Affiliate Marketing Program Scams - What To Look For

An affiliate program scam can happen to anyone, even to the most experienced. Why? Affiliate marketing is a business that can be very profitable. However, if you are new to affiliate programs, the novice side of your desire can possibly cause you to stumble once or twice, with an affiliate program that could end up being a scam.

Protect Yourself From Affiliate Scams

Anyone can be taken in by an affiliate scam. And usually it is those that are just starting out that get caught in the affiliate program scam. Why are they targeted?

Because the individual may be taking the individual at their word, and have not built up a certain degree of skepticism, which only comes with time.

My purpose is not to discourage you, but inform you of some of the tricks some unscrupulous affiliate program managers may offer affiliates, with one intent, to keep the money.

Commissions That Are Too High?

A merchant will never pay more on a commission, then what they will get out of the sale itself. This is the draw for the scam.

Before committing to an affiliate program, it is always wise to look at the commission that is being offered, and if the commission is appropriate to the product or service you are selling. Here is a quick listing of what to expect for the different types of products:

1. ebooks- ebooks will give you the biggest commissions from 10% to 75%.
2. products- 2% to 15% (depends upon the product or service) -
3. software - 5% to 30% sometimes higher

Payouts and High Thresholds

You do not want to be waiting for years, to get paid by a company. The hope of companies offering high thresholds is that the affiliate will drop the program.

If the affiliate was able to get a sale for the product, but decided to drop the program because of no additional sales, they have relinquished the commission to the company. Here are some things to consider before jumping into the affiliate program:

Are the payment threshold too high before you are paid. If you have a $100 to $200 threshold and you are just learning the affiliate marketing business, or the product is a $49.99 product and you are only getting a 5% commission, you may be waiting a long time before you are paid.
Before joining the program, research the company to see if they are actually paying the commissions once a person has reached the threshold. Trust me, if an affiliate is not getting paid, the Internet will be inundated with angry comments.
If your are selling a product, and find in short order that you are being bombarded by clicks, but no one is buying. It's time to do some research. Why? The company may not be shipping the product to the customer, or the products shipped may be defective. This can damage your online reputation and creditability, which hurts more than not getting a commission.

Revolving Payout Date

You reached your threshold amount and you are ready to be paid. They state that once the payout has been reached you will be paid the following month by the 15th. The time has arrived, no payment is made. The payout date changes. If you are new to the Internet, you assume naively that you will be paid. You wait for the next payout date. The money does not arrive. You have been scammed, and you will not receive the money.

Returned Checks

You're excited, you made a sale and you've met your threshold, (Your threshold is the amount you have to make before you get a commission check sent to you). The check arrives, you cash it, it bounces. Time to immediately take the links off your site. Complain all you want-but it may be in vain, especially if it is a stand-alone.

No Contact Information

Before signing up to become an affiliate for a program, check the website out.

If there is no contact information on the website for the customer and the affiliate program, you might be wise to look for a different program, especially if the program is not within an affiliate brokerage firm. However, that does not mean that some bad eggs do not get through. With that being said...

Even if the affiliate program is within an Affiliate Brokerage firm, I would advise checking out their website, as well as, doing a quick search through Google and the Better Business Bureau.

In addition, send them an email to see if they respond. If they don't respond, you have a problem.

Affiliate Programs That Want You To Pay Them

If you encounter an affiliate program that wants you to pay them to join. Click away as quickly as you can, because you are not going to come out on top. Here's an example of a typing affiliate program.

Typing Jobs, easy work. You will be required to put ads for other companies on different sites. Don't take the bait. What are you advertising? You are advertising the typing job that you joined for $39.95 or $49.95.

Typing Affiliate Program You Don't Have to Pay For.
Also be careful about putting a Typing Job Affiliate Program on your site even if you don't have to pay for it. Why? Because these people could be defrauding your customer. Which means, you may have become part of the fraud, without even knowing it.

There are legitimate typing jobs online, however, the company will thoroughly research your background and require you to take a series of tests to verify your ability. And many times, if you do qualify, you may be put on a waiting list.

Affiliate Program Check and Balances

Once you have selected your affiliate programs and placed them on your site, your job is still not done. I call it the "Never Assuming Affiliate Program Check and Balances". On the Internet never take anything for granted. And the word "Trusting" should be replaced with "Due Diligence". With that being said, here are thing to keep an eye out for with your affiliate programs.

* Disproportionate amount of Refunds on an Affiliate Program

You can always tell if an affiliate program is in trouble or it could be a scam if you are getting a lot of refunds through your affiliate brokerage firm. This is wise to do a quick search in Google to see what people are saying about the product. (Tip: Remove links and banners as a line of protection for your business)

This alone, is one good reason to use an affiliate brokerage firm. They protect you, by protecting themselves from individuals or companies that do not want to pay their bill. The affiliate brokerage firm will honor your commission, but will tell you to take the links off immediately because after a certain date they will no longer honor the commissions of a said company.

*Affiliate Program-Traffic Theft

Affiliate program traffic theft is most common with an ebook. When the ebook is not creating sales, you will see a change in the landing page. It will be replaced with a page offering a free product so as to capture your name and email. Why is this important to the affiliate program manager? So that they can continue to market their other products, or products of other affiliates to you. They are increasing their lists, and thus, dishonestly stealing your traffic for their own benefit.

*Affiliate Program- ReDirect Theft

If a small company is not doing well, they may redirect your link to a different website. You now have a landing page, with a link that does not match. Again, they are stealing your traffic. And, they are damaging your creditability. It's time to immediately take the page off your site, and with an explanation if you feel it appropriate.

To conclude, there are many, many legitimate affiliate programs and ways to make money with your website. Your job is to do your research. Yes, it's tempting to get a little lazy, but remember that sudden spurt of laziness, or inattentiveness, can cause you to lose revenue and jeopardize your integrity as an online affiliate marketer.

If you need to report a scam-go to my web page "Report Your Scams"

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