates.

He then used paid advertising to generate a small but rapid influx of web traffic to his sales page. He was pleased with the sales results - 13 immediate buyers for his product - but was astonished to find that 46% of them were referrals from affiliates other than him. Clearly, 6 of the 13 buyers were already ClickBank affiliates who had used their own affiliate accounts to secure illicit discounts on their purchases.

Of course, this is just one isolated experience. But other marketers have conducted their own trials and tend to agree that the overall rate of commission losses may be as high as 35%. Clearly, the problem is serious enough to have a significant impact on affiliate income.

There is a consensus of opinion among marketers that link theft is worse on products aimed at the online marketing community - the suggestion being that marketers are knowledgeable about the affiliate process and thus better able to manipulate it to their advantage. There are also large variations in theft levels between different types of affiliate programs.

Affiliate networks, such as ClickBank, are much more susceptible to hijacking than standalone programs. This is because of the greater statistical likelihood that any given referred prospect will already be a program member. Few prospects would go to the effort of joining a new affiliate program, merely to secure an illicit discount, but many would be tempted by easy savings from an existing program membership.

Before ClickBank introduced its current hoplink procedure, it was possible for a link thief to misappropriate the commission on a purchase, simply by re-invoking the hoplink process using a manually entered URL. The ease with which a dishonest affiliate could "type and steal" made it an attractive target for casual thieves.

But this loophole was eliminated as part of a range of security enhancements introduced by ClickBank in August 2002. And referral security was further tightened during the October 2003 upgrade to the hoplink system. Although these measures do not constitute perfect solutions to the ongoing problem of link theft, the progressive enhancement of the referral system is helping to deter the casual hijacker.

Merchants can also play a role in protecting their affiliates against referral losses, both through education and through the use of protective technologies.

A small minority of merchants employs the somewhat drastic step of screening every purchase and validating the referring affiliate (if any) prior to the delivery of the product. The validation occurs in real-time, using a database of registered affiliates. If the referral comes from a known affiliate, the product is delivered in the normal manner. But if the referrer is unknown - as would be the case when a link theft occurs - the buyer finds herself in the embarrassing position of explaining how the referral occurred. Unfortunately, the technical challenges in implementing and managing such a system with ClickBank are likely to exceed the benefits it would deliver.

If all else fails, the affiliate can take her own steps to protect and survive. The simplest of these involves only minor changes to the HTML code used in the web pages containing referral links and other techniques, including the ever-popular link cloaking, are in widespread usage.

But, despite the considerable selection of protective technologies employed by ClickBank, its merchants and their affiliates, none is foolproof. For example, a determined link fraudster can defeat every known defensive system simply by deleting her ClickBank cookie file prior to making a purchase. If an affiliate is sufficiently savvy and committed to gaining an undeserved commission, nothing will stand in her way. Therefore, as with any business problem, we must avoid the temptation to become obsessed with referral security at the expense of our other profit-making activities.

About The Author

Copyright © Tim Coulter. All rights reserved.

Tim Coulter is a consultant and software developer who helps netpreneurs to harness marketing technologies.

He is also the author of "ClickBank - The Definitive Guide" The Ultimate ClickBank Tutorial & Reference Manual.

http://www.clickbankrevealed.com/

---

How to Make More Money with Google AdSense

Like any Google AdSense Publisher, you will want to increase... Read More

How to Make Every AdSense Ad on the Google Network Pay You!

Wouldn't it be great if every keyword in Google's entire... Read More

99 High Paying Keywords: The Secret Is Out!

Incorporating high paying keywords into your site is critical to... Read More

PPC Management: When To Give Up On A Loser

Pay per click (PPC) advertising can be a dream come... Read More

Local Business Advertising & Google Adwords

"I don't need the Internet to advertise - I'm a... Read More

Advertising Click Fraud Rampant Online?

"Pay-per-click," by far the most popular form of online advertising,... Read More

How To Increase The ROI On Your PPC Campaigns

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising is one of the most cost effective... Read More

Discover How to Create Ads Which Give Incredible Results!

Many people decide to spend a lot of money putting... Read More

Managing PPC Campaigns Inhouse

Pay-per-click search engine advertising has generated ample interest in the... Read More

Pay-Per-Click Search Engines: A Really Bad Investment

What was once such a good thing is now a... Read More

You Wont Make Dollars If You Dont use AdSense

As the dust settles and the excitement caused by Google's... Read More

Pay Per Click Search Engine Marketing - Starting A Campaign

Pay per click advertising is an on-going and growing arsenal... Read More

AdWords: Setting Your Max Cost Per Click

We've received many emails from customers over the past several... Read More

MSN PPC Advertising Network Finally Debuts

MSN PPC Advertising Long-Awaited Debut Announced You probably already know... Read More

Picking The Right Keywords For A PPC Campaign

Running a pay-per-click advertising campaign can be very expensive if... Read More

We Are Right In The Middle Of A Pay Per Click Baby Boom

No, this baby boom will certainly not swamp the Social... Read More

Pay Per Click: Whats It All About?

No doubt you've heard the phrase "pay per click" before.... Read More

Profiting From Second Tier Pay Per Click Search Engines

Once you venture into the world of Pay Per Click... Read More

How To Win The War of Pay per Click Advertising.

Do you know what is the most important question among... Read More

Affiliate Marketing with Google AdWords

One of the best kept secrets in today's affiliate marketing... Read More

How to Increase Your AdSense Revenue Stream

Google's AdSense program is one of the best, if not... Read More

Plan Your Way to Pay-Per-Click Campaign Success!

Have you heard the saying, "planning is everything?" Perhaps there... Read More

Google for Resellers: Leveling the Resell Playing Field

With so many people trying to make money on the... Read More

The Truth About Google Adsense

Make $$$$ with Google Adsense! Top Paying Keywords! $100 per... Read More

Replacing AdSense Defaults with Paying Ads

Many online ad programs, including AdSense, will sometimes show default... Read More

A Fundamental Overview Of Pay Per Click Search Engines

Forbes magazine has reported that pay per click ad sales... Read More

Understanding Google AdSense

Google AdSense allows webmasters to dynamically serve... Read More

Campaign Strategy for Paid Placement

Campaign strategy for Paid placement:A Paid Marketing campaigns provides immediate... Read More

Advertising Using PPC Search Engines

Internet technology offers vast opportunities to promote your business with... Read More

3 Tips For Adwords PPC Management

Adwords PPC Management Tip No. 1Setting up an accountIf you... Read More

Pay Per Click Advertising For Home Business Owners

The biggest stumbling block for most home business owners is... Read More

Making Google Adsense Work For You

If you have been online for quiet some time you... Read More

PPC Fraud, Google Stands to Lose Millions

Google stands to lose millions if fraud continues. It is... Read More