Blog: Behind The Scenes 
Inuvo Details New Fraud Prevention Features
In my last post, I mentioned several projects in the pipeline for Inuvo’s analytics team. One project is bringing transaction-level cost-per-action (CPA) fraud detection to the Inuvo Platform. Our goal is to create a system that automatically inspects every CPA transaction handled by the Platform, and determine the likelihood that it’s fraudulent. That information could then be used in a variety of ways – from automatically denying extremely high-risk transactions, to creating reports that will let us tell at a glance when there’s a change in a publisher’s level of traffic quality. This will make life easier for everyone. Advertisers utilizing the Platform can be alerted to suspicious activity sooner, Inuvo account managers can spend more time interacting with clients and less time poring over transaction logs, and even publishers can benefit from the increased confidence that advertisers have in the marketplace (which translates into better payouts!).
We recently implemented the first version of this system and we’re excited about the preliminary results. We’ve already rooted out several fraudsters that had previously escaped detection. Some had remained hidden because they were extremely low volume, and it’s hard for a human to notice patterns in small amounts of data. Some hid their fake transactions among a larger volume of legitimate traffic, which again masked it from human review. Good news is that we now can detect these cases – we recently shut down a number of bad publishers after as few as just four transactions! Since we are scanning the entire Platform, in real time, we see much more traffic than any given advertiser on the Platform. So when we shut down one bad publisher, every advertiser benefits.
The CPA fraud detection system (which we don’t have an official name for – suggestions are welcome!) learns from historical data, and makes distinctions between known fraud and known good traffic patterns. This way the system can tell the difference between good and bad traffic. The only way to get past it is to be just like good traffic, which is basically impossible to do unless you are good traffic!
Of course, humans are also quite good at pattern recognition – when there are few variables, and they can be represented graphically, we can compete with computers. So, besides giving the system raw data from the Inuvo Platform, we also give it “hints” in the form of custom variables designed to correlate with patterns that we’ve noticed ourselves, or that have been pointed out to us by our great Inuvo account managers. The result is a system that combines human expertise with a computer’s ability to sort through mounds and mounds of data. The computer algorithms we’re using have proven themselves in shutting down fraud in other parts of the economy, too, so we feel like we’ve brought a big stick to bear against this problem.
The best part is that it will only get better from here. The system works by making associations – by learning. As more and more transactions flow through the Inuvo Platform, and as we get more feedback from advertisers on potential fraud, the system gets smarter.
If you’re an advertiser or network and you’re having issues with handling fraud in a scalable way, contact our sales team at /Users/alex/Documents/sales [at] inuvo [dot] com">sales [at] inuvo [dot] com to discuss how we can help you.
Oh, and, if you’re a bad publisher ... I hope you have a good lawyer! :)
Announcing the Inuvo Platform's Revamped Creative Section
Inuvo has recently revamped the Add New Creative section of the Inuvo Platform. This was a joint effort between the sales, marketing, user experience and development teams. We have received valuable feedback from you and have put that feedback to good use in this update. We feel that you’ll now notice a much more streamlined Creative section and you will be able to upload your creative files faster than ever before!
Join me on a video tour of the updated Creative section:
Here are the details on how to access the Add New Creative page and the options that are available to you on that page. Once you have set up an offer through the Offer Wizard, you will be taken to the Offer Details page. You can access this page at any time by clicking on the offer name. You will notice on the right-hand side of this page, there is now a listing of Steps to complete your offer including “Step 5: Creatives” which lists all your creative, if any, for this offer. To add creative to this offer, select “Add New Creative” from the top right-hand side of the Creative tile. This will take you to the Add New Creative page.
You can also add creative from the My Creatives page in the top navigation. Once on the My Creatives page, simply hit the Add New Creative button on the right-hand side, select the offer you would like to add it to, and then it will take you to this Add New Creative page.
Once on the Add New Creative page, you will first be asked to select the offer your creative will be added to and the creative type you are uploading—Image Banner, Search Link, Text Email, Text Ad, HTML Email, Data Feed or Host and Post. Depending on the type of media you select, you will be asked various questions. Please see the specific area below.
Image Banner:
1. Image File: Here you will upload your banner ad file. You will need to ensure that the file is formatted as a .jpg, .gif or .png.
2. Creative Name: Give your creative a name (less than 50 characters) that will be helpful to publishers.
3. Creative Description: Give your creative a description (less than 250 characters) that will be helpful to publishers.
4. Creative Categories: Select at least one and up to five category for your creative. Any categories already assigned to your offer will automatically be included here. You can modify these categories for the creative, however, any changes made will not override the categories assigned to the offer.
