In an effort seemingly designed largely to reign in Adware advertising, the DMA has just released a new “best practices” document after a formal request by the Federal Trade Commission was made. These best practices IMHO are nothing more than common sense tips. Be sure the network is legal – know where your ads are placed – do your due diligence. To me the document would have much more validity if it simply spelled out the fact that you should not work with networks that use or allow download apps or BHO’s. Let’s just get to the root of the matter! Clickz reports:

DMA Releases Affiliate and Ad Network Best Practices “Perhaps naive to the shadier side of the Web media marketplace, big marketers like Vonage, Universal Studios and Circuit City have been shocked to see their ads served into such “media” vehicles as spyware generated pop-ups and junk Web pages consisting of nothing but ads. Often, the advertiser doesn’t realize it’s purchasing inventory that’s been resold three, four, or even five times.

Wishing to bring an end to the affiliate marketing practices and ad network buys that make possible such brand misappropriation, the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) today released best practices governing these channels.”

Read the official DMA document here:
Best Practices for Online Advertising Networks and Affiliate Marketing.

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