[MINDsprinter]

I see. I guess other than that kind of conversion difference, what else can someone like me be looking for?

[MichaelColey]

A low (or high) conversion ratio is a red flag that needs investigating, but I should warn affiliate managers that it's just a red flag and not proof of wrongdoing. There are many legitimate reasons why conversion ratios could be low or high. For instance, untargeted traffic vs. highly targeted traffic.

It's probably best not to talk publicly about what signs to look for, as more creative parasites will take the list and try to mask their actions. I've already heard of several situations where some of the most telltale signs were forged to help make the parasite look legitimate.

[Matt McWilliams]

Originally Posted by MichaelColey

A low (or high) conversion ratio is a red flag that needs investigating, but I should warn affiliate managers that it's just a red flag and not proof of wrongdoing.

Indeed! I called HOPING that it would not be a big deal. The big red flag was when he admitted to using spyware

Originally Posted by MichaelColey

It's probably best not to talk publicly about what signs to look for, as more creative parasites will take the list and try to mask their actions. I've already heard of several situations where some of the most telltale signs were forged to help make the parasite look legitimate.

100% agreed. My lips are sealed here at least ;-)

[Matt McWilliams]

AHA! Here is another way...

Here is the browser of the customer who completed our lead form.

Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; FunWebProducts; ZangoToolbar 4.8.3)

Hmmmmmmm...does anything stand out?

This was the same guy as I finally got a chance to review his logs today.

So there is another way you can track these things. If you see unusual activity, then refer to the browser.

Does SAS or any other network have this feature to view? This lead was from our in-house program.

[MINDsprinter]

Unfortunatlely no! I wish I could check this. Even Google Analytics can't see the toolbars, just the browser and OS.

[Matt McWilliams]

It is VERY helpful info.

I have been able to catch a lot of fraud and suspicious activity by looking at the browser information for specific leads.

If anyone wants any tips on finding this stuff, I am more than happy to help off board (don't want to reveal the secrets )

[adambha]

Originally Posted by MattMcWilliams

Does SAS or any other network have this feature to view?

SAS 'sort of' has this in the merchant interface, although it's not completely useful. When viewing an affiliate, you can see the last visitor which also includes 'Last Agent Used' which shows the browser and any toolbar used. Again, only for the last visitor for a particular affiliate, though.

There's always the raw logs, it's is always in there...

Adam