'Net Features : cj

CJ Links Show Red on McAfee SiteAdvisor

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 13:00:00 GMT

The discussion around whether affiliate links may be penalized by search engines and other networks is now getting the full attention it deserves. It appears that Commission Junction's "androezers.net" redirect links, used by tens of thousands of its affiliates, are encountering the dreaded red signal on McAfee Site Advisor.

The implications are quite significant; affiliates and merchants could lose sales or commissions and damage their reputation equally. According to McAfee's SiteAdvisor service, the domain, which CJ uses for redirecting users from affiliate sites to merchant sites, found potential security risks with the site and encourages visitors of the site to use "extreme caution".

CJ is apparently aware of the problem according to an ABestWeb forum thread, and has verified that McAfee blacklisted the link. There are instances when removing the "red" designation has taken months and in some cases years to have it reversed. In the meantime, perhaps its time to shift gears and change networks?

Monitor Affiliate Revenue With AffMeter

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:59:00 GMT

There are far too few tools developed exclusively for affiliate marketers. When you find one (and a good one at that) it's essential you at least try it out for yourself. One such offering I have recently come across is AffMeter, a software solution which offers statistics, analytics and reporting exclusively for affiliate marketers to see this important data from all of the major affiliate networks they participate in. With a 60-day money back guarantee - it's worth a closer look.

One of the challenges of being an affiliate is the actual management of your campaigns as most marketers use multiple affiliate networks. With AffMeter, you can view your earnings from these affiliate networks and their merchants in one place, set up accounts for multiple networks in different channels, find top revenue generating (and losing) merchants, view EPC's and make comparisons between different time periods regarding your revenue generation, and a lot more.

Many of the major affiliate networks are supported currently, including Amazon, AvantLink, Buy.at, CPA Empire, Canadian Sponsors, ClickBank, ClixGalore, CJ, Google Adsense, LinkShare, PepperJam, Performics, and a whole host of others. LinkConnector, Shareasale and Incetaclick will apparently be added in the future.

Another interesting feature is that AffMeter users can also check their Google Adwords PPC campaign costs automatically. As margins become increasingly slim for affiliates using PPC, good tools will be how you ensure profitability.

Commission Junction Changes Minimum Payout

Administrator — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:06:00 GMT

Popular affiliate network Commission Junction is changing the minimum commission earnings publishers must have before receiving payment. The primary change is in the difference between direct deposit and paper checks (which have a higher requirement).

For the United States dollar, the new minimum for direct deposit is $50 and the new minimum for paper checks is $100.

The reason for the change? Obviously it's to streamline their operations and make the publisher payment process much smoother, but a change like this is almost always rooted in reducing costs - which you can't blame CJ for as they're in business to make money.

Ebay Affiliates; Commission Junction Dumped

Administrator — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:36:00 GMT

Ebay has shocked many in the affiliate community by dumping Commission Junction and ValueClick - opting instead to promote their affiliate program independently through the eBay Partner Network. For many this signifies that CJ and other affiliate networks may over time be much less relevant, although small merchants may still opt for these solutions as it is often cost prohibitive to recruit affiliates directly.

The new in-house program will allow eBay to more closely align the program with the needs of its publishers and the eBay Community, and will eventually engage all of eBay’s assets to create one of the most robust affiliate networks in existence. The eBay Affiliate Program has more than 100,000 members globally and continues to be one of the most successful tools for driving buyers to eBay. Coupling access to the unparalleled scope of eBay’s global marketplace with industry-leading tools and a dedicated support staff, eBay ensures all types of Web site publishers, from the casual blogger to the experienced Internet entrepreneur, are able find success through profitable affiliate marketing.

Affected eBay and Half.com affiliates will be required to move their affiliate links over to the eBay Partner Network by May 1st, 2008. eBay will continue its valued partnership with ValueClick’s technology division, Mediaplex, for ad serving, tracking and other custom projects. More information on the transition process for eBay affiliates, as well as the eBay programs affected, can be found at http://affiliates.ebay.com.