Fucked by advertiser, what to do?

[pzelf]

this week an advertiser on a well known affiliate network decided to change its terms and kicked me out as affiliate.

My website (coupon site) is ranking #1 for all related phrases ( brandname #3 and coupons/discount/promo code related keywords #1) and pulls about 45K uniques monthly ( generating $300-$350 dayly) from organic traffic. My domain is brandnamecoupon.com and my website was reviewed and approved by the advertiser 5 months ago.
Finally when im starting to see some ROI they decide to change their terms and kick me out

In their new terms and conditions they say its not allowed to rank on first page for their brandname, and they are not allowing their brandname in the domain AND URL anymore (WTF?) so even domain.com/brandnamecoupons is not allowed anymore. :glowingeyes_sml:

After doing some research i found out that they pulled the exact same trick in 2011 on a different affiliate network. They signed up there as advertiser, allowed everyone to promote their offer and when affiliates became successful they changed their terms, kicking everyone out who ranked for their brandname.

Obviously im pissed and im debating what i should do.
I have a few options:

-Turn the site into a hate site, outing their scam strategies
-Redirect their traffic to their direct competitor ( who will obviously not pay for this traffic) and name & shame them.
- Seek legal help and try to prove this is part of their online strategy where they deliberately hurt affiliates for their own gain (free marketing) long long shot..
- forget about it and move on.
-.....................?

Obviously none of these options are great and none of them will retrieve my 9-10K monthly

Another option would be create a new domain ( non-brandname.com/coupons) and 301 the traffic to the new domain, since the advertiser was so "great" to tell me i can re-apply with a different url.
Since they do not allow "brandname" in the URL it will be almost impossible to rank, i i have doubts if this will recover anything from my loss at all. does anyone have experience with this?

I already tried talking to the affiliate network, but they simply say: you have to comply with their terms and services.. (great fucking network, they really stand by their affiliates):321:

Does anyone have any ideas what to do here?

 

[BurntPickle]

"forget about it and move on."
The sale is already pretty much a done deal by the time they punch "brandname coupons/discount/promo" into a search box. You don't generate any traffic for them. Their brand or another affiliate already did that job and you've just been taking their pre-sold leads and sending them over.

I'll never understand why anyone accepts coupon / promo based sites into their affiliate programs.

Does it suck that they approved your site and later changed the rules on you? Sure. Does it suck for them that you've been banking on them for as long as you have before they wised up? Yup.

 

[pzelf]

i get your point, but my point is they wised up in 2011 when they did the exact same thing on a different affiliate network.. doing the exact same thing twice seems like a strategy to me

 

[sweeppicker]

this week an advertiser on a well known affiliate network decided to change its terms and kicked me out as affiliate.

My website (coupon site) is ranking #1 for all related phrases ( brandname #3 and coupons/discount/promo code related keywords #1) and pulls about 45K uniques monthly ( generating $300-$350 dayly) from organic traffic. My domain is brandnamecoupon.com and my website was reviewed and approved by the advertiser 5 months ago.
Finally when im starting to see some ROI they decide to change their terms and kick me out

In their new terms and conditions they say its not allowed to rank on first page for their brandname, and they are not allowing their brandname in the domain AND URL anymore (WTF?) so even domain.com/brandnamecoupons is not allowed anymore. :glowingeyes_sml:

After doing some research i found out that they pulled the exact same trick in 2011 on a different affiliate network. They signed up there as advertiser, allowed everyone to promote their offer and when affiliates became successful they changed their terms, kicking everyone out who ranked for their brandname.

Obviously im pissed and im debating what i should do.
I have a few options:

-Turn the site into a hate site, outing their scam strategies
-Redirect their traffic to their direct competitor ( who will obviously not pay for this traffic) and name & shame them.
- Seek legal help and try to prove this is part of their online strategy where they deliberately hurt affiliates for their own gain (free marketing) long long shot..
- forget about it and move on.
-.....................?

Obviously none of these options are great and none of them will retrieve my 9-10K monthly

Another option would be create a new domain ( non-brandname.com/coupons) and 301 the traffic to the new domain, since the advertiser was so "great" to tell me i can re-apply with a different url.
Since they do not allow "brandname" in the URL it will be almost impossible to rank, i i have doubts if this will recover anything from my loss at all. does anyone have experience with this?

