The Problem with Subnetworks – Part One

Subnetworks are an integral element within the affiliate marketing ecosystem and provide many benefits to brands and retailers, but some of them can also become like infected petri-dishes where more egregious practices find space to grow.

If not nipped in the bud as quickly as possible, which is very difficult to do when link cloaking is involved, these black hat operations turn into ticking timebombs that can blow up in a brand’s face – and damage the reputation of the affiliate space as a whole.

Recently, we’ve seen an abundance of complaints regarding affiliate subnetworks over in our Partnerships Lounge. Inspired by these cases, we’ll be exploring the issues with subnetworks and their publishers across this series, in an effort to find a solution that protects brands, marketers, and the subnetworks themselves from the negative effects of these bad practices.