5. Creative Destination URL (Optional): If you would like to have your creative link to a different landing page other than the offer default landing page, please input the URL including http://. If the URL is not unique to this creative, simply leave blank. Please Note: Setting a Destination URL will override the existing URL.
6. Once image is uploaded, simply click Add Creative and your banner ad is ready.
Search Link:
1. Creative Name: Give your creative a name (less than 50 characters) that will be helpful to publishers.
2. Creative Description: Give your creative a description (less than 250 characters) that will be helpful to publishers.
3. Creative Categories: Select at least one and up to five category for your creative. Any categories already assigned to your offer will automatically be included here. You can modify these categories for the creative, however, any changes made will not override the categories assigned to the offer.
4. Creative Destination URL (Optional): If you would like to have your creative link to a different landing page other than the offer default landing page, please input the URL including http://. If the URL is not unique to this creative, simply leave blank. Please Note: Setting a Destination URL will override the existing URL.
5. Once these steps are complete, click Add Creative and your search link is ready.
Text Ad:
1. Text Ad Headline: This is the headline for your text ad. There is a 100 character maximum for your ad headline. You can preview your content to the right of your screen.
2. Text Ad Content: This is the content for your text ad. There is a 250 character maximum for your ad content. You can preview your content to the right of your screen.
3. Display URL: Here you will need to include the display URL, which is the URL that will be displayed within the ad. This may be different than the actual URL they are taken too, as it is usually something short and easy to remember.
4. Creative Name: Give your creative a name (less than 50 characters) that will be helpful to publishers.
5. Creative Description: Give your creative a description (less than 250 characters) that will be helpful to publishers.
6. Creative Categories: Select at least one and up to five category for your creative. Any categories already assigned to your offer will automatically be included here. You can modify these categories for the creative, however, any changes made will not override the categories assigned to the offer.
7. Creative Destination URL (Optional): If you would like to have your creative link to a different landing page other than the offer default landing page, please input the URL including http://. If the URL is not unique to this creative, simply leave blank. Please Note: Setting a Destination URL will override the existing URL.
8. Once these steps are complete, simply click Add Creative and your text ad is ready.
Text Email
1. Text Email Subject: This will be the subject line for your email (maximum 250 characters).
2. Text Email Content: This is the body of your email (maximum of 2000 characters). You can preview your content to the right of the screen. You will need to insert a tracking link URL at least once within the email by using the following tag: {link_url}.
3. Creative Name: Give your creative a name (less than 50 characters) that will be helpful to publishers.
4. Creative Description: Give your creative a description (less than 250 characters) that will be helpful to publishers.
5. Creative Categories: Select at least one and up to five category for your creative. Any categories already assigned to your offer will automatically be included here. You can modify these categories for the creative, however, any changes made will not override the categories assigned to the offer.
6. Creative Destination URL (Optional): If you would like to have your creative link to a different landing page other than the offer default landing page, please input the URL including http://. If the URL is not unique to this creative, simply leave blank. Please Note: Setting a Destination URL will override the existing URL.
7. Once everything is set, simply click Add Creative and your text email is ready.
HTML Email:
1. HTML Email Subject Line: This will be the subject line for your email.
2. HTML Zip File: Here you will upload your HTML file. You will need to ensure that the file is formatted as a .zip, file. You will need to insert a tracking link URL at least once within the email by using the following tag: {link_url}.
3. Creative Name: Give your creative a name (less than 50 characters) that will be helpful to publishers.
4. Creative Description: Give your creative a description (less than 250 characters) that will be helpful to publishers.
5. Creative Categories: Select at least one and up to five category for your creative. Any categories already assigned to your offer will automatically be included here. You can modify these categories for the creative, however, any changes made will not override the categories assigned to the offer.
6. Creative Destination URL (Optional): If you would like to have your creative link to a different landing page other than the offer default landing page, please input the URL including http://. If the URL is not unique to this creative, simply leave blank. Please Note: Setting a Destination URL will override the existing URL.
7. Once these steps are complete, simply click Add Creative and your HTML email is ready.
Data Feed:
1. Data Feed File: Here you will upload the CSV file for your data feed. View sample Data Feed. Headers and Product Landing URL fields are required, as per sample file. All other fields are optional.
