OMG, Affiliates and Compliance!
First off I can understand why merchants, especially those in the financial sector, are concerned about compliance. Ideally we’d have everything on our sites 100% accurate, but you know things (like sites you run) get forgotten, content left behind, other things take precedence or heaven forbid we sneaked off for a few days off. Sometimes the network screws up too and doesn’t know where the banners are served from - and the result is one pretty fobbed off affiliate!
In September Virgin Money via OMG emailed us clearly showing that a banner, on one now just about had it website, was not compliant. Yet, the banner was being hosted on OMG’s server! After a few emails back and forth it was finally agreed that yes the banner was on OMG’s servers and needed replacing. We replaced it with another of their hosted banners!
We were then informed that we’d be removed from the program as we’d not been compliant despite having changed the creative to the new banner on their server (and the error being OMG’s!). The result of this was one quite annoyed affiliate! Short of going to Norwich it was impossible for us to change the banner!!!
Thankfully the “misunderstanding” all sorted out and all was well… until today!
Now I’ve been in/out of the office over the last week or so and have only today started to respond to network emails and lo and behold I find that OMG “have just completed an audit of all affiliates currently showing as live on the Virgin credit card campaign, as such we are unable to find any Virgin links on your website/s Could you therefore please advise me as to whether you are indeed promoting the Virgin credit card at present and if so as to where I can find it on your site/s?”.
Unfortunately I’d not got round to emailing them the links, so we’ve been removed (yet again) from the program. You could say, quite fairly, it’s our fault for losing the links (although is 7 days really enough time to reply - do affiliates not have holidays of over 1 week?)
However, what I don’t quite understand here is this…
If OMG could find our site with the wrong banner on in September and then they could find the site to remove it from the program after we’d changed the banner - why can’t they find it again in October? The link has not changed… and they obviously know the sites where banners are being shown otherwise they can’t email affiliates pointing out their noncompliance showing OMG banners!
Anyway from now on I will rest easier as all the Virgin Credit Card links have been removed - so no more compliance issues to worry about. I appreciate networks have to do “their job” but picking up on affiliates for noncompliance for showing a banner that the network is serving but then removing them from the programme because they can’t find the same link a week or two later is just wasting time!
My time is better spent switching links to other networks!
Why Affiliate Marketing Is Freakin’ Sweet!
Imagine the scenario 10 or 20 years from now! I’m having a reflective moment and wondering what’s been the highlight of my affiliate marketing career (hopefully by then retired and looking after ducks and chickens)! Could it be the money? The success of Loquax and the many users we’ve helped win cool prizes? Or perhaps it might be working in an exciting industry with a bunch of lovely (well mostly lovely) people?
Nope, it’s none of them … it’s meeting Matt Le Tissier at A4UExpo! (*)
As a lifelong (and currently suffering in agony) Southampton supporter I’d like to thank Sky and Stream 20 for providing the VIP room at A4UExpo. I know some people thought it segregated the event, and under any other circumstance I’d agree - but Le Tiss is Le God so on this occasion I’ll make an exception!
I’ve never been into hero worship, but players like Le Tissier are rare. At times he basically was the main reason behind Saints staying up or going down. His talent was underused by England, but he stayed loyal to Southampton and his passion for the club still remains.
So having the chance to meet him was a bit special!
If a cat that has got the cream is happy, then I was happier than a cat who’d got the cream and decided they liked it so much they’d buy the company before partying with a bunch of sexy ladies who love cats and cream!
Ah yes, sometimes this affiliate marketing milarky can be, in the words of Peter Griffin, freakin’ sweet!
(*) subject to change!
Please Can You Tell Me Why Click To Reveal Is Allowed?
Debate continues to rage over the use of “click to reveal” on voucher code sites. Click to reveal can be either a click or a copy/paste action to reveal a code followed by a window opening allowed the consumer to visit the website. Essentially it’s click to gain content via an incentive in exchange for dropping a cookie. Personally, I find this mechanism questionable and yes I’d like the practice to be stopped and networks to enforce that - but I’m open to debate and explanations if the mechanism can be fully justified as being fine.
My argument here is simple.
1. Pop Under/Overs are not allowed. The mechanism here is forcing a click when a user arrives on a page (they get content) and a window opens up for the merchant.
2. Click to Reveal is allowed. The mechanism here is that as the user is staying on the page (they get content) the cookie can be dropped!
