Can i get penalised if an affiliate uses a URL re-direct to my site?

[kads]

Basically,

I have site at abcdef.com

The affiliate has his re-direct at abc-def.com directly to my site at abcdef.com

Will this confuse Google? If so, what I can do about it if I get penalised? I shouldn't be penalised for what other people do.

[Quadrille]

I can't see a problem ... but I also can't see the point of it.

What do you think he is doing?

What form of redirect is it?

[kads]

its a re-direct within a frame, so my site shows up on the screen, but the URL stays at his site.

[MadeWillis]

Personally, I wouldn't allow an affiliate to display my site in a frame. I would require them to send traffic directly to my site.

As for using a redirect....many affiliate networks use a redirect through their servers for all affiliate links. It's actually a good thing for the merchants who have loads of not so relevant affiliates.

Are you running your program through an inhouse solution or an affiliate network?

[Quadrille]

I'd also add a 'frame breaker' javascript to your page - this would ensure your site is seen as you intend it to be seen.

[kads]

Hi, thanks for the replies.

Im running my program with an affiliate network.

The advantage I've found here is that when banning affiliates, their affiliate URL shows a 404 error, which I can then get removed from search engines etc.

[MadeWillis]

The advantage I've found here is that when banning affiliates, their affiliate URL shows a 404 error, which I can then get removed from search engines etc.

That may be good for you, but it's probably not so good for your visitors that would normally be able to access your site through that link.

Are you really banning that many affiliates? I'd be curious why.

[kads]

Im not banning "that many" affiliates. Only 2-3 affiliates who are using deceptive re-directs.

Also, after the site is removed from Google, I can simply re-activate the affiliate link so the 404 no longer shows and the site is working up again.