Invited to join affiliate program but banned from search

The Great Yahoo Affiliate-Policy Paradox

[crobb305]

As Yahoo continues their long-standing policy/war against affiliate sites, they have recently started an affiliate program in CJ and even invited me to join. Now, it seems to me that many of the webmasters who could effectively push the Yahoo affiliate program have been banned from Yahoo Search. This is just another effect of their an overly aggressive, ban-happy policy that may ultimately affect their bottom line (and stock value) in my opinion. Afterall, commercial sites could pay for the Paid Search program, but pre-existing judgements preclude participation. That is lost revenue for Yahoo.

Just thought I would share this humorous story. It doesn't accomplish anything, because we have all moaned and groaned about Yahoo's poor editorial policies for years. But it is a real example of how their policy may come back to haunt them. Incidentally, their EPC in CJ is under $.50. That is probably because many of the affiliates who work in CJ are banned from Yahoo Search. They should think about that for a while :)

[activeco]

As Yahoo continues their long-standing policy/war against affiliate sites, they have recently started an affiliate program in CJ and even invited me to join.

Lol, indeed.
Bad policy maker + bad AN: You never know the outcome.

[tictoc]

It's really too bad that all of Yahoo's results are hard-coded. People quit using them because they know that all of their top results will always be the same.

[crobb305]

I do not think "hardcoding" is an issue. My argument is that all of their policies contradict each other. Affiliate sites can be in the directory but not search. They ban affiliate sites from search, and then start an affiliate program. Plus, they have a Paid Search program that could effectively raise revenue for the company, but penalized commercial sites can't participate (lost revenue). Just one big paradox. I think the bad management has been reflected in the low share prices for a long time.

Incidentally, the "penalties" stem from partial/incomplete reviews whereby a "editor" looks at only one or two pages. Heck, I doubt they even know what they are looking for. They just see an affiliate link and hit the penalize button. They are incapable of identifying the "unique" content that the guidelines require of "affiliate sites"

Shareholders should demand change. Let's get rid of the contradicting policies, and retrain the editorial staff.

For now, I will pass on participating in the Yahoo Affiliate Program.