2. Creative Name: Give your creative a name (less than 50 characters) that will be helpful to publishers.
3. Creative Description: Give your creative a description (less than 250 characters) that will be helpful to publishers.
4. Creative Categories: Select at least one and up to five category for your creative. Any categories already assigned to your offer will automatically be included here. You can modify these categories for the creative, however, any changes made will not override the categories assigned to the offer.
5. Creative Destination URL (Optional): If you would like to have your creative link to a different landing page other than the offer default landing page, please input the URL including http://. If the URL is not unique to this creative, simply leave blank. Please Note: Setting a Destination URL will override the existing URL.
6. Once these steps are complete, simply click Add Creative and your HTML email is ready.
Host and Post:
1. Form Definition: Please contact support [at] inuvo [dot] com (support [at] inuvo [dot] com) to help in getting your form created.
2. Creative Name: Give your creative a name (less than 50 characters) that will be helpful to publishers.
3. Creative Description: Give your creative a description (less than 250 characters) that will be helpful to publishers.
4. Creative Categories: Select at least one and up to five category for your creative. Any categories already assigned to your offer will automatically be included here. You can modify these categories for the creative, however, any changes made will not override the categories assigned to the offer.
5. Creative Destination URL (Optional): If you would like to have your creative link to a different landing page other than the offer default landing page, please input the URL including http://. If the URL is not unique to this creative, simply leave blank. Please Note: Setting a Destination URL will override the existing URL.
6. Once these steps are complete, simply click Add Creative and your Host and Post form is ready.
Keep submitting your opinions and ideas for improvements and new features! We take every piece of feedbackvery seriously and will be in contact with you shortly after receiving your message. Also, if you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered in this blog, please email me at blog [at] inuvo [dot] com (blog [at] inuvo [dot] com).
Inuvo Platform Publisher Commissions Earned Month to Date Guidance
For this month's edition of Behind the Scenes, we bring you an Inuvo Blog first-timer, our Director of User Experience, Alberto J. Simon. Alberto and the entire development team are busy streamlining the functionality of the Inuvo Platform for the best ease of use possible. The Inuvo Team takes your feedback seriously and this blog is a direct result of your feedback. If you'd like to contact Alberto, you can do so at Alberto [dot] Simon [at] inuvo [dot] com or give us your feedback and suggestions in our Feedback Forum. Here's Alberto!
We have heard your feedback and we want to help clear up any confusion by what is shown on your Dashboard in the Commissions Earned MTD (Month to Date) green box!
First, we should explain what goes into calculating the value we show in this box and why it is important to show it.
Our goal is to show you what you are earning in commissions month to date. In order to show you an accurate amount, we must take into account all account activity that has occurred during the month.
The following are used to calculate the value you see:
- Approved leads or sales transactions
- Charged-back leads or sales transactions
We combine those and show you the running total of commission you have earned month to date.
Great! So now we have shared what is used to calculate the amount displayed, but I am sure you are now asking, what does an approved lead or sales transaction refer to? What is a charged-back lead or sales transaction? And lastly, why are my pending lead or sales transactions not being taken into account?
Well, we have some answers for those questions, of course!
What does an approved lead or sales transaction refer to?
An approved lead or sales transaction is a transaction that you have generated for an advertiser and that has been approved by them. This is commission you have now earned and can expect to be paid for.
What is a charged-back lead or sales transaction?
Sometimes a transaction you generated for an advertiser may need to be reversed. This may happen for a variety of reasons, including a returned sale or a bad lead. Sometimes these occur some time after the initial approval of the lead or sales transaction and so it may take a while to reflect on your earnings.
Why are my Pending Lead or Sales transactions not being taken into account?
While we expect any pending lead or sales transaction to be approved by the advertiser, we are not able to assume that it will be and so, we choose not to include this in the Commissions Earned MTD value until it has been approved. This prevents showing a value that is misleading to you as a publisher. Once it has been approved, it will immediately be reflected in the amount shown.
So we have now explained what is used to calculate your Commissions Earned MTD value and have also explained what each of those factors mean. But you still may have some specific questions and we want to address those as well.
Why is my Commissions Earned MTD showing a negative value?
Sometimes what occurs is that due to leads or sales transactions that were approved a previous month are not charged back until the next month, you may have a scenario where due to charged-back leads or sales, your Commissions Earned MTD may be negative.
Example Scenario: Josh generated 50 sales transactions in February for a total of $500 dollars in commission for Advertiser A. They were all approved by Advertiser A in February. In March, the advertiser sees that all sales from the transactions were returned by the purchasers, and now has the need to charge back all approved sales transactions for Josh.
