Affiliate or publisher click fraud is when affiliates belonging to an online marketing affiliate network, like the CJ Affiliate Network, click on the ads on their own website in order to generate fraudulent PPC (Paid Per Click) income.Many affiliate networks offer PPC earning opportunities to their affiliates, where the affiliates earn commission off every click that  merchants banners receive on the affiliate’s website.

     Usually the affiliate has to agree to terms and conditions before joining a network, which stipulates that they will under no circumstances click on the banners on their own website.Affiliate Networks, like CJ, do not condone affiliates clicking the banners on their websites, as merchants place trust in the affiliate network to provide high quality, converting traffic to their sites in order to reap ROI from their marketing spend.

     If affiliates click on the banners on their site, the chances of that traffic ever converting on the merchants site is zero to none. This lowers the quality of the traffic being provided to merchants who use affiliate networks as part of their online marketing strategy.

     CJ uses the most advanced tracking and validation technology to stamp out affiliate click fraud on the affiliate network. Any affiliates employing such techniques to fraudulently generate PPC income from the TrafficSynergy Affiliate Network, runs the risk of being cut off from the network indefinitely and forfeiting all commission earned up to time that the fraud has occurred.