Cookie dropping

[Brian Turner]

Whoops - just got banned from Amazon for cookie dropping.

Heard about this from SES - basically, if you run a 1px iFrame on your site to the target affiliate site, it means every single one of your visitors is likely to pick up a cookie from the site.

So running this on my science fiction and fantasy discussion forums - where people are bound to be buying books and films from Amazon - seemed a good idea.

I've tried to get the forum users to use Amazon aff links directly, but it didn't really work and I ended up with a pittance.

And as the forums run at a loss and my Amazon income was pitiful, it seemed a good idea to test out cookie dropping.

Anyway, after about 6 weeks of decent income - about $500/month - I received a "we've closed your account" notice:

Greetings from the Amazon.com Associates Program.

It has recently come to our attention that you are attempting to divert referral fees from other participants in the Amazon.com Associates Program in addition to artificially increasing your referral fee earnings by automatically tagging Amazon sessions to your
account.

This is a direct violation of the Operating Agreement to which you agreed to be bound when registering for the Program. Specifically, Section 4, "Referral Fees," states that you may not (f) other than providing Special Links on your site in accordance with this Agreement, post or serve any advertisements or promotional content promoting the Amazon.com Site or otherwise around or in conjunction with the display of the Amazon.com Site (e.g., through any "framing"
technique or technology or pop-up or pop-under windows), or assist, authorize, or encourage any third party to take any such action; (g) attempt to circumvent the referral fee schedule or artificially increase your referral fees (e.g. by intentionally featuring, purchasing or requesting or encouraging any third party to purchase low-price items offered on the Amazon.com Site (as determined by us) for the purpose of exceeding any referral fee threshold threshold or by causing any page of the Amazon.com Site to open in a customer's browser other than as a result of the customer clicking on a Special Link on your site); (h) attempt to intercept or re-direct (including, without limitation, via user-installed software) traffic from or on, or divert referral fees from, any web site that participates in the
Program."

We insist that you immediately cease and desist this activity.
Moreover, because you are using the Associates Program in ways in which it was never intended, your account has been closed and you will not receive payment for Q1 2008.


Best regards,

Amazon.com Account Specialist
Associates Program

Anyway, I think my big mistake was to keep the iFrame running - what I should have done is run it just for a short period one day each month.

And perhaps even running an iFrame to a specific Amazon promotions page, which in itself was running an iFrame to the Amazon website.

Might have worked, but I guess that's why tracking images are used, to help identify real clicks from false ones.

Overall, just something I thought I'd test out - but now really eyes opened on ways in which iFrames can be used, and not just for cookie dropping.

[lin robinson]

Fingers in the cookie jar, huh?

This is interesting. In order to experiment, you have to keep creating new accounts, right? Won't they keep track of you?

[Brian Turner]

I'm not worried about creating accounts - had one with .com and .co.uk, but Amazon has never really delivered any income, hence the accounts were expendable for the experiment.

[Joff]

Now to target some high-earning affiliate sites eh?

[Cashcorp]

Lol, amazon are NAZIS when it comes to cookie stuffing. I would rec. that you cloaked your stuffing with a SSL certificate to hide refferers from amazon-so they cant find your page.
-Cashcorp

[Brian Turner]

Good thinking - maybe next time.