I already tried talking to the affiliate network, but they simply say: you have to comply with their terms and services.. (great fucking network, they really stand by their affiliates):321:

Does anyone have any ideas what to do here?

Shit on the advertiser and bash their products while redirecting your traffic to a new offer.:glowingeyes_sml:

 

[SgtSlaughter]

Stick a short 3-5 paragraph review on there talking about every little thing that makes them suck ass, especially in the eyes of a consumer. Don't make shit up. Then say if you want xxxx that really works, try this. then link to the competitor.

Talking about their 'scam' on affiliates isn't going to matter much to consumers and you can't really prove anything there anyways.

 

[dreamscape]

i get your point, but my point is they wised up in 2011 when they did the exact same thing on a different affiliate network.. doing the exact same thing twice seems like a strategy to me

Sounds like you didn't do your due diligence on them before promoting them...
Before you send anyone business always research the affiliate program,
affiliate manger, etc...

 

[BurntPickle]

Shit on the advertiser and bash their products while redirecting your traffic to a new offer. And, then have fun with the UDRP

^Fixed.

i get your point, but my point is they wised up in 2011 when they did the exact same thing on a different affiliate network.. doing the exact same thing twice seems like a strategy to me

Is it a big company? If so, that's why they managed to fuck themselves twice. Big companies like to learn the same lessons multiple times before someone goes as far as creating a SOP to prevent future fuck ups.

I seriously doubt they sat around a conference room table and plotted to give away a shit ton of money so they could make some affiliates cry when they decided to quit giving out government cheese.

You should just lolz to yourself about how retarded they were to fill your pockets for as long as they did. Hell, keep the site up and just wait to see them on another network and rape them again if the current terms don't move over to the new network.

 

[Paper_Chase]

Bro, I ran a pretty big coupon site from 2009 till end of 2012. I had a few smaller, sniper sites like yours that targeted a single merchant's coupon codes. I gave it all up for many reasons:

-We aren't adding any value. Those customers were already going to make a purchase. If we aren't driving additional sales we will always be at risk of losing our commissions. I'm on the advertiser side of things now, and I don't allow coupon affiliates. I simply have a coupon page on my own site that ranks #1 for all those "[brand name] + coupon" terms. Alot of the big merchant's are already doing this.

-Mostly all the advertisers on CJ, GAN, etc. say in their terms that you can't have their brand name in the domain or url. Most just choose not to enforce that policy. You will always be looking over your shoulder.

I suggest you use your skills to branch out into other areas of internet marketing. Something where your traffic adds substantial value to the advertiser. Try financial lead generation. There is something really refreshing about being able to be totally transparent with the person who pays you your commission. You sleep better at night and your earning potential is unlimited.

I know changing niches is hard, and it is tough to let go of that easy SEO money from coupon sites. However, in a few months you will be so happy you did.

Good luck!

 

[Fraggler]

pzelf, if it's a dead end then turn it into an Adsense and make a little from the other advertisers who haven't been pulled up yet - assuming that some people are using PPC for traffic gen to their own affiliate page.

I think those coupon programs are aimed more at promoting the brand to a new audience (the coupon being the incentive) rather than capturing traffic that already knows the brand.

 

[Paper_Chase]

I think those coupon programs are aimed more at promoting the brand to a new audience (the coupon being the incentive) rather than capturing traffic that already knows the brand.

I agree. They can be effective if the coupon site has a large, engaged audience. I can count on one hand how many coupon sites fall into that category.

 

[SgtSlaughter]

Bro, I ran a pretty big coupon site from 2009 till end of 2012. I had a few smaller, sniper sites like yours that targeted a single merchant's coupon codes. I gave it all up for many reasons:

-We aren't adding any value. Those customers were already going to make a purchase. If we aren't driving additional sales we will always be at risk of losing our commissions. I'm on the advertiser side of things now, and I don't allow coupon affiliates. I simply have a coupon page on my own site that ranks #1 for all those "[brand name] + coupon" terms. Alot of the big merchant's are already doing this.

