Moose on the Loose

The blog title is not my own heading but extracted from a quote I read on the A4UForum.

I have just returned from yet another family holiday in Portugal, hence why there has been a shortage of blog entries recently. (Who said thank goodness for that in the background?) So to catch up on things, one of my first ports of call is naturally the A4U Affiliate Forum along with blogs from some friends.

Upon reading the forum, Keith Budden, a respected affiliate, pointed out the terms & conditions of a particular merchant, Ocean Finance on one of the networks.

“ZERO TOLERANCE for any web pages appearing in natural listings via the Ocean brand or derivates thereof “

Basically meaning you cannot mention the name “Ocean Finance” in any html on your site, whether copy or meta tags or allow that page to be indexed in a search engine.

As Duncan quite rightly says & suggests “Insane policy – absolutely insane – one of the craziest things I’ve ever heard … this isn’t a merchant, its a paronoid delusionist. Personally I’d like to see the merchant suspended until this is resolved, its unenforceable, short-sighted and shows a complete lack of understanding as to how the internet works.”

Unfortunately, this has a whiff of the old Interflora program all over again, which some may recall. However, it’s also indicative to the extreme how more & more restrictive terms & conditions are generally being applied & imposed upon affiliates and how networks tolerate it to appease the merchant rather than the affiliate.

Here is the old Interflora thread

That Interflora thread is over 3 years old, yet similar problems are still happening & lessons are not being learned.

I had always thought that affiliate marketing was meant to be a synergy between affiliate, network & merchant & that the affiliate in some aspects was an extension of a merchants online sales force … and not to obstruct an affiliate with unnecessary hurdles to jump over & hoops to jump through.
Anyhow, If we looked closely enough at all programs on all networks, more will probably surface, whereby some of the legal jargon used in additional T&C’s would require a solictor to interpret. Therefore these type of programs tend to be automatically dumped in the bin along with any others who adopt a draconian attitude.

Now, when searching “ocean finance” on Google UK, yields about 298,000 results. Somehow, this will be a difficult one to enforce.By the way have you viewed their site via a firefox browser, talk about compatibility problems. Very amateur.

A forum member amusingly wrote “I was sitting by the Ocean thinking about a homeowner loan and wondering which finance company to go with … I chose this one – Get enough links to the page and you’ll be no.1 for Ocean Finance Homeowner Loans”

All in all this clearly demonstrates, by the merchant (or a party which is considered to giving them poor advice), a fine blend of arrogance & ignorance of how the internet & search engines work or how to run an effective affiliate program.

Their so called updated policy wasn’t really any different.

“ZERO TOLERANCE for any web pages appearing in natural listings via the Ocean brand or derivates thereof (logo images are available and must be used).”

Ocean Finance has probably made a rod for it’s own back and if blogged enough, well, you can guess may get indexed well in search engines & unless the policy is changed, the program will close in due course.

Last months Donkey of the Month Award definitely went to ASOS www.asos.com . This month definitely goes to Ocean Finance www.oceanfinance.co.uk

Congratulations … Eeyore … The Fools.

Suggestion: Avoid the program & move on. There are alternative programs to choose from.

Sometimes it seems networks and merchants are too keen in getting a program launched, I realise that some networks are careful but maybe not enough. Before a program is launched perhaps all merchant programs should go through / undergo some form of gestation or incubation period. This is not simply about ensuring that the merchants website is of suitable quality in design & functionality, though this can be subjective (beauty is in the eye of the beholder) or about prominent telephone numbers (potentially causing leakage) are not too visible & ensuring tracking is correctly inserted … But, about conversion! Now this might be outside the remit of the network, however before a program is launched perhaps the network (not the affiliate) should run two ppc campaigns obo of the merchant without any commission involved.

