Seeking Help Suspicious Affiliate Behavior – Seeking Advice on Ad Hijacking Cases

[domavaic]

We've recently dealt with an affiliate who claimed to promote only via newsletters but showed unusually high conversion rates. Upon closer inspection, traffic referrers showed "google" instead of typical email sources. After we reached out with questions, the partner stopped responding.

There's a high chance they're running ad hijacking. Curious to hear how you identify these cases and gather solid evidence to take action. Any tips?

 

[Graybeard]

I’m guessing you're trying to reserve all trademark traffic (e.g., Google Ads on your brand terms) for your in-house team or approved channels. That’s valid—but you should clearly state that in your affiliate onboarding docs, with forfeiture and termination as consequences for violation.

That said, banning all SEM brand bidding across the board might not be the most strategic move.

Smart affiliates can actually boost brand visibility and conversions if SEM is temporarily permitted under defined terms. Instead of a blanket ban, consider allowing SEM on a short-term or provisional basis ***just ensure there's clear policy language and advance notice before revoking permission.*** That way, you maintain control and benefit from expanded reach.

 

[T J Tutor]

After we reached out with questions, the partner stopped responding.

There's a high chance they're running ad hijacking.

That's most likely what it is. It's a huge issue mover the past many years. There are several companies that specialize in identifying this issue in a campaigns funnel. One of them is Adthena. I haven't tested them yet, but looked into this company few others earlier this year.

Curious to hear how you identify these cases and gather solid evidence to take action.

From the affiliates side we immediately know when our ads are hijacked. When it happens, we quickly see funnel performances take hits. Some have called it "sudden downdraft". They're getting smart and try to schedule short periods of jumping our ads these days. When it comes to branded ads, those are not generally something we as affiliates see because most offers don't permit us to use logos and brand names, with some exclusions. Brands have dedicated personnel on staff to seek these hi-jackers out and find ways to shut them down quickly. Many of them using 3rd services and SaaS platforms for this.

It has been a huge issue for our industry sometimes and there is no end in sight. Because they run the hi-jacking on rotating schedules for short periods it can be a game of "whack-a-mole" to catch them.

Since the onset of good intelligence platforms like AdPlexity (et al), these hijackers can sometimes quickly find the best performers to steal from.