Segment categories
To ensure your ad spend is only paying for valuable, compliant, and incremental traffic, we classify invalid conversions into three main categories based on the type of violation:
Low Value (Priority 1)
Definition: This category flags conversions that are fundamentally not generated by a real, human user. This is the most severe category.
Examples: Automated bot clicks, or other forms of large-scale, automated fraud.
Non-Compliance (Priority 2)
Definition: This category flags conversions where the affiliate has breached the terms of your contract or advertising policies.
Examples: Brand Bidding, where an affiliate violates terms by bidding on your brand's keywords in search engines.
Non-Incremental (Priority 3)
Definition: This category flags conversions that were not genuinely driven by the affiliate, meaning the affiliate's activity did not add value to the customer journey. Instead, they took credit for a conversion that was already going to happen.
Examples: Affiliate Snipe (getting the last click without meaningful engagement), or Paid Channel Poach (stealing a user who was already engaged through a paid search or social campaign).
Segments
A Segment is a specific, rules-based pattern of invalid or suspicious activity detected within a user's conversion journey.
Segment Name | Violation Category | Definition for Customer Pages |
Bot Automated Clicks | Low Value | Conversions generated by automated bots or scripts, not real human users. |
Affiliate Snipe | Non-Incremental | An affiliate "steals" credit for a conversion by getting the final click just seconds before the conversion event, with no genuine user engagement. |
Paid Channel Poach | Non-Incremental | An affiliate improperly takes credit for a user who was originally driven by a paid search or social media channel (e.g., clicking on the affiliate link minutes after a Google Ad). |
Click Injection | Non-Incremental | Conversions where the affiliate click was recorded an impossibly short time (e.g., less than 10 seconds) before the conversion, indicating a fraudulent timing manipulation. |
Irrelevant Click | Non-Incremental | The affiliate's click occurred over a day ago, was not the first touch in a complex journey, and therefore had no meaningful influence on the conversion decision. |
Bonus Abuse | Low Value | A single user or device is associated with multiple conversions, often a red flag for exploiting sign-up bonuses or other incentives. |
Time Discrepancy | Low Value | A click is detected with a manipulated timestamp (a significant mismatch between the time the partner reported the click and the time our system recorded it). |
Cookie Discrepancy | Low Value | Inconsistent or conflicting tracking data is detected, suggesting cookie stuffing, session hijacking, or other attempts to obscure the true user journey. |
Paid Clicks (Brand Bidding) | Non-Compliance | An affiliate has violated your terms by driving traffic from a paid ad (like Google or Facebook) using your brand keywords. |