BCL Performance Marketing: Ethical Affiliate Marketing Australia: How do I find out which affiliate is behind a ppc advert?

However, there are some affiliates who don't do the right thing by merchants. Some bid on the merchants brand or url and display the merchant url as the destination address. If the customer clicks on their advert instead of your organic listing (which should be at the top of the list), you pay commission and the affiliate has made some easy money. See more on brand-bidding affiliates here.

Other affiliates create advertisements that aim to get people to click, regardless of the effect on your brand or the customer. For example, they might say "cheap widgets here" which conflicts with your branding, or discount voucher where there is none. They don't care as long as they get the click and the affiliate cookie is set.

You can set your own terms and conditions, setting limits on how affiliates can promote your site. But when you see an affiliate still doing the wrong thing, how do you find out who they are? Looking at the code, or checking the cookie will usually tell you the affiliate number.

But the simplest way is to click on their link, do a test sale and see who claims the commission and carry out the actions that you have stated in your terms and conditions (eg tell them to stop, cancel commissions, ban them from your program)

This completed transaction is also the best proof you have if an affiliate denies the offending behaviour.