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On top of all the threats facing brands with the expansion of the New GTLD list, marketers must not take their eyes off the ball. Realize that in order to protect your brand, you must also monitor your affiliate marketing efforts.

This applies to those who are new to the affiliate game or advertisers that are more experienced. You want to ensure that affiliate type opportunities do not pose a threat and devalue your brand.

I’ve put together a list of guidelines to help you avoid these threats in the affiliate realm.

Maintain your Brand’s Message Across all Channels

Yes. This goes for affiliates. To some, affiliate marketing just might look like dropping a bunch of seeds on different sites and see what grows. But, you need to maintain your brand’s consistency and image even more so when it is not being portrayed on your own digital assets.

Let affiliates know your terms and conditions. Instead of delegating to them the T&C from your site, inquire with your network and let them guide you on Terms and Conditions that are in line with best practices in a particular industry. This is all the more important when regarding promotional initiatives or PPC advertising. Make sure they know the images you want them to deliver. Let them know what they can and can not do.

Target Your Affiliates

You want to make it absolutely clear to affiliates what types of customers you are after. Create an affiliate package that goes over your target audience, demographics, etc. So your brand will only show up on relevant sites.

Monitor

Crowdsource your affiliate network for information on how they go about checking on prospective affiliates. See what tools they are using that help their brand’s message remains consistent. You must get a complete account of what sites and/or other promotional strategies they use. This provides you with ease of mind and transparency into the affiliate’s actions. After all it is YOUR brand! I’m also a big proponent of manually going over all affiliate applications to ensure only the highest standards are adhered to. Budget conscious advertisers might want to implement an invite-only method of attracting affiliates.

The idea here is to manage your affiliates as best as you can. You do this with the power of information. Provide them with what they need to sell your product. It is a win-win.

Provide them with:

• All you know about your customers’ online shopping habits
• Your brand’s selling points
• You customer’s average order amount

Protect your Brand from Fraud

While fraud can be committed via any channel, in affiliate marketing the chance that some might come from immoral customers are a bit higher. Here are some tips to help protect your brand.

• Request that your network provide you with referring URL’s for all incoming sales, so that each one can be checked and audited.
• Keep an eye out for conversion rates that seem usually high. Monitor the IP addresses where the orders are originating. You might see that they are all the same. In this case, the affiliate might be making multiple purchases, underscoring that customers do not engage with your brand.

Protect your Brand on Reward Sites

Reward sites are usually the most vulnerable because they are incentivized. They are most commonly abused by members who usually have no intention of purchasing. Make it known to these affiliates that they must present messages to their members. This will lessen the chances and discourage the practice of making fraudulent purchases or other transactions. The copy of this message can be very straightforward. Have the affiliate tell their users that the reward is payable only to those that have verified orders. There are a number of protective measures affiliates can take, that you can hold them accountable for such as allowing more time for order confirmation and to make sure the purchaser made it passed the cancellation period will protect you brand from fraud.

What has been your experience when trying to protect your brand in the area of affiliate marketing? What can you recommend to other marketers to help them stay safe?