Direct linking, sometimes also referred to as ‘URL Hijacking’, occurs on paid search when affiliate marketers assume the identity in paid ads of the represented merchant.

Direct linking occurs when the affiliate uses the merchant’s website as the display URL, with an affiliate link as the destination URL. The effect of this tactic is that the affiliate does not need to operate a website because it is directing traffic straight from the search page to the merchant’s website.

This tactic, while economical, efficient, and easy for the affiliate, creates problems for merchants.

Common issues include:

1.   Channel Conflict

Channel conflict arises when the merchant and the affiliate are advertising on the same keyword set. In this instance, Google, Yahoo, and Bing only show one advertiser at a time with the same display URL.

Because the affiliate and the advertiser are using the same display URL, the two are in essence competing to be served on the SERP. The end result is a bidding war between the affiliate and the merchant on whose behalf the affiliate is advertising in the first place.

2.   Messaging Conflict

Messaging conflict occurs when the affiliate has developed its own ad content that doesn’t match your messaging.

Examples include off-brand messaging, outdated offers, or offers that you do not want promoted against certain keyword combinations. As in issue #1, here, only one ad can be served at a time. If the ad served is the affiliate’s ad, then your brand message isn’t being seen.

3.    Revenue Wars

Revenue wars refer to the struggle between your SEM team and affiliate teams to each gain credit for conversions, actions, and/or sales from paid search keywords.

If revenue is not properly attributed to the SEM team, for instance, then ROI calculations will suffer, causing issues with your bidding methodology and most likely the logic and algorithms in use by your campaign management vendor.

Because we have the affiliate ad on the one hand, and the SEM team’s ads on the other hand vying for impression share, it is likely that revenue attribution will be skewed when direct linking is deployed.

Some of the reasons for the recent raise in direct linking is due to increase use of social media. Most platforms allow people to share links from their social media pages. If you can imagin 100′s thousands of people share links in hope their friends will click on it for a quick buck.

Another reason for the increase is due to push button software that allows people to clone campaigns. This puts a series of Identical link throughout the internet.

The last reason is that people are just too lazy to build a blog or web page. People only look for quick and easy solutions.

There are great benefits to building landing pages on hosted domains. You can capture email addresses and create branding with your own site. Your site could gain SEO rank by itself and get organic traffic and long term income.