What is ad hijacking and how do you protect your brand from it?

Have you ever ever clicked on a model’s advert and ended up on an internet site  you weren’t anticipating? That’s advert hijacking. And it hurts advertisers and customers. 

Preserve studying to find out how advert hijacking works, the dangers it poses and how you can defend your model.

What’s advert hijacking?

Advert hijacking is when an affiliate mimics a model’s adverts to steal clicks and income on their trademarked key phrases. Associates do that to trick you into clicking on their advert as a substitute of an actual one from the model.

How does advert hijacking work?

Think about you seek for [your favorite clothing brand]. Usually, the primary advert you see ought to be the model’s official one, taking you straight to its web site. Right here’s how advert hijacking disrupts that:

• The rightful proprietor: The primary advert above belongs to the model. It leads on to its personal web site through the proper monitoring hyperlink..
• The apparent offender: The second advert is from an affiliate. It redirects you to the model’s web site, however provides the affiliate’s  monitoring hyperlink within the course of. This lets them steal a fee for any sale you may make, though you meant to go to the model straight.
• The masked marauder: The third advert exhibits a extra refined hijacker utilizing a sequence of redirects to cover their involvement. They could even ship you thru a number of web sites earlier than lastly touchdown you on the model’s web site. This makes it troublesome to establish them and hurts the model’s associates program as a result of it’s arduous to trace the place the stolen fee got here from.

What does advert hijacking appear to be?

On this instance, a model violation occasion has been captured utilizing Adthena’s Ad Hijacking Detection for a resort model (the model title has been modified for anonymity). A seek for “brandhotels.com” has returned the advert proven, which options the model title within the show URL and web site hyperlinks.

Nevertheless, the advert has not been positioned by the resort model. It was positioned by an affiliate bidding on “brandhotels.com.” 

Why is advert hijacking dangerous to your model?

Advert hijacking can hurt each advertisers and customers. Right here’s a breakdown of the primary challenges it could actually trigger:

For advertisers:

• Misplaced gross sales and income: Think about paying for clicks that don’t attain your web site! Hijacked adverts steal clicks meant on your official adverts, diverting potential clients and decreasing gross sales.
• Elevated prices: Advertisers compete with hijackers bidding on their model phrases (i.e.,  your model title). This drives up the CPC, which means you pay extra for every one who sees your real advert.
• Channel battle and information skewing: When you and a hijacker use affiliate packages, issues get messy. Metrics like impression share and income attribution grow to be inaccurate, making it troublesome to trace marketing campaign efficiency successfully.
• Model repute harm: If customers click on on a hijacked advert and find yourself on a low-quality web site or expertise one thing detrimental, it displays poorly in your model. They could affiliate the dangerous expertise together with your firm.

For customers:

• Deception: The entire level of advert hijacking is to trick customers. They click on on an advert believing it results in a model’s web site, solely to search out themselves someplace else. This will really feel deceptive and like a waste of time.
• Publicity to malware: In some instances, hijacked adverts may result in malicious web sites containing malware. This software program can steal private info or hurt your gadget.
• Wasted time: Customers anticipating to go to a model’s web site after clicking on an advert might be upset in the event that they land on an irrelevant web page. They’ll waste worthwhile time navigating away from the incorrect web site.

Spot and cease advert hijacking makes an attempt

Catching advert hijacking could be tough, however there are instruments to assist. 

Adthena’s Ad Hijacking Detection catches cases of advert hijacking cases from 50+ affiliate networks and sub-networks, by:

• Always monitoring your model: Advert Hijacking Detection constantly scans search outcomes for adverts containing your model phrases, emblems and even variations of them. It acts like a tireless lookout for imposters!
• Figuring out suspicious exercise: Refined algorithms analyze advert copy, touchdown pages and affiliate hyperlinks. If something doesn’t appear real, it is going to be flagged for additional investigation.
• Alerts and stories: Get notified immediately if potential hijacking makes an attempt are detected. These stories will embody particulars just like the infringing advert copy, touchdown web page URLs, and even the suspected associates concerned.
• Gathering proof for takedown: Having all of the proof in a single place makes it simpler to report the infringing advert to Google. You’ll have the affiliate ID and different particulars wanted for a swift takedown.

