Detecting brand bidding and non-compliant marketing practices

Affiliate marketing is a complex channel which takes significant patience and time to master.

Over the last decade, regulation has grown and intensified in Europe, Australia, USA and several more jurisdictions. Although this poses challenges for affiliates, it seems like regulation is playing its part in filtering out some of the bad actors. 

Alongside regulation, there are constant changes to the Google algorithm, restrictions on the use of 3^rd party data and an increased competition for SEO traffic from operators and competitors. Therefore, it is no surprise that more and more marketers are turning their attention to PPC to lessen the reliance on organic traffic and build a business model that can survive a host of challenges being thrown at webmasters.

This increased interest in PPC from marketers has created a new set of problems for operators, who are under the watchful gaze of authorities. The difference with PPC, is that it is a tap that can be turned on and off with the click of a button. This can create problems for operators, who are being held more accountable for the actions of their marketing partners.

At Rightlander, we regularly monitor desktop and mobile PPC ads to detect brand bidding, non-compliant, or misleading marketing practices by affiliates that is likely to have a significant financial or regulatory impact on operators.

Our new and improved PPC Brand Bidding Monitor now captures Google listings, highlighting the domain that is bidding on your brand. The tool provides you with screenshots of landing pages and Google search pages as well as full ad text and landing page URLs. The searches run multiple times a day covering desktop and mobile, providing you with tracking codes so you can take action on the results identified. 

Due to the flexibility of the product, Rightlander can create custom configurations based on your requirements including the scanning of multiple keywords and phrases, mobile and/or desktop emulation, expanding search levels to include country, state or city level.

To complement the PPC Monitor, Rightlander has also launched the IGRG ‘Prohibited Terms’ tool which monitors UK desktop and mobile PPC ads to detect and identify marketers who are bidding on the list of ‘prohibited terms’ provided by the Betting & Gaming Council. The monitor scans over 2500 prohibited search terms in Google every day, randomising time and device for thorough coverage, helping you to identify URLS using these terms which could put your brand under scrutiny from the UKGC, ICO or ASA.

Rightlander has been providing affiliate compliance solutions since January 2018. Regulation changes in the UK iGaming market created an opportunity that our business was able to fulfil. Rightlander now serves established brands in multiple markets around the world. Our ability to detect issues, reduce costs and stay on top of affiliate compliance, sets us apart.