The first one based on brand keywords, hydrid keywords (brand+generic) and brand mispellings .. The second based on the merchants top 25 (for example) products. To ascertain the CR (conversion rates) & EPCs of these. The network bidding on brand is purely a litmus test to ascertain how well a merchant can convert on its own brand .. if it cannot, it’s more often than not unlikely to be able to convert on product terms, however this is not “always” (though most often it is) the case, as well as the fact that the merchant may not be a large enough brand to receive a large volume of traffic to quantify the data to form CR’s & EPC’s. Hence, the need for testing the product terms too. Once these have been run say over an initial experimental period of a month, then the network could suggest changes which can be implemented to improve the CR & EPC which are comparible or better than programs within the same vertical sector. Once the changes have been made, then test again over another suggested period of one month until satisfactory results are acheived … then … and only then release the program by making it live.

Summary

The reason for this is simple, too often programs are unleashed on the affiliate community before they are even ready, the affiliates can be the victim of being the unfortunate Guinea Pigs to ascertain whether these programs convert or not .. potentially wasting time and money (whether it be via seo, ppc, email marketing etc). This could also prevent some affiliates abandoning programs if results are poor and spreading the word with negative vibes to the affiliate community that a particular program is a poor convertor. Therefore if affiliate programs were prepped & tested correctly before launch, then the uptake & confidence from affiliates in a particular program maybe higher and assist in ski-ramping any new program onto the scene.

Finally, there may also be a space / void in the consultancy field for an affiliate to earn an additional income by offering their services based on their experience & knowledge of the industry pertaining to what is suggested above. The frustation sometimes aired by affiliates is when merchants take too long to make necessary changes, usually larger brands are slow & sluggish like dinosaurs (maybe due to bureaucratic authorisation procedures & long chains of approval to implement the slighest thing), whereby affiliates can implement necessary changes more vigorously. Thus, this is why it’s so important to ensure everything is tickety-boo right from outset.

I am fairly new to the world of blogging so maybe after a period of time, I will gradually learn how to write a decent blog, however typo errors & erractic grammar shall still be an inherent trait. If anything it’s more of a diary simply expressing / airing my views & keeping any rants off the forums. I am just your bog standard affiliate who simply calls it how he see it, any opinions I have, I would direct at any party concerned in person. It’s not an ego, but just being upfront, middle aged & stuck in some of my ways, and if anything I dislike any form of limelight. Blogging shouldn’t be about winning favour with networks or merchants with sugar coated pleasantries or trying to win a popularity contest, but commenting on the industry as you see it.

I have been an affiliate probably for about 9 years now and am still on the learning curve, learning something new every week. In fact, I am taking myself back to primary education in many aspects taking my own style refresher courses & starting from scratch to see if there is anything I have neglected on the journey to consildate foundations we have previously laid.

But, I have two ears, two eyes & one mouth & I always try to use them in those proportions. Some of you may think that “The Moose” is a gobby sod, well perhaps I listen a whole bloomin lot more.

I have bookmarked this link

Affiliate Marketing Blogs on MyBlogLog

The time it takes to peruse & digest a number of these blogs could easily quite distract me 24 /7, so getting to them all will take some time.

However, I have been impressed with the number of really good affiliate marketing blogs out there, with various views, opinions & insights. Sometimes I may have a predetermined perspective on a topic and another blogger may throw another angle that makes you think. Reading some of these terrific blog entries & listening to to what other affiliates have to say, allows me to make my own inferences of the marketplace either reaffirming my own thoughts or offering well balanced different opinion. Also, the amount of industry related news you can catch up on, I would otherwise have missed.

There is certainly a solid community out there & as & when I read decent blog entries, I would certainly link / point to their articles.

“Think Outside the Box”

Microsoft have just unveiled some of their features for IE8, apart from introducing some VOIP compatibility enhancements together with a browser enhancement which applies a sense of context to content in order to make searching for related information faster and more accurate. IE8 will pull out the old seven shooters and block Google Adwords & Google Adsense Adverts by default, this will definitely ruffle the feathers of the G$oogle’s Ivory tower who will no doubt be squealing all the way to congress. This may not only just affect Google Shares, but may actually affect a number of publishers MFA (Made For Adsense / Arbitrage) websites and may now force these affiliates / publishers to look at more viable & flexible alternatives i.e. sites with decent content, now that the gravy train may have come to a grinding halt.

An update later today just after midday PST (Pacific Standard Time).