See Advert Hijacking Detection in motion in a self-guided platform tour. Get started. 

The right way to spot advert hijacking in your campaigns

Being proactive is vital to combating advert hijacking. Listed below are some purple flags to be careful for in your branded advert campaigns:

• Efficiency hunch: A sudden drop in clicks and conversions on your branded adverts may very well be an indication that hijacked adverts are stealing your clicks.
• Suspicious spikes in associates: A surge in referral site visitors or conversions from an unknown affiliate is a trigger for concern.
• Copycat conversions: If an affiliate’s conversion charges suspiciously mirror your branded advert campaigns, it is perhaps as a result of they’re benefiting from hijacked clicks.
• URL mismatches: At all times test the touchdown web page URLs linked to your associates. In the event that they don’t match your model’s area or comprise unusual redirects, it may very well be a hijacking try.

These warning indicators may also help you catch advert hijacking early and take motion to guard your model.

Stop advert hijacking earlier than it strikes

Why anticipate bother? By being vigilant and monitoring your campaigns carefully, you possibly can take steps to establish and deal with advert hijacking makes an attempt by associates.

1. Safe your model id:

• Trademark safety: Register your emblems and model phrases. This strengthens your authorized stance if it’s worthwhile to confront hijackers.
• Model watch: Use model monitoring instruments to trace on-line mentions, together with search outcomes. This helps you see potential hijacking makes an attempt early on.

2. Handle your associates program:

• Clear affiliate agreements: Define acceptable practices in your affiliate agreements. Ban associates from bidding in your model phrases or utilizing deceptive advert copy.
• Efficiency monitoring: Usually monitor your associates program efficiency. Search for uncommon spikes in site visitors or conversions from particular associates.

3. Paid search protection:

• Unfavourable key phrases: Use detrimental key phrases to forestall your adverts from displaying for searches that embody hijacked phrases or variations of your model title.
• Trademark bidding: Contemplate trademark bidding in your branded key phrases. This ensures your adverts seem prominently in search outcomes, pushing hijacked adverts down the web page.

4. Superior safety options:

• Model Safety: Discover superior model safety instruments like Adthena’s Advert Hijacking Detection, part of the Brand Protection resolution. These instruments actively scan for hijacking makes an attempt and supply detailed stories that will help you take motion.

Study extra about PPC model safety and how you can do it within the complete guide to PPC brand protection.

5. Take motion:

• Report infringing adverts: Report any cases of advert hijacking to the related search engine platform.
• Terminate rogue associates: When you establish associates partaking in advert hijacking, terminate their agreements instantly.

Combat again in opposition to advert hijacking

Advert hijacking could be sneaky, stealing clicks and damaging your model repute. By understanding the way it works, you possibly can take proactive measures to:

• Defend your model: Register emblems and use model monitoring instruments to remain vigilant in opposition to hijacking makes an attempt.
• Safe your associates program: Outline acceptable practices in affiliate agreements. Block associates from bidding in your model phrases or utilizing deceptive advert copy.
• Put paid search safety in place: Use detrimental key phrases to forestall hijacked phrases from triggering your adverts. Contemplate trademark bidding to make sure your adverts seem prominently.
• Contemplate superior safety: Discover instruments like Adthena’s Advert Hijacking Detection for superior monitoring and protection.
• Take down hijackers: Report infringing adverts to search engines like google and yahoo and terminate relationships with rogue associates.

By staying knowledgeable and implementing these methods, you possibly can reclaim management of your on-line presence and guarantee a constructive expertise on your clients. 

Are you aware in case your branded key phrases are being hijacked by your associates? Take a self-guided platform tour of Adthena’s Ad hijacking detection or Book a demo to get began.