-Mostly all the advertisers on CJ, GAN, etc. say in their terms that you can't have their brand name in the domain or url. Most just choose not to enforce that policy. You will always be looking over your shoulder.

I suggest you use your skills to branch out into other areas of internet marketing. Something where your traffic adds substantial value to the advertiser. Try financial lead generation. There is something really refreshing about being able to be totally transparent with the person who pays you your commission. You sleep better at night and your earning potential is unlimited.

I know changing niches is hard, and it is tough to let go of that easy SEO money from coupon sites. However, in a few months you will be so happy you did.

Good luck!

I disagree. Do a bait & switch. You can bring traffic in on brand X, and promote brand Y. Just give them a good enough reason not to do business with brand X and a great reason to go with brand Y.

In most cases I see better conversions when going with this strategy.

 

[Jardini]

You are lucky to be able to bank on it for as long as you have.

coupon affiliates are just hijacking commissions at the end of sales funnels, providing absolutely no value. give me a reason why advertisers should work with you.

 

[sumitdhawan]

Hello friend,

Advertiser no fuck you as long as pay commission you generate before. Advertiser have right to terminate affiliate when they want. Affiliate also have right to stop promote offer for advertiser anytime want.

Good luck bro

 

[o hai guyz]

I disagree. Do a bait & switch. You can bring traffic in on brand X, and promote brand Y. Just give them a good enough reason not to do business with brand X and a great reason to go with brand Y.

^^^^^

 

[Kaedus]

Hmm. This sounds strangely like a company that just brought me on board to consult for their affiliate program. I promptly told them to remove all coupon affiliates for the reasons that Paper_Chase mentioned. There were a number that were banking decently.

Perhaps you are one of those affiliates...

 

[Deliguy]

I suggest letting it go.
i've played this game for several years. Now I've learned my lessons and try to teach my seo affiliates to not chase brandname SEO. Think about it, you take the time and money to build out a site around an exact offer. You optimize and link build for all the exact keywords and by the time you're done, or even more discouraging is right after you're done, the offer either goes down or the advertiser changes their restrictions to not allow trademarked domains or keywords. Ultimately, it's not a game you'll ever win and it'll keep happening to you. It's better to focus your efforts on niches that contain multiple offers so if one goes down or changes their terms you always have a backup plan and won't be out any money.
There's plenty of long tail keywords and niche keywords that will convert just as good as trademarked words. SEO is and always has been a long term revenue plan. Why try to chase the quick buck and have to constantly be rebuilding from scratch all the time?

But now that you're in the situation here's what I recommend doing.
1. change the site to be a product review style page.
2. Put a similar offer as the #1 with your affiliate link and make monies.
3. Put the offer you got banned from as the #2 with no affiliate link.
4. Notify your AM
5. Move on to your next niche

This will allow you to continue to make money off the site and your efforts, at the same time they get a few free conversions and it'll keep them off your back legally with trying to pursue you for trademark infringement. Everyone is hopefully happy and not all is lost. Whatever you do don't turn the page into a trash talk site about their product. It's bad enough you're losing future revenues, do you really want to deal with a lawsuit sucking even more money out of you?
Good luck bros

 

[Paper_Chase]

I disagree. Do a bait & switch. You can bring traffic in on brand X, and promote brand Y. Just give them a good enough reason not to do business with brand X and a great reason to go with brand Y.

In most cases I see better conversions when going with this strategy.

I don't mind this strategy. It would be a high value lead since brand Y probably wasn't on the customer's radar.

If you are ballsy enough, approach brand Y and explain them the situation. Try to work out a deal for an exclusive coupon code that is a few percent higher than the others available online. Make sure the vanity code is only tied to your affiliate id so that if other sites promote it, they won't get any commission.

Also, if you choose to go the above route, pepper your angus if they try to seize your domain for trademark infringement.

 

[Teeez]

Hmmmm how far will a well worded disclaimer and removal of possible Trade Marks of the brand except ofcourse for the url get you?

 

[pzelf]

Thanks guys,
Some helpful ideas and thoughts in your replies.
I haven't decided what i will do yet, but the more this sinks in the more im leaning towards raping their ass back. Although not a strategy that will return my investments, definitely a strategy that will give me personal satisfaction.

