Examples of how partners lose money when collaborating with CPA networks

A hard one brought me to Marat Izhanov ’s publication “Why are CPA networks no longer a cake? Some good reasons . ” First of all, I would like to say that, in my opinion, in the Marat material much attention is paid to minor problems, and the main ones are mentioned in passing. In addition, special attention is paid to the problems quite banal. For example, that the commission is received by the last partner whose cookies were registered with the client, in the sense that this is a big problem (in fact, not, retargeting must be used). With your permission, I will try to disclose in more detail the main and, perhaps, the only significant problem of CPA in the CIS zone, from which all other minor troubles arise. However, if you think about it, it is not only CPA that is ill.

CPA-market in the CIS is sick with total irresponsibility

• Advertisers in CPA networks build relationships with partners on a “as is” basis. Anyone, even the most famous offer, can disconnect for an indefinite period at any time;
• The advertiser may at any time consider even the quality traffic of the partner to be fraud, and request that he be disconnected from the offer without paying. The problems for the partner are the same: lost profit / net loss.
  
  Personally, this happened to me a couple of times during the whole period of work. I did not violate any requirements specified in the offer rules, provided quality traffic, but the advertiser’s specialists didn’t like something and they flippantly filed claims. In both cases, the CPA network rose to protect my money. In one case, I received my money, and after this, the rules of the offer were supplemented by new advertiser requirements, which were used to complain to me.
  
  In the second case, I even continued to work with this advertiser. The specialists on their side thought that my traffic converts so well in registration that it is fraud, and they didn’t even think to check whether it brings them profit until the CPA network insisted on it. When the advertiser was convinced of profitability, the claims were withdrawn. Of course, even advertisers do not bring even elementary apologies.
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  If it seemed to you that the examples I gave just prove that the market is all right with responsibility and everything is quite civilized, I have to upset you. My interests were defended only for two reasons: I am already an old, proven partner and, more importantly, I have friends in this CPA network. Ordinary partners are disconnected without any special proceedings, and with newcomers in general a short conversation. In fairness, it should be said that in 90% of cases such partners really turn out to be froders.

Three best ways to lose money in CPA

Option number 1

Suppose an offer appears, working with which for several months, you have achieved quite good results. Imagine that you take credit funds for the purchase of traffic in more serious volumes, have time to spend half and get one of these letters:


This situation is called lost profit .

Pay attention to the frequency and number of these alerts. For 3 years I have accumulated more than 1000 such letters only from Cityads.

Let me show you the typical content of the letters (I want to draw your attention that not only Cityads sends such notifications. This is the usual format for any CPA network.):



Perhaps you would think that, at least in the description of the offer indicates the period of cooperation, the planned advertiser, as well as its ceiling on the budget?

That the advertiser’s budget has ended this month, partners usually find out like this:



The terms of cooperation are almost never specified. In my memory, only Admitad implemented something similar, but working with them is very difficult due to exorbitant holdings and irresponsible attitude to payments - there were cases that partners waited their money for half a year (talking about the job.ru story).

Option number 2

Suppose there is a reliable, long-running offer in the CPA network. For example, Lamoda. Knowledgeable people remember that this offer, if my memory serves me, a year or two ago, in exactly the same instantaneous order, decided to significantly reduce the remuneration for all customers who make purchases using promotional codes. Now the conditions look like this:



I'm afraid to lie, so I’ll say that they used to pay around 6-7%. If any reader remembers the exact percentage, please write in the comments.

Primarily, large sites with promotional codes that worked with Lamoda through CPA networks suffered from this. After all, they had no contract with Lamoda, which would have been laid a penalty for such frills. Fortunately, I had nothing to do with this area and did not suffer at all on that significant day.

I propose to ponder the logic of the actions of Lamoda internet marketers. This will help to understand a lot about the average level of specialists in our field. Lamoda's point of view is clear: the parasitics stuck to the high conversion traffic, which is essentially in our pocket. After all, this traffic is people who want to enter a promotional code for a discount when placing an order. Why on earth would we pay our partners the full cost?

The reality is that this high conversion traffic will be so golden only if the buyer, who has seen the promo code field, finds this promo code on the Internet. Otherwise, it will be just a buyer who has reached the stage of placing an order, and is no different from the others.

Thus, the key element in this whole scheme is the same “stuck” partner with a coupon site. When a customer sees a box for a promotional code in the basket, he opens a search engine, drives in the “promotional codes of Lamoda” and sees exactly the coupon sites in the top, not the Lamoda website. At the same time there are collected all the promotional codes needed by the buyer. Woe-marketers Lamody should be grateful to the partners for the fact that according to such requests all the issuance is not packed with, say, competitors' promotional codes (which, by the way, all partners had to do). But alas, in gratitude for this, the Lamoda partners on one wonderful day received a 2-fold cut in yield.

Option number 3

Now imagine, perhaps, the most dramatic option. This is when an offer of this level, existing for many years, suddenly ceases to cooperate with all CPA networks. I think there is no need to explain what losses the partners incur in this case, who developed their own websites to receive SEO traffic (this is a very long-term perspective) and its preparation for conversion just for this particular offer.

What other problems are there in the domestic CPA?

1. Killer Holds that prevent new partners from developing;
2. Reduced or zero Holds, and sometimes payments on request for large partners, and the absence of such conditions for promising partners who need working capital are much more powerful;
3. The lack of punctuality even in the largest networks with regard to payments to all the same ordinary partners. Delay money can and for 2 weeks - easily. Major partners such problems never concern for obvious reasons.

findings

If you are a beginner and want to try your hand at the CPA, I recommend refraining. It is worthwhile to do this only if you already have some experience in Internet marketing and, most importantly, have a large stock of working capital. A big mistake to consider CPA in the same row with PPC affiliate programs. CPA is a tough, high-risk environment that requires players to be able to prepare and sell traffic and have a lot of money for it. If you have the means and experience, you will earn dozens of times more in CPA than if you just hang up an Adsense or YAN block on the website - that’s a fact.

Serednyachki same, who have already embarked on skis, should take into account all the above risks in the first place . The main danger is not in traffic losses due to technical work by the advertiser, attempts to assign part of the traffic, leads loss due to the fact that the conversion counts to the partner whose cookie was prescribed last (to avoid this you just need to use remarketing) and other horror stories. The main danger is that after 3 months of work you can be disconnected for any reason, the offer may disappear or the affiliate program may seriously delay the money.

Simple rules for security when working with CPA networks

If you are working with purchased traffic

• You need a very big turnaround, without it there’s no point in trying to do something. A big turn-over allows you to work on all the risks I listed earlier.
• Do not work with only one offer, lay eggs in different baskets. Otherwise, you put yourself at great risk by being held hostage to the mood and economic health of just one advertiser.

If you make websites for SEO traffic

Never make sites for any particular offer. If this is a game, then you need a site not for World of Tanks, but a site about all tank games. If this is bookkeeping, then you need a website not under My Business, but a general website for traffic in electronic bookkeeping, from which you can not only sell leads on the CPA network, but also start monetizing it using PPC instead of CPA, if it’s would need. I think the same principle “do not put eggs in one basket” is understandable.

Adhere to these simple rules and before you open, albeit non-linear and risky, but very great prospects.