3. Incentive to click is also defined as a forced click in affiliate marketing.
If setting a click for content is not allowed for pop under/pop over - then why is it allowed for a one word voucher code? Surely it’s getting content as well as incentivising the user to click and burn a cookie?
Can anyone in affiliate marketing offer an argument that can justify the use of click to reveal, where there’s a code, as not being a forced click or an incentive to click?
Why Agency People Get a Bad Reputation!
In amongst all the excitement of post-A4UExpo I almost forgot to mention an incident that took place during a bit of networking on the first day. Now I know most agency people are lovely, but the actions of one left an incredibly bad impression. At the time I was having a chat with one of the guys from Virgin Games when someone passed by …..
They then stopped, no doubt spotting the merchant badge of Virgin Games and proceeded to just interrupt our conversation - no excuse me - nothing. He took one look at my badge and seeing I was a lowly affiliate decided to completely ignore the fact that I was there and already engaged in conversation with Virgin Games.
He then started pitching his agency to the embarrassment of both myself and Virgin Games.
At the time I’d have loved to taken the tiny little man to task for his abrupt rudeness and ignorance, but unfortunately I was too stunned by his behaviour. He most certainly made a big impression, because neither myself or Virgin Games could remember his name or the second rate agency he represented - which is a real shame as I’d have loved to posted it on here.
I appreciate people have to do “their job” and everyone is after a bit more business, but it doesn’t have to be at the expense of a bit of politeness!
Fortunately this guy’s intrusion didn’t last too long (probably because his audience seemed unimpressed with his pitching technique) and he soon scuttled off - perhaps unaware how close he had come to being named on an affiliate blog for being a total arse!
Click To Reveal & The Pop Onder In Affiliate Marketing
As expected, the subject of “click to reveal” popped up in the voucher code session at A4UExpo. Click to reveal is where a user clicks a link to get information from a website AND open up an affiliate link to the website in question. Voucher code sites use this methodology to stop code copying and also ensure click and cookie as “if the shopper wants the code they’re obviously intent on shopping”.
From the Expo session it does seem that when there’s no code available using “click to reveal” (and so reveal nothing) is a forced click. Yet, if there’s a code available - it’s not a forced click, it’s a “grey area which perhaps bends the rules slightly”.
It’s hoped (because I’ve not heard one network say they’re going to enforce this) that affiliates will develop their voucher code sites accordingly to distinguish between a deal (no code, therefore no forced click allowed) and a code (click to reveal allowed, provided you tell the user what happens when they click).
The question I raised at the session was “at what point does click to reveal become unacceptable”. Geoff commented on the blog did I feel that I got “a satisfactory answer to that question”!
Well, Geoff… no I don’t think so!
The point of my question was that as it’s not ok to use click to reveal if there’s no code, but ok if there is a code - what about using the same mechanic for other site content!?
We can’t force clicks with pop unders or with pop overs… it’s in the network ts&cs and even The IAB say so, but we do now have “Click to reveal Merchant X and Discount Code” as a new way of linking in AM. If this is acceptable (and as it’s neither a pop under or pop over I’ve dubbed it a pop onder!) then what happens next?
Let’s say a consumer is searching for washing machines. They land on a page of washing machine offers and select “hotpoint washing machines” - where we’ll show them some more specific deals. Provided we inform that consumer before they click something like “see hotpoint washing machine offers and a shop that sells them” then woohoo we can start cutting cookies as if it was a voucher site - assuming the same theory as click to reveal!
The consumer is getting information (instead of a code) and they obviously have “intent” to buy (well they wouldn’t be looking otherwise would they?). As an affiliate I’m also protecting my interest by making sure the consumer sets a cookie in exchange for the information I’ve provided too.
Is that an acceptable mechanic in affiliate marketing?
And how long will it be before the “click to reveal” link cuts more than one cookie? Perhaps the next stage in the evolution is “click to reveal a discount and open store, plus make sure you check their competitors for price comparison - to help you we’ve opened up 10 further stores for you”?
Ok, perhaps slightly facetious, but why not? Dub it a “grey area” and “rule bending” and you’re onto a sure fire winner!
The solution therefore is simple… put a stop to “click to reveal” for all affiliates across all networks - and that includes opening up windows with mouseovers and right clicks too. If there are people digging holes that may cause problems in the future, you don’t go outside and hand them shovels!
However, I’d be very surprised if the click to reveal mechanic was stopped where a code was on offer - it’s not something a network would do unilaterally, understandably for business reasons.
Pop onders and “click to reveals” are essentially here to stay!