In the meantime, Josh has earned himself $300 dollars in commissions for March, but now logs in to find that his Commissions Earned MTD is now -$200 dollars. This is due to the fact that the charged-back sales transactions from advertiser A have caused his Commissions Earned MTD to be lowered by the amount of -$500 dollars. Since he has only earned $300 in March, his current Commissions Earned MTD are now negative.
Where can I see the details of the Sales or Leads Transactions that make up my Commissions Earned MTD value?
You have the ability to see the details of why your Commissions Earned MTD is what it is by navigating to our Reports section and clicking on Transaction Details Report as shown in this screenshot:
A.
B.
As you can see from the screenshots provided, we have a report that can help you match up your Commissions Earned MTD value to the detailed lead or sales transactions that were taken into account to calculate the amount displayed.
Keep these things in mind:
While we show statuses including approved and paid, these are virtually the same. The only difference is that nightly we change all approved lead or sales transactions to reflect that they are now payable or paid, as we use in our Platform. There is no difference in the status, and both are used in the calculation of Commissions Earned MTD.
If you wanted to match up the value shown in Commissions Earned MTD, all you would have to do is:
a. Navigate to this report, select Month To Date as your Range, Select Status Paid, leave other filters at default values, and click Run Report button.
b. On the report generated, make note of the Totals Comm Amt and 2nd Tier Comm.
c. Rerun this report select Month To Date as your Range, Select Status Approved, leave other filters at default values, and click Run Report button
d. On the report generated make note of the Totals Comm Amt and 2nd Tier Comm.
e. Rerun Report. Select Month To Date as your Range, Select Status Chargeback, leave other filters at default values, and click Run Report button
f. On the report generated, make note of the Totals Comm Amt and 2nd Tier Comm.
g. If you sum up the values from this, you will get the exact value we show you on Commissions Earned MTD
The process I need to follow to match up my Commissions Earned MTD to the details seems very confusing and more time consuming than it should be.
We hear you, and agree completely. We are currently working on streamlining this process and hope to have something easier for you to use as soon as possible.
Go Behind the Scenes with Inuvo!
Today we are kicking off a brand new segment of the Inuvo Blog: “Behind the Scenes.” This series will give you an exclusive look at what goes into making the Inuvo products you use day-to-day. In this first blog entry of the series, David Hess, Data Analyst, provides an overview of how Inuvo uses analytics to improve our products and control potential fraud.
A regular Joe from Minneapolis who uses his credit card for day-to-day expenses like groceries and gas manages to save up enough extra money to take a trip to Rio de Janeiro. The day he arrives, he tries to use this same credit card to get a cash advance from an ATM next to his hotel. The transaction triggers a call from his bank to his cell phone to verify that the card has not been stolen.
A young couple in Tampa who wants to buy their first house makes a visit to the bank to talk about financing their purchase. Their loan officer tells them that they’re eligible for a home loan with a rate of 5.8%. Their close friends could only get a rate of 6.5%, the difference being that the young couple had always paid their bills on time.
A 28-year-old data analyst living in New York finds a life expectancy calculator, decides to give it a whirl, and is told he should live to the not-so-ripe age of 74. He makes a vow to eat more vegetables.
What do these three stories have in common? Predictive analytics! Predictive analytics is, at its most basic level, combining current and historical data to make predictions about the future. The process starts by selecting a value that needs to be predicted, and then historical data that might be relevant is collected. That data is analyzed to determine which characteristics are useful in predicting the target value, and a mathematical model that relates those characteristics to the target value is constructed and tested. You can see this process embodied in the above examples. In each case, known factors (past spending habits, credit history, and health/family/demographics info) are used to predict an unknown value (probability that the credit card has been stolen, probability of the couple defaulting on their loan, and age of death) based on how those factors have related to the value in the past.
Here at Inuvo, the best example of our current use of predictive analytics is the FeedPatrol click fraud detection process, employed in our cost-per-click (CPC) search system. We collect dozens of characteristics related to an individual click, and using historical data, we determine how each of these characteristics relates to the chance of the click being fraudulent. If the click’s properties indicate that it’s likely fraudulent, then it’s thrown out, and the advertiser doesn’t pay the publisher for that click.
Currently, one of the analytics team’s top priorities is to add predictive analytics to the Inuvo Platform in the form of affiliate quality ratings. Based