Updated 21:15pm GMT : Yep, fairly obvious, it was an April Fool, not a particularly good one, but one nonetheless. But you never know it maybe a possibility in the near future as a standard feature with IE or any of the internet security packages commonly used like Nortons, McAfee etc or other popular ad blockers. It doesn’t matter what scale Adsense is used by affiliates (whether we approve or disapprove of MFA’s) or Adwords used by advertisers, it’s always worthwhile having a contingency plan, if either suddenly falls down ovenight.

Basically, don’t allow yourself to be over reliant on either and actually start to think outside the box, by looking at alternative solutions as your own insurance policy. You’ve heard all the expressions before i.e. prevention is better than cure, don’t put all your eggs in one basket, cover your bases etc. However you maybe pleasantly surprised that some of the alternatives may actually prove just as profitable. I am not suggesting not to use adsense / adwords, but simply use other alternatives in conjunction with your current activities.

If I was asked whether I think it would be a good thing if it did happen, flippantly I would probably say yes. I primarly use Firefox as my prefered browser. I don’t use adsense, in my opinion it lacks flexibilty & I don’t like the master & servant attitude Google adopt. Especially when you hear stories of other publishers & even friends who get falsely accused of clicking on the ads on their sites & subsequently get kicked of the program. These sites belong to the publishers / affiliates & they should determine some of the rules. Google Adsense have been pestering / badgering (maybe too strong a word lets say “assertive in their pursuance”) us directly for sometime to incorporate on any of our websites, we are still reluctant to do so. Do we use Adwords, yes we spend a few million $/£ every year which is peanuts compared to a number of other affiliates. Do we only use Adwords? hell no! Do I like monopolies? nope I’d prefer to see a more level playing field in the search space.

I have just awoken to the world in my hotel room with a massive hangover with wine lips to match, bless my cotton socks, somehow I don’t think the hair of the dog will be a suitable remedy for me on this ocassion. It looks like this time I shall be the nominated driver going home.

Last night I both had a terrific evening an event called The Vaudeville Experience “Expect the Unexpected” at the Vinopolis in London UK, with approximately 200 to 250 guests in attendance. Organised & hosted by Affiliate Window and generously sponsored by themselves and e2save, DRL, Comet, Play.com, LowCostTravel Group, ELC, Next, CD Wow, Heals, B&Q, Woolworths, I Want One of Those, Party Gaming, Holiday Extras, The Body Shop, Provident Financial. All of whom also donated some excellent prizes in the raffle, in I won a prize too which was a £100 Gift Voucher for Next, which we will share between our children, plus about £55 in vouchers from Play.com which will go towards my daughters books who is studying English Literature at University.

This event certainly has raised the bar with regard to being an excellent soiree & a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

The title to this blog entry was prompted by a very apt comment provided by David Hall of Affiliate Window at the beginning of the evening.

Don’t Affiliates Scrub Up Nicely

If you are currently aware of the current “hot topic” considered in some areas of affiliate marketing, you’ll realise this was indeed an apt & amusing comment.

Last night was certainly a classy affair, where everybody seemed to made concerted effort, with practically all the men wearing tuxedos & bow ties, whilst the ladies looked extremely elegant in their ballgowns & cocktail dresses, such as a friend Jude who wore a dress for the first time since her graduation night and whoms husband Jason had never seen her in a dress before (not even on their wedding day at the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas.

Once again kindly thanks for the invitation to Affiliate Window and the sponsors.

I was having a butchers at the new keyword restrictions for Game.co.uk, on Tradedoubler. Well I recently received an email saying they had been updated, but knowing Tradedoubler & the merchant, I just had a feeling it would be something ludicrous in the sense that they would try to prevent affiliates on generic terms. My instinct yet again proved correct.

