Everyone faced the following situation. When you clicked on the ad, you came to an unexpected place: the open webpage did not contain what you were looking for. We can say that in that case you are faced with the fact of ad hijacking (AH). This practice harms users since they cannot find the desired product or service by getting to other pages. Most of all, AH harms advertisers since they lose part of the profit and worsen the brand’s reputation. It turns out that counterfeiters create an imitation of advertising to get dishonest income, thanks to clicks and visits to a fake site.
Your partners may engage in such practices, and this is one of the most common violations of affiliate policy today. They force potential buyers to click on fake ads instead of real ones, and as a result, you lose precious traffic. Some ads look original, but when you click on them, an affiliate tracking link is added, which is one way to steal the commission for the sale. To hide their activities, professional hijackers route you through a redirect URL so that they are difficult to identify. In other words, you click on an ad, then go through one or more third-party sites, and only then get to the brand’s website.
The Problem with Ad Hijacking
Visually, it is difficult to notice the interception of advertising, and it is even more difficult to identify the violation manually and find the culprit. That is why specialized companies are engaged in this process; they provide monitoring services that scan the web and find violations. You are able to find out which ads were placed by your brand and which by affiliate bidding. In this report, we talk about the BluePear tool, as well as analyze the top 5 strategies to combat ad hijacking. It should be understood that the most effective method remains an integrated approach to the problem. Only a combination of actions will lead to a positive result.
1. Protecting Brand Identity
Ensure that all your brand’s components are registered and have their own identity. The logo, slogan, keywords, color ratio, intonation, and more are your intellectual property and must be patented. A strong legal position allows you to scare off hijackers, as they are afraid of companies that are ready to defend their rights in court. Use tools for continuous web monitoring. Tracking mentions on the Internet help detect interception at an early stage. In this case, you are able to find out about attempts of unfair play against your brand. You can immediately warn your partners about the consequences of such activities and prevent a possible violation.
About BluePear
This is a platform for round-the-clock monitoring of affiliate program violations. Now, you can use the new dashboard on the BP website. The tool allows you to reveal brand bidding and ad hijacking, identify violators who do not comply with the agreement, and collect statistics for analysis and submission to regulatory authorities. With the BP tool, you can create a report and send it directly in a couple of clicks.
2. Management of the Affiliate Program
The affiliate program should be developed by you and determine what kind of relationship is acceptable between the parties. The agreement should specify how the affiliate undertakes to behave and what sanctions are applied in case of violations. For instance, you can prohibit the use of texts in ads that mislead users. It should be specified what bids you allow and forbid to make in relation to your brand. Monitor the performance of the program. Work with partners who provide stable traffic. Stop cooperating with those who do not bring results; in most cases, such operations are unprofitable for you.
3. Protection from Paid Search
Unfortunately, your ads may appear on the results page if related words or a modified name of your brand have been used. Some methods allow you to find your ad in the search engine using various variations that you do not provide. To avoid that situation, you can use negative keywords. Protect yourself from paid search, and also try to make your ads appear in the top positions by shifting secondary ads down. In this case, the user will rarely follow the hijackers’ links. Keep track of fake reviews; they damage the brand’s reputation. You can read about the fight against fake reviews at Investopedia.
4. Take Appropriate Measures
Report AH and other violations to the regulatory authorities immediately after detection. You can file a complaint with the search engine that you use, for instance, Google. Keep in mind that Google’s policy differs from the state legal system. The request must be sent in strict accordance with the form. Unscrupulous partners should be excluded from your program. It is recommended that the agreement be terminated with persons who violate your regulations. If the hijacking of an advertisement is detected, urgent measures should be taken. Permanent violators must be sued.
5. Timely Detection of AH
It matters a lot how quickly you discover AH. If the number of clicks on your ads has decreased, it means that some of the clicks were stolen using fraudulent advertising. Pay attention to copying the conversion; it should be suspicious. Partners may use this technique to mislead you. Sometimes, the cause of problems is a mismatch of the landing page URLs. If strange redirects are detected, they are most likely trying to hack you.
Let’s Summarize the Results
Ad hijacking is a common practice today and poses a threat to your brand. You can read more about ad fraud at Statista. It’s good that there are several effective strategies for dealing with AH. It is better to use a comprehensive fight against violations so as not to give the hijackers a chance. Use the BluePear tool to detect violations against your brand. You can collect information about dishonest partners, process it, and send a complaint to Google. You can try the trial version on the BP website.
Rashan is a seasoned technology journalist and visionary leader serving as the Editor-in-Chief of DevX.com, a leading online publication focused on software development, programming languages, and emerging technologies. With his deep expertise in the tech industry and her passion for empowering developers, Rashan has transformed DevX.com into a vibrant hub of knowledge and innovation. Reach out to Rashan at [email protected]
