How do you handle coupon code stealing in affiliate marketing?

[KellanBrier]

I noticed generic coupon aggregator sites claiming my affiliate commissions by posting public discount codes. How do you structure your affiliate rules so real content creators get credit instead of deal aggregator sites?

 

[Luisestrada]

Banning coupon sites alone won’t protect creators if the program still rewards the last affiliate click. I’d require approval for coupon promotion, make public discount codes carry no automatic commission credit, and prevent later coupon-site clicks from overwriting a qualifying creator referral within a stated attribution window. Give creators exclusive codes with clear credit rules, define penalties for unauthorized use, and test the tracking to confirm it follows those rules.

 

[Jake]

I don't think coupon code theft is avoidable, but it can be managed through appropriate tracking and analytics. I've seen companies use affiliate tracking rather than coupons to measure sales performance. You can also analyze your affiliates regularly to see what's going on. The faster you catch coupon code theft, the easier it is to stop.