I'm not gonna name any names so don't ask. But this is what I have discovered the last two weeks since I started selling paysite traffic.
1. Big sponsors shave some affiliates a LOT and others very little.
2. I can send 10k hits to a sponsor with my affialite codes and roughly 90% of the traffic is counted and my average conversion is like 1 in 1400
3. I can send the EXACT same 10k traffic to a different affilate account with the same sponsor, and less than 60% of the traffic is counted and the ratio is way down in the 1 in 3000 range.
This is just not 1 or 2 sponsors, this is 12 or more. And this is not just a 1000 hits. This is from 100k ad day being sold to paysites, and another 200kplus a day I send to my own affiliate accounts.
When I first started selling paysite traffic, the rule ws no affiliate accounts. The reasons are:
1. Sponsors shave. Period.
2. It is getting harder every day to make money as a affiliate. Most of the guys making money have their own paysites.
3. I have no problem comparing my stats with the buyers, my stats are very accurate and anyone is welcome to install a counting script to check my stats against theirs. BUT, I should not be put in a position that I have to explain why a sponsors stats do not match mine. That should not be my problem. I am not accountable to your Sponsor. I am accountable to you the buyer.
I am going to stop selling to affiliate accounts again. Shaving is jsut getting out of hand as everyone is tightening their belts. I think it is time for me to re-evaluate my models, how much am I being shaved a day from the hits I send to paysites under my own affiliate accounts?? I don't even want to think about.