You are lucky to be able to bank on it for as long as you have.

This is utter bullshit. you haven't seen the site so you don't know what value it is providing. The point is they reviewed the site and approved the site. Also i banked $0.00 from this site as they are holding / cancelled my payment.

The site is in the travel niche and provides coupons, customer reviews, local information, practical info about the company, travel info, departure info, tips ect. its not a typical one page per advertiser coupon site,but has a lot of additional related information. Not saying its a wonderful site, but again point is they reviewed the site and approved it.

If it didnt provide enough value for them they should have dissaproved the site before i started my seo efforts. Then no harm would have been done. Its simply not ethical to change your mind like that. Especially when you do the exact same thing twice.
Im seriously fucked now, and obviously would have chosen another route if they would have simply disapproved my site when they reviewed it.

Burntpickle: thanks for sharing your opinion yes they are a big company, perhaps this is indeed the reson why they fucked up twice.. and no i didnt bank from them as my payment is being held/cancelled. This shit has only costed me money, unfortunately.

Kaedus: i thought this was an affiliate forum, but you seem to be against affiliates who offer positive promotion for a brand, you think its better for them if sites promoting their brand send their traffic to a direct competitor? (this is bound to happen if you instantly kill affiliation) Also if a brand cannot rank their own subdomains/sites for their brand name, they have a problem with THEIR own seo strategy. A reson why i think having (coupons) affiliates is is beneficial for an advertiser is brand recognition, and SEO (mentions) You know what it takes to rank a site, and any affiliate will mention the brand name in a positive way when buiding links to their own site. Having a few (coupon) affiliates will easily result in a few 1000 brand mentions on various related sites. Although this brand recognition / seo value in the form of mentions is not measurable, i do believe it contributes to a brands strength.
Anyway, im not sure if we are talking about the same advertiser, but make sure you get paid by them, they are known to change their mind.


I have a retail site myself and i do offer coupons to my affiliates.... not be-course they offer great direct value for me directly, but be-course they contribute to my brand recognition and will mention my brand in a positive way on related sites when they build links to my offers.. So little direct value from the coupon sites: i agree, but im convinced there is indirect value.
Anyway, its a completely different discussion if coupon sites are or ore not beneficial for a brand. My frustration is about the way they handled this.


Paperchase, I do understand what you are saying about most coupon sites providing little value. I also see that many coupon sites have little to offer except a few coupons. If an advertiser doesnt want to deal with coupons, then they should remove that coupon discount box from their order form and simply not deal with coupon sites. This was my first and last attempt to making money off a coupon site for sure. Your right switching niche is hard but im definitely going to take your advise on thatone. thanks.

Deliguy: thanks man, thats some solid / smart advise, im definitely going to follow your advise on building a site around a brand. This is my first and my last one for sure.I might take your route, on changing the content at least for now. Or ill take SgtSlaughters advise as i like that in particular. They already raped me, but ill recover, and there are a multiple ways to rape them back. An agreement is an agreement, you dont change that after someone invests in your company.

Pissed

 

[Jardini]

In your original post, you said you rank for brand name + coupon/discount/promotion. You are targeting people who are ALREADY in the confirmed mindset of BUYING the product.

Therefore, it does NOT matter what content your site has, b/c the traffic you are pulling in are NOT looking for the content. The traffic you are pulling in are from people with STRONG mindset of BUYING the product and they just want coupon code. Get it?

I don't need to see your site to know this, b/c you already said it yourself, you rank for brand + coupon.

I happen to know both side of the game in this situation. I ran a coupon site for 2.5 years doing about 25k to 30k a month. I took my earnings, evolved and became an advertiser. Here is the first rule in my affiliate policy

No trademark bidding, no coupon site / no coupon affiliate.

However, if an affiliate promotes my product using a review/content site and rank SEO for non brand/coupon related keywords, then have coupon codes in their landing page. I will allow it, b/c the traffic they are pulling in are fresh traffic and in this case, they ARE providing brand recognition.

See the difference?

Anyways, good luck with your project. You can disagree with me all you want, but a lot of advertisers will tell you the same thing.