So, is EPN stressing you out with the new rule changes and another apparent wave of bannings?
Over the last few weeks EPN announced various changes ranging from validating domains, no longer allowing URL shortening services and grey area of trademark domains. Also, it appears that they’re cracking down on round tripping (either via eBay about me page, store or PPC via YSM). Reading the forums, we’re now seeing the ‘I got banned’ posts which makes things a little uneasy. Here are a few things that you should be doing.
- Validate your domains via EPN’s control panel (Account -> Domains)
- Archive and stop all sites that are using trademark domains in the FQDN
- Add eBay sites to your exclude lists in your YSM account
- Make sure you’re not round tripping anywhere
- Make sure you’re not purchasing eBay items through your eBay link (I would clear all cookies prior to bidding).
- Do not post auctions on sites you don’t own (WordPress.com sites, Blogspot.com, Twitter, Squidoo, etc).
- Do not use URL shortening services.
If you do get the email it’s important to be professional and persistent and try to create a line of communication with them to correct the issue and be re-instated into the EPN program. Do not give up and focus on re-establishing your account. With that said, it’s also important to be diversified into other areas (CJ, Amazon, PPC to offers/products, etc).
These changes and wave of bannings does concern me, but I feel like I’ve been very quick to make my appropriate changes to comply with the new rules. Don’t be lazy folks, and get on it.
Related posts:
Last march, when EPN took over from CJ you rushed to convert your links like everyone else did.
And now EPN has implemented new changes you rush you comply with the new TOS. The majority of Publishers have seen their income over the same period, just take a look at the EPN blog with the post about ‘what’s really going on here?’
Do you really think complying to the new terms will appease EPN when they are ready to drop their affiliate program all together.
Let’s be honest, that ship has leff the harbor and sank. It’s only a matter of time before they arbitrarily decide to ban compliant accounts.
If you do get banned from ePN and you have sites using their RSS feeds that get good SE traffic, here’s a site that will show you how to use those feeds to promote other affiliate programs like Google, Amazon and others.
.-= Militant´s last blog ..ePN and Trademark Violations =-.
Militant
I would be worried that this would go against Google AdSense ToS, showing ads on a “error page”. I swear I remember reading this somewhere?
hanji
I appreciate your concern about Google’s TOS. I’ve gone over the TOS and the extended TOS and can’t find any mention of “error” pages. If anyone does have any knowledge of this, I would like to know about it.
Chitika and some other PPC publisher programs do have restrictions on error pages.
Hello Militant
I googled around a found a few links mentioning it:
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/AdSense/thread?tid=1940165f7521c209&hl=en
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum89/9490.htm
I also found the original snippet of their ToS that mentioned it:
5. Prohibited Uses. You shall not … (v) display any Ad(s), Link(s), or Referral Button(s) on any error page, on any registration or “thank you” page ….
But, when I look at their current ToS, this item has been removed?
https://www.google.com/adsense/localized-terms
I remember reading the snippet about a year or two ago. Seemed like it was added at the same time where they stated that AdSense around images was not okay. So I guess you’re in the clear? But you still might want to get 100% verification from them.
Thanks for the comment!
hanji