AzoogleAds On The Decline?

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Jon

Jon

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Saw this email, figured I'd post it. I highlighted the parts that really struck potential signs of trouble in paradise..

Dear Publisher,

Thank you for participating in the AzoogleAds Publisher Referral Program, and for connecting us to your friends, family, and acquaintances.

Starting February 1, 2008, we are introducing some changes to our current Referral Program which may affect you:

• Referral commission will continue to be 2% of referred publishers’ revenue but will now expire after 6 months.
• Start date is the day first penny is earned, and expiration date is 6 months after first penny is earned.
• You must maintain a minimum revenue level of $1,000 in your primary account on a monthly basis in order to receive any referral payouts for that month.
• If you earn less than $1,000 in any given month, you will not qualify for a referral payment that month. However, you will be eligible for any month thereafter, up to the 6 month cutoff date.
• $1,000 threshold must be for revenues that you have earned from regular offer promotion, not referred sales.
• You may not refer another account belonging to you.
• When the 6 month expiration date has ended, you cannot refer the same publisher again.
• Referral payments will be on net 60 terms
• Referral payments will be paid out to parent accounts, not children accounts
These conditions will be listed under our FAQ section starting February 1st 2008.

Thanks again for your support and keep spreading the good word about AzoogleAds!
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Most of the other conditions are standard though. So they aren't a big deal. I also don't disagree with the whole minimum $1,000 earnings level, because that stops every retard in the world from making an account and spamming it out. It also forces the ebook fools to not mention Azoogle as much, because they don't make $1k anyhow.

The expiration part is a serious one, and if I were Azoogle, I'd rethink getting rid of that. First they got rid of their "rewards" incentives for affiliates who do well, which, again, not a big deal for most people, but not a normal move by a company that is supposed to be the leader in the industry.

So without pointing fingers or telling you what to think or do, what's your take on these recent changes being made?

I'm curious to see what others think. Don't be scared to post.. everything is anonymous here, unless of course your username is your full name, which then I suggest you change it.
 


I actually just blogged this a bit ago Jon.

I was super pissed when I wrote it too. I would almost expect some sort of ramifications but I really dont give a fuck. Are they just so large now that this isn't really an important part of their agenda? Seriously, with the downsizing and the moving that has gone on and then this email, what the fuck is going on?
 
Just a guess, but it is likely 90-99% of azoogle users have signed up under someone else's id. That could mean 1.5-2% of their incoming revenue is written off immediately. If they are already operating on slim margins this could be a 10%+ boost in net income.

Presuming that azoogle's profile is high enough that any big affiliate will find out about them, the cost/benefit to continuing a good referral program may be minimal, especially in the short term. (long term I think they may be in serious trouble.)
 
Azoogle is currently denying applications from publishers from India also.
 
Two ways to look at it and I'm still trying to figure it out.

On one hand it is a bit concerning. Like Jon said, the combo of cutting the rewards program (and also not paying me out the amount I was owed at that time) + closing the Toronto office + the referral program.

But on the other hand, they did just spend a good amount of change on their new office, a full remodel, and a ton of equipment. Most companies on the verge of collapse don't spend money on a remodel and new office space.
 
maximus said:
But on the other hand, they did just spend a good amount of change on their new office, a full remodel, and a ton of equipment. Most companies on the verge of collapse don't spend money on a remodel and new office space.
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I doubt they are on the "verge of collapse". They're shaving costs, sure, but that's not indicative of their overall financial status.
 
Stanley said:
I doubt they are on the "verge of collapse". They're shaving costs, sure, but that's not indicative of their overall financial status.
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Right... the point was that they are not on the "verge of collapse" when they're spending money on other growth areas.
 
I still want to know what makes one affiliate network better than another. Beyond having better offers, the highest payouts and a good system (not directtrack) - how are you picking a network to work with? How important are AM's to the equation?

How can 382 different Affiliate Networks exist?
 
jbartinla said:
I still want to know what makes one affiliate network better than another. Beyond having better offers, the highest payouts and a good system (not directtrack) - how are you picking a network to work with? How important are AM's to the equation?

How can 382 different Affiliate Networks exist?
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What makes one network better than the other is how professionally they handle themselves. Taking care of affiliates by paying on time, and also offering good tracking. Even though most of the networks are on directtrack, some networks lose way less clicks and leads than the others. Like you said, payouts and offers matter too, but payouts don't matter unless it tracks well also.

So many networks are able to exist by a lot of them establishing themselves on different niches... some cater to mailers, ppcers, spammers, etc. Also, a lot of networks are supported mainly by their own internal marketing efforts, and their own private offers that they own, and the network is there simply as a front to get better payouts by going direct with the advertisers.
 
kyle -- finally a good answer. I agree with everything you said. So, when new "networks" launch (like PepperJam for example) -- are they doing anything new? Or just following the same path of either a niche, marketing their own offers, etc...

Also, not many people seem to dig DirectTrack -- why do so many of these networks use it? Our developer team could improve on that easy (not that we have any desire to build an affiliate network).
 
I bet the fall in value of the US dollar has caused the income stream from which Azoogle derives much of it's revenue to shrink quite a bit. I know several people in Canada that have taken a 15% pay cut due to the falling US dollar when being paid from abroad. This is true assuming that Azoogle is indeed still a Canadian company and they are being paid by advertisers in US dollars. This might explain why they're having a bit of a hard streak.
 
what?

abednego -- you should try not to write what you think. First of all, they have moved most of their operations and team to NYC. Second of all, regardless, they have been working with US Advertisers who pay them in US Dollars and they pay out in US Dollars.

You dont know anyone in Canada either.
 
jbartinla said:
what?

abednego -- you should try not to write what you think. First of all, they have moved most of their operations and team to NYC. Second of all, regardless, they have been working with US Advertisers who pay them in US Dollars and they pay out in US Dollars.

You dont know anyone in Canada either.
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Yea, Well fuck you too...
 
they don't create anything, and don't advertise 1/10th of what they used to to pull eyes on their offers. They used to be my top network for a couple years, now they aren't even top 15.
 
I like how Copeac seem to have capitalised on this with mailshots emphasising their referral program.. very quick thinking guys!
 
My thoughts are either they're getting fucked or they're fucking us..
Given the fact that they just laid off employees - they're probably hurting for biz or the company is badly run and they're going down (ie they're getting fucked). Or maybe they've decided to outsourced the program and get rid of the middleman (they're fucking us). I tend to think it might be the latter. But either scenario, we're going to get fucked - so better diversify and let's not put all our eggs in one basket.

Ruck said:
I actually just blogged this a bit ago Jon.

I was super pissed when I wrote it too. I would almost expect some sort of ramifications but I really dont give a fuck. Are they just so large now that this isn't really an important part of their agenda? Seriously, with the downsizing and the moving that has gone on and then this email, what the fuck is going on?
Click to expand...
BTW, I like your new avatar:bootyshake:
 
[Removed by Admin]

Rick. You've been banned for 30 days for spamming, again. Stop spamming here. No one gives a fuck.
 
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