Use Verified, Backed-Up Referral and Conversion Tracking

Don't rely solely on your Affiliate Network to give you the correct stats. Use third-party tracking software for back-up verification. In the event that the Affiliate Network's database experiences an outage, you can fill-in the gap with details from your back-up system.

Having said that, tracking and performance problems may sometimes be your fault, or the fault of your webhosting company, due to unplanned outages or congestion. Your Affiliate agreement should transfer the risk of all outages and slow response speeds to the Publisher, ensuring that you will not be held responsible if your website, or the Affiliate Network's database, experiences unexpected downtime, slow performance, or errors. This clause will help protect your organization, but it's in everyone's best interest if your performance issues are corrected quickly. Few problems frustrate Publishers more than not getting paid because their Advertiser's registration form is broken or unavailable.

Remember, most Publishers are arbitragers. They continue to incur advertising costs to direct leads to your registration form, even while your registration form is broken. If this goes on too long, your Publisher's arbitrage income for the entire month might go from a profit to a loss, which is the fastest way to lose good Publishers.