This month, I spent time chatting with some great brands about how they manage compliance. It really got me thinking about why, as an industry, we still cannot get a handle on it. I write this as someone who is incredibly pro the benefits of the affiliate channel, but also as someone who regularly audits affiliate programmes.
I take a hard line on this topic because I am battle-hardened after years in the sector. Experience has taught me that if a partner is driving large revenue with no discernible site, it is probably something you need to investigate. I started in affiliates in 2011, and the mistakes I made then still shape how I work today, specifically the question: Partner XYZ is doing well, but how are they driving sales? The chill you feel when you realise you have no idea during a client meeting makes you understand that the best approach is always to question, and to know exactly what is driving those sales. Always.
The reality is that for a lot of brands, this remains a mystery. This is not because they do not care, but because they believe someone else has done the due diligence for them. However, circling back to those brand conversations, the overwhelming narrative was that the companies successfully tackling this issue ultimately prioritised it themselves. Yes, they may have worked with partners like Marcode, but the effort was driven by the brands themselves to ask the tough questions, reject superficial topline data, and probe into traffic sources.
There is, of course, the reality that non-compliant activity generates revenue for a lot of people. Some brands even shy away from tackling it because if they are judged on channel volume alone, why would they risk a decline? Yet, the overwhelming consensus was that working with integrity should always be the goal. Hoping that murky revenue never gets scrutinised is only ever a short-term strategy.
Anyone who manages a programme should be responsible for how revenue is driven. Networks and agencies have the channel knowledge to do this, and it is absolutely their job to question the data. Ultimately, though, the real catalyst for change will be the brands themselves. We need brands questioning, brands refusing to accept unclear sources, and brands wanting to know exactly what has driven each sale. Currently, a lack of understanding and a frequent lack of proof stop this from happening.
Self-governance feels like the primary way to control compliance right now. I say this as someone who often sees non-compliant partners recommended within networks and cringes just a bit. The sole metric for recommending a partner cannot simply be revenue and ROI, as that will only perpetuate the challenge. If programme-by-programme governance is the way forward, then education and information are the keys to unlocking it. We need that guidance to make spotting bad behaviour easier, so we can invest in the good.
So, if you are a brand or anyone, in fact, running an affiliate programme, look through your top ten revenue drivers at the very least. Can you answer how every single one of them is driving sales? Can you see how you are promoted on their sites? Have you searched for your brand name plus voucher terms? Have you looked at the transaction details for the specific offers used?
This is not about being down on our great channel. It is about accepting that if you want a clean affiliate programme, you must start asking: Who is that, and how do they drive traffic to me? Be curious and do not be passive. The real benefit? You can reinvest in the hundreds of brilliant partners out there. Those are the publishers you can optimise with confidence, grow alongside and be proud to showcase.
