Keeping iHerb's affiliate program accurate across four networks
Aditiser ran the day-to-day work behind iHerb's global affiliate program. Promotions, commission rules, partner reviews, compliance checks and transaction support were handled across Partnerize, Impact, CJ and Awin.
Challenge
Hundreds of small decisions had to be right, in every network
Managing a global affiliate program meant coordinating promotions, commissions, partner approvals, compliance and transactions across several networks at once. A small error could create revenue leakage, partner risk or a compliance issue.
Promotions were the most visible example. Weekly, sitewide and event offers had to launch with the correct dates, markets, terms and assets, and some networks required expired offers to be removed by hand, so an outdated promotion could stay live and create risk. Commission rules were just as detailed, with temporary, quarterly, country-specific and partner-specific rates that had to return to standard terms without conflicting with another arrangement.
Partner quality and compliance needed judgment rather than a checklist. Each application called for a view on legitimacy, brand fit, audience quality, content and fraud risk, and trademark bidding. Rewards code misuse and suspicious activity had to be investigated and evidenced by hand once monitoring tools flagged them.
Solution
One team across the affiliate lifecycle
Aditiser covered the program from initial setup through ongoing management, connecting iHerb's commercial requirements with daily execution in each network. iHerb kept ownership of budgets, commercial terms and partner relationships.
Promotion and asset coordination
Weekly and event deal setup, country restrictions, promotional terms, disclaimers, creative uploads, language organization and cleanup of expired offers.
Commission and partner reviews
Commission rule setup, priority and conflict checks, application reviews, partner classification and rate assignment against the program criteria.
Compliance and fraud protection
BrandVerity monitoring, trademark and coupon reviews, Rewards code investigations, evidence collection, partner warnings and escalation.
Support and issue resolution
Zendesk support, application inquiries, partner recruitment, missing-transaction reviews, attribution validation and commission checks.
Case in point
A personal Rewards code on a coupon site
iHerb Rewards codes are meant for personal sharing, not commercial promotion by coupon sites or partners. Because they appear alongside valid affiliate offers, identifying misuse took a closer look at the code, the partner, the placement and the context around it.
The review followed the same path each time. We checked the page, the code, the partner and the context, confirmed whether the listing used an affiliate link or a personal code, then collected screenshots, URLs and supporting evidence. Where it was a violation, we contacted or restricted the partner, requested removal, confirmed the content was gone, and escalated or blocked repeat offenders.
“A code can look ordinary. Its source and its method of distribution decide whether it is legitimate affiliate activity or a policy violation.”
Results
How the program runs now
Commercial performance figures are not disclosed. The outcomes below describe how the program operates under this delivery model.
Promotions stay accurate
Offers, banners, market restrictions, disclaimers and commissions are checked and applied in each relevant network, and expired offers are cleared.
Partner quality is reviewed
Applications, partner models, commission eligibility and suspicious activity are assessed against program policies and commercial objectives.
Issues resolve in one place
Affiliate inquiries, transaction claims, compliance concerns and recruitment opportunities all move through one workflow.
Capacity without new headcount
The program has dedicated affiliate support while iHerb keeps ownership of budgets, commercial terms and partner relationships.