The following list of words must be added to the NEGATIVE LIST or Excluded Words of your Pay Per Click advertising campaigns. game, game.co.uk, game store, game stores, game.com, game online, game site, game website, game store, game stores, game shop, game shops, game online store, game group, game uk, game uk, game.net, gamestores.co.uk, gamestore.co.uk, gamestore, gamestores, game uk online store, game store online, game stores online, game the next level, game.uk.com, game store uk, game stores uk, game shop uk, game shops uk, game first place for games, first place for games

The obvious brand names you can visibly like see domain names or tag lines. However, since when do they have the monopoly to the generic word “game”. I wonder if they have managed to sneak a trademark restriction onto Google Adwords as there doesn t seem to be any other ads, nor many on the other pay per click search engines. Though I appreciate it’s indeed avery generic term to convert with a decent ROI. However, not that I am going to consider promoting this merchant on these generic terms, I will use what I consider generic terms to promote whatever I like. As far as I am concerned the generic word “game” is fair game.

Subservient Affiliates to Rebel Against Self Proclaimed Masters

Before you read this blog entry, I am actually in a good mood today. Lump-Lard is not playing for England tonight, one of my favourite players Aaron Lennon is playing on the right wing. Hopefully we will now have more balance in the team. And my kids received the photos & dvd of when they were mascots at a reent match.

Anyhow lets continue …

Is it my imagination or is the industry slowly becoming worse, well the signs have been there for a while, most networks are lagging behind with their innovation & are currently stuck in the dark ages, leaving the entrepreneurism & cutting edge ideas to the performance marketeers of the industry who are the affiliates.

The rules and regulations imposed on affiliates by some merchants & permitted by some of the yellow bellied nodding dog networks is progressively getting worse. This could be anything from:

• Programs closing at a moments notice, thus cookie periods are being not being honoured or worse still merchants leaving without paying invoices.
• The lack of protection for affiliates when a merchant goes out of business. Legally is the network liable for outstanding payments.
• Prepayment by merchants should be prerequisite if they are serious enough about this industry.
• Some of the merchants terms & conditions would require a skilled solicitor to interpret them. There shouldn’t be any additional legal jargon outside the scope that which is acceptable & generally laid down by the network & the affiliate.
• Affiliates should be allowed to enforce their own T&C’s.
• When a merchant updates their site, often the first thing to come out is the tracking and “if” remembered is the last thing to be placed back in.
• There should be a compulsory remuneration deal written into any merchants contract with the network when tracking goes amiss or when the program closes suddenly.
• Any reduction in commissions, cookie periods, changes in keyword restrictions for pay per click for example should be given with adequate notice of 30 days. None of this immediate notice rubbish. Since they are actually changing the terms of a contract.
• Most networks are still stuck in the dark ages of banner creatives, where are the streaming media tv style ads with the tracking embedded or white label product search sites?
• Some networks still cannot handle product feeds correctly.
• How difficult is it to get a simple logo of the size you want?
• As for merchant reviews, we don’t want to read reviews on the network interface on how the merchant think they are the best thing since sliced bread and that we shall all make mega £££’s or $$$’s. How about creating reviews of various lengths written in the third person which project the merchant in a favourable hue without over pitching.
• If a merchant is late paying an invoice, then the network should pay an interest surcharge whether a fixed fee or form of % interest to the affiliate and to be predetermined by an individual affiliate. If the merchant doesn’t like it then they don’t have to have us as an affiliate. However, if they had every intention of paying affiliates up to date, then this wouldn’t be an issue in the first place. The network can always claim this back from the merchant, or do some already, but don’t pass this on to the affiliate? I do suspect that most networks pay themselves first prior to paying the affiliate.
• Have you noticed that if there is ever a merchant affiliate dispute, 9 times out of 10, the only compromises are those that have to be made by the affiliate.
• Why is it that affiliates who tends to notice non tracking first?
• Lack of response to emails, especially if something is wrong.
• Lack of communication when they know something is wrong i.e. just hoping they can fix it before anyone notices.
• Lack of resolution to problems. Some networks play the waiting game, especially Tradedoubler, doing an ostrich impersonation, by burying their head in the sand. Can you hear the sound of tumbleweed? Then over a period of time more often than not the affiliate loses resolve and the problem disappears unresolved.
• All networks should utilise ticket based system or something similar so that any affiliate communication can be tracked and accountable. This can be extended still further whereby any communications of a priority nature like changes in any terms or conditions are copied on an internal mail system & not just sent out by normal email.
• I dislike no reply email address, these are filtered by us to go straight in the bin & deleted. It’s impersonal & arrogant.
• Affiliates should have the option to receive emails from whichever merchants or networks they desire /pertaining to specific programs, not be unduly bombarded.
• Some networks still refuse to publish merchant / agency contact details. How’s that for paranoia? How can a synergy develop with this obstacle?

