From Wiki

Cookie stuffing – what is it?

Cookie stuffing, or forcing clicks as it is also called, is the practice of setting an affiliate tracking cookie on a user’s machine when no actual affiliate click has taken place.

An affiliate sale should contain three steps:-

1. A user visits an affiliate site/a site where affiliate links are displayed

2. The user clicks on an affiliate link knowing this link will direct them to a merchant website

3. A transaction is made on the merchant website

Cookie stuffing essentially means an affiliate has tried to by-pass this all important second step, by setting affiliate cookies without the user’s knowledge, consent or action.

Cookie stuffing can be used by affiliates to set tracking cookies in the background while a user is browsing on the internet, or set additional tracking cookies when an affiliate link is clicked. This will lead to a merchant paying affiliate commissions even though the user that has made a purchase has not interacted with an affiliate link.

The practice of cookie stuffing has been largely eradicated from Affiliate Window, however there are affiliates who still try to force clicks, particularly in conjunction with adware packages that serve ads to a user based on their browsing habits.

This type of cookie stuffing is often linked to pop-ups/unders, which appear out of nowhere and display random sites that users will normally close down without so much as a second look. What users do not realize is that the random site has probably loaded an affiliate tracking cookie related to the merchant website they are currently browsing. When they make their purchase, commission for their sale will be credited to an affiliate who has had nothing to do with their purchasing journey.

Some affiliates even try to load affiliate tracking cookies when their site/page loads, even before the user has had a chance to look at the sites content!

How to spot cookie stuffing

It is important that merchants recognise the signs of an affiliate who might be forcing clicks. They include:-

• Abnormally high conversion rate (using adware to drop cookies when a user is already looking for a merchant usually leads to a high conversion rate)

• Abnormally low conversion rate (this could indicate an affiliate is dropping lots of cookies, hoping that some of this traffic will purchase from the merchant)

• Poor site quality (merchants should always ask the question, how is this affiliate promoting me? If the site is poor quality yet is generating lots of traffic then they should be investigated)

• Re-directs as referring pages (A lot of affiliates cover-up click forcing by using html redirects on their pages. An Analytics package can give you details of the pages used to referrer your clicks and sales. Check these thoroughly, and if these links resolve directly to your site then seek further advice)

It is easy to spot cookie stuffing using the Firefox browser. Simply follow these easy steps:-

1. Go to Tools, Options, Privacy and then click on Show Cookies:-

2. Scan down the list of domain folders and delete the one marked ‘awin1.com’. This removes all Affiliate Window tracking cookies from your machine. If you can’t find any ‘awin1.com’ cookies don’t worry. It just means you haven’t clicked on any of our affiliate links recently. Once this step is completed close down the ‘Cookies’ window.

3. Now type the url that you suspect of forcing clicks into the browser and visit the site. 4. Once the site is fully loaded re-open the ‘Cookies’ window by clicking on Show Cookies. Check to see if any awin1.com cookies have been added to your computer. If they have, then the site you just loaded is cookie stuffing. It has forced a cookie to set on your machine without the need to click an affiliate link. 5. Contact and then suspend this affiliate from your programme until they have removed the offending page/site. You should also inform Affiliate Window incase further action is needed against the affiliate.

Iframes and cookie stuffing

An iframe is a HTML frame that is sometimes used to display another HTML page. This page can sometimes be another website.

Iframes can be used to force clicks, whereby an affiliate page also loads the merchant’s site within an iframe. At the same time a tracking cookie is set on the user’s machine. This is a form of cookie stuffing as the user is never asked to engage with an affiliate link before the merchant’s website is displayed.

If you notice an affiliate site that contains an iframe of a merchant site you should contact Affiliate Window for further information.

Vouchercode sites and cookie stuffing

Many vouchercode sites use a system called ‘click and reveal’. This sets a cookie when the user chooses to view a voucher code on the site. At the same time the merchant site opens, usually in a new window.

This should not be confused with cookie stuffing. When the user activates a link knowing that the link will direct them to the merchant site or open a new window containing the merchant site then it cannot be classed as cookie stuffing.