Affiliate Onboarding & Verification
Prevention Starts at Onboarding
The most effective fraud prevention happens before an affiliate sends their first click. A strong onboarding and verification process filters out bad actors, ensures compliance with regulatory requirements, and sets clear expectations for traffic quality.
Tiered Verification Levels
| Level | Verification | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Email verification, website review, traffic source declaration | Low-risk verticals, small programs |
| Standard | Basic + identity verification, compliance questionnaire | Most programs, moderate risk |
| Enhanced | Standard + KYC documentation, business registration, regulatory checks | iGaming (licensed markets), Forex (regulated brokers) |
What to Verify
- Identity: Government ID, proof of address, business registration
- Traffic sources: Where will they drive traffic from? (websites, social media, email)
- Compliance: Do they agree to your terms regarding brand usage, prohibited methods, responsible marketing?
- Regulatory: For regulated verticals, are they licensed or registered as required?
- History: Have they been flagged or banned from other affiliate programs?
Approval Workflows
Build a structured approval workflow: application submitted, auto-screening, manual review (if needed), approved or rejected. Set SLAs for review time (24-48 hours). Auto-approve partners who pass all screening criteria. Escalate edge cases to a compliance team.
Strict onboarding does not mean slow onboarding. Automate the screening steps that can be automated (email verification, website check, duplicate detection). Reserve manual review for partners who fail automated checks.
Key Takeaways
- The most effective fraud prevention starts at partner onboarding, not after traffic flows
- Use tiered verification levels based on your vertical risk profile
- Verify identity, traffic sources, compliance agreement, and regulatory status
- Automate screening where possible -- reserve manual review for flagged cases
Explore Further
Key terms and tools related to this lesson. Deepen your understanding and see how Track360 supports these concepts.
Affiliate Fraud
Affiliate fraud is the deliberate manipulation of affiliate tracking, attribution, or conversion data to earn commissions that were not legitimately generated.
Publisher
A publisher is an individual or company that promotes an advertiser's products or services through an affiliate program in exchange for commissions on conversions they drive.
Affiliate Onboarding
The process of registering, verifying, and activating new affiliates in a partner program, from application through first campaign launch.
CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)
CPA is a commission model where an affiliate earns a fixed payment for each qualifying action, such as a deposit, registration, or purchase, that a referred user completes.