As a result we have moved most of our business away from some of the networks & focusing on other forms of monetisation. Affiliates are generally not standing up for themselves apart from the occasional blasts of hot air. If some merchants & networks are not careful the tolerance levels of affiliates will be breached … and .. THE WORM WILL TURN.

It’s seems symptomatic within the industry at the moment, that affiliates are being shafted at every opportunity. Where it is deemed by most networks & merchants, that they are always right … the Lord & Master … & affiliates must subserviently obey. Unfortunately, you do get a minute few are quite content with being the subservient scyophant, without naming names its fairly obvious who the networks & affiliates are within this particular inner sanctum.

Surely much of the above contravenes contract law for small businesses, and until an affiliate picks up the gauntlet & pursues this in court, the situation will unfortunately get progressively worse. What is disappointing is that many of the aforementioned grievances have been discussed for several years, it seems.

I would appreciate any input from affiliates what their top gripes are within the industry at the moment, that could signal for THE WORM TO TURN. However its likely most will simply accept it & that is where Humpty Dumpty falls off of the wall, except this time there will be nobody to put him back togther again.

Just got accused by Tradedoubler for brand bidding on PC World, the term in Google they highlighted was “pc world business gfskjhf” when infact we were only bidding on the term “pc” on a broadmatch. True to form the unlikeable network Tradedoubler and PC World are, all they do is sanctimoniously accuse without establishing facts with their self righteous attitude. Have you noticed how complex the phrase “pc world business gfskjhf”? Google doesn’t even show any natural results for that. It illustrates what lengths Tradedoubler have to to come up with that term just to cause aggrovation.

You may want to read this thread on the A4UForum how bad their program really is.

Click Here for the Forum Thread

I think this really summarises how bad the merchant & network is & part of what is wrong within the industry. Whilst on the forum, you may as well peruse the threads pertaining to their customer service.

For the record we had these negative terms were our account -[pc world], -[pcworld], -[p c world], -[p cworld], -[p.c world], -[p.c. world], -[p.c.world]

btw Tradedoubler habitually change keyword restriction rules without proper notification to affiliates.

If you view the network league table in the left hand column, Tradedoubler have been demoted from 2nd last to officially last place.

Why don’t they just cruel back under the stone from where they came from?

The IAB Affiliate Network Council (ANC) will draw up an affiliate code of conduct before the summer. The announcement follows this week’s appointment of David Hall, Affiliate Window head of communications, as its chairman. The ANC was set up in March last year to represent the interests of IAB members in affiliate marketing, offering advice and information. But a year on it hasn’t set up any industry best-practice guidelines. The issue of affiliate standards has been making headlines…

Read Here for NMA Article

Do I find this bit worrying? The ANC was set up in March last year to represent the interests of IAB members in affiliate marketing

Firstly, has the ANC actually made any formal approach to affiliate community as a whole to discuss this in any detail? Well, not to my knowledge or anybody I have asked. I just find it quite bizarre that there has been no consultation with any affiliate that I know of, and/or who’s opinion I respect. Without any direct input from affiliates themselves, I don’t think whatever they decide to implement will be a viable solution. They would have to careful that they don’t the affiliate community if it progresses further.

The IAB ANC are not on the front line of affiliate marketing, whilst examining their own members list, a number of their own members could possibly be brought into question, if anyone was pedantic enough to clutch at straws or pick holes.

However, there is no point in affiliates lashing out yet, until we are fully aware of the substance of their proposals and to what their actual agenda is. Whether it be for themselves or their members to try & dictate to affiliates or on a more postive note promote the affiliate marketing industry as a real solution to be part of their members marketing mix.

Is the IAB being exploited for somebdy elses agenda? Should affiliate marketing be within the remit of the IAB.

It reminds me of the following : I clearly recall attending a meeting on Anti-Spyware measures at the IMRG a couple of years ago. Tradedoubler at the time were very defensive in favour or Adware & Spyware. The IMRG had avenues into television, and an opportunity was lost to really let the consumer know the threats that pertain to them & protecting them online. Yet, all they achieved in two years was a definition of what spyware was (a short sentence), even that wasn’t very accurate. I guess they felt that bringing the topic of spyware into the public domain would simply affect the revenue of their members, when several of their members were considered partied to spyware at the time.

On the whole, I think it illustrates that affiliates have been maybe a little slow of the mark in establishing their own Affiliate Association for a code of fair & best practice, which has lost practically all of it’s momentum from last years preliminary meeting when a statement was issued. It has been foreseeable by the affiliate community for some time that the affiliate industry maybe regulated from an outside body rather than regulating ourselves.

If all this is a genuine attempt to bring all parties closer together, then it will probably be warmly welcomed, however not without full & proper consultation with the affiliate community. I hope it doesn’t resort to being deemed as a clueless bully yielding a big stick, especially if some may feel intimidated that rules are being imposed on affiliates from less knowledgeable outsiders.

Do affiliates only have themselves to blame? Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later, since generally there is a real lack of selfless attitude out there apart from the same vociferous few. People seem to get more embroiled in a silly quip remark from an irrelevant person, like those from ASOS, than the core fundamentals of affiliate marketing.

If the IAB ANC does not include the affiliate communities input, then any proposed Affiliate Association, who would have to exclude those same members by reciprocation, which in turn would further fragment the industry. A possible solution would be as single Affiliate Association, brought under the umbrella of the IAB or IMRG, embracing all parties & the likes of e-consultancy on a unified front. This would demonstrate a greater unification within the industry as long as selected affiliates were themselves were at the forefront.

A note for the ANC / IAB: An affiliates door is generally always open, but you must be prepared to actually listen & implement. Affiliates move, adjust & evolve rapidly according to the environment & cannot be caught up in any bureaucratic red tape.

Just look at how some networks are still languishing in the dark ages with their lack of innovation & protection of affiliates from corporate bullies or unfair practices. It’s the affiliates with drive & self motivation who are pioneering the creative edge, it’s affiliates who are the true Performance Marketeers in the industry.

I have held back from posting on forums for a while now, as you can lead a horse to the water, but you cannot make them drink it. What we are seeing is possibly just a precursor to an inevitable cycle of events through ignorance and not engaging in debate or acting upon it, by being quite placid in accepting what unfair rules & regulations are reluctantly thrown upon us.

The ANC IAB cannot claim to be the voice of the affiliate community & should’t proceed as so, if indeed that is their intention, but they cannot claim to represent us in any shape or form, nor infact represent the affiliate marketing industry. Please note the word “affiliate” in “affiliate marketing”. How many networks have actually signed up with this? … and is part of the agenda simply to win favour with members within the IAB or is it to truly to educate them?

But couldn’t they impose it on us as the IAB and their members are more powerful than individual affiliates?

Affiliates have more resolve in communicating their messages & opinions online to a wide & varied audience, it would be foolhardy to assume otherwise.

If anything there needs to be a merchant code of conduct, we don’t want anything lop sided as is the current situation within the indutsry. At the end of the day we can only sit back and see what they “advise” or “propose” before making any final or adverse judgement.

In my opinion NMA is not a publication that has yet grasped an accurate perception of affiliate marketing and don’t actually “Get It”. Has the IAB or NMA actually attended any affiliate G2G’s (Get Togethers) on a regular basis? Probably not, therefore reporting, opinions & rules can only be derived from a perspective of ignorance. It’s about time they came along to mix & mingle with us “grubby” affiliates on a regular basis if they are to be taken seriously. We can only sit back, await and observe what definitive impact this will have, if any.

But before any index finger is pointed at the affiliate community, remember when you point with a finger, there are always three pointing straight back at you!

Affiliate Marketing isn’t exactly rocket science, it’s about having a certain individual mindset peculiar to oneself & a matter of application.

For more comments read my Karaoke Partners Blog One Little Duck