An ounce of prevention…
It is a known fact shared by many in the affiliate marketing business that affiliate commissions have been, and still are, subject to theft perpetrated by some unsavory individuals; and while it is not easy to catch the perpetrators of such thievery, it may be both simple and practical for affiliates to safeguard their earnings from theft with the use of a few software products that are affordable as well as effective.
These special types of software programs range in price from 15 to 50 dollars and can be used to assist you in protecting commissions derived from your affiliate marketing business – or any other business for that matter. Keep in mind however, that the effectiveness and ease of use provided by these programs vary greatly, so before you buy one, it is important that you learn as much about the particular program as you can possibly can.
You might be familiar with the kind of software referred to as it is discussed in the following paragraphs.
Banner servers
Banner servers not only serve banners, but many of the more recent servers will display text links as well. The link coding that is associated with served ads is normally extensive in length, so that a visitor to your website whose intentions may be suspect will not be able to see where the redirect is heading as it appears on the status bar.
Click-tracking software
Click counting software will not show the target URL because the links point inwards to the software, which is normally installed on your own website. Once someone has clicked on the link, the click tracking application will then redirect a visitor to the URL that you have specified within the script. The click tracking software will also provide a great way to monitor the usefulness of your ads and not just relying on the reports that merchants will provide.
Protecting your commissions is extremely important, as you want to get paid for your hard work and long hours. So although commission theft is something that occurs affiliate marketing and other Web-based businesses, you can protect yourself. There are certain techniques and tactics fraudsters use in their day-to-day activities, and if you know what to protect against, you can certainly safeguard yourself from such online fraud.
Proceed with vigilance
If you own your own business, the last thing you want is to experience either credit card fraud or affiliate fraud; and since you now know (if you didn’t before) that this type of crime does happen on a regular basis, you’ll need to make sure to take the necessary steps to protect yourself, because those who do not will suffer the loss of income as well as other valuable items, depending on the particular circumstance.