Over the past two days I have noticed a sharp drop in conversions with one of my CJ merchants. I initially paid no attention, but it began to worry when there was no conversion in two days. Well it turns out that CJ has implemented a spcial landing page for my affiliate links.
I hope you are getting my sarcasm. But it is really no laughing matter for affiliates who drive their sales via PPC campaigns. We have enough trouble keeping up with AdWords quality score requirements. I was fortunate enough not to have any PPC going for this merchant, but I wonder if so called “quality score” can be affected by something like this?
I am just wondering who is getting paid for my work? The only way out from that page is via an affiliate link that lands you on Commission Junction home page. If you look closely you will notice ids embedded in the affiliate link AID=13337 PID=396324. It is clear that AID belongs to Commision Junction themselves. So what about PID? Something tells me it belongs to CJ as well. So here is a question, is CJ ripping me off? How often is it done without being caught?
This problem can be eliminated when the tracking is done on the merchant’s website. So even if there is a problem or glitch in the system, visitors to your website do not end up looking at “CJ’s special landing page”.
So I have decided to actively pursue merchants I have been working with, to look for alternative networks.
If these and other shady things have happened to you I am begging you not to be silent. You owe them nothing! In fact they owe you!
I am not (and have not been) a fan for CJ for quite some years now. I had done well over 7 figures with the company as an affiliate for several years, then I stopped using them for a while and they had deleted my account due to 6 months of inactivity. I contacted them and I was just told to signup for a new account. I did so… then it happened again… so I am CJ-less as of now… and not missing them.
Hi Zac,
Thanks for stopping by. I think if they would just listened to their affiliates once in a while. This most recent incident came without any kind of warning. I can bet there were some affiliates who lost money in PPC.
I am not (and have not been) a fan for CJ for quite some years now. I had done well over 7 figures with the company as an affiliate for several years, then I stopped using them for a while and they had deleted my account due to 6 months of inactivity. I contacted them and I was just told to signup for a new account. I did so… then it happened again… so I am CJ-less as of now… and not missing them.
Hi Zac,
Thanks for stopping by. I think if they would just listened to their affiliates once in a while. This most recent incident came without any kind of warning. I can bet there were some affiliates who lost money in PPC.
Definitely, large companies like Google and CJ need faster and better support…. especially for PPC affiliates and you can go from profit to loss so quickly. I would very much like to see more improvements in their support systems, than new admin areas or new advertisers.
Definitely, large companies like Google and CJ need faster and better support…. especially for PPC affiliates and you can go from profit to loss so quickly. I would very much like to see more improvements in their support systems, than new admin areas or new advertisers.
Yikes.. that is pretty bad. I havent sign up for CJ yet. And I don't think I am going to sign up for any for them though.
Do you promote clickbank products through PPC campaigns too Vlad?
@Chee,
No I am not to big into ClickBank. There is only one e-book I would ever recommend. I like to work with merchants and promote “real products”- http://www.topbestseller.com – this will give you a better idea of the kind of merchants I like to work with.
Commission Junction is one of those “love and hate” affairs. I have some of the best performing campaigns with them, but I also had some biggest screw ups with them as well.
Thanks for the recommendation Vlad 😉
I have bookmarked the site for future campaigns!
I asked because I have an experience where there's merchant who is trying to fight for traffic and customers from me 🙁
Sigh~
@Chee,
“I asked because I have an experience where there’s merchant who is trying to fight for traffic and customers from me”
Could you clarify? Do you mean the merchant is competing in Search Engines or is questioning the traffic you send them? These are two different things.
Every merchant should strive for better positions on search engines- smart merchants will employ their affiliates to help them out.
I personally try my best to comply with terms and conditions with every affiliate program. And when I am being asked about the traffic quality it is also has to do with my integrity as an affiliate marketer. Sure there are times when misunderstanding can occur….. But in general if I am asked more than twice about my traffic source, I walk. I have no time to argue. 😉
Actually I was using the merchant's landing page for PPC campaign, it was profitable because I managed to make money in a few hours, but when I check the stat this morning, there were lesser impression for my ads on AdWords…
It turns out to be that the merchant have placed an PPC ad campaign too. 🙁 So, I am in the mid of deciding whether I should create a new landing page or move on to another merchant.. Still indecisive tho.
Yikes.. that is pretty bad. I havent sign up for CJ yet. And I don’t think I am going to sign up for any for them though.
Do you promote clickbank products through PPC campaigns too Vlad?
@Chee,
No I am not to big into ClickBank. There is only one e-book I would ever recommend. I like to work with merchants and promote “real products”- http://www.topbestseller.com – this will give you a better idea of the kind of merchants I like to work with.
Commission Junction is one of those “love and hate” affairs. I have some of the best performing campaigns with them, but I also had some biggest screw ups with them as well.
I would also advise you to check out Yahoo! Search Marketing and MSN AdCenter, if they are available where you live.
Geez, I overlooked that option.. Thanks Vlad 😉 Yeah, I am going to check if they're available here!
Thanks for the recommendation Vlad 😉
I have bookmarked the site for future campaigns!
I asked because I have an experience where there’s merchant who is trying to fight for traffic and customers from me 🙁
Sigh~
@Chee,
“I asked because I have an experience where there’s merchant who is trying to fight for traffic and customers from me”
Could you clarify? Do you mean the merchant is competing in Search Engines or is questioning the traffic you send them? These are two different things.
Every merchant should strive for better positions on search engines- smart merchants will employ their affiliates to help them out.
I personally try my best to comply with terms and conditions with every affiliate program. And when I am being asked about the traffic quality it is also has to do with my integrity as an affiliate marketer. Sure there are times when misunderstanding can occur….. But in general if I am asked more than twice about my traffic source, I walk. I have no time to argue. 😉
Actually I was using the merchant’s landing page for PPC campaign, it was profitable because I managed to make money in a few hours, but when I check the stat this morning, there were lesser impression for my ads on AdWords…
It turns out to be that the merchant have placed an PPC ad campaign too. 🙁 So, I am in the mid of deciding whether I should create a new landing page or move on to another merchant.. Still indecisive tho.
I would also advise you to check out Yahoo! Search Marketing and MSN AdCenter, if they are available where you live.
Geez, I overlooked that option.. Thanks Vlad 😉 Yeah, I am going to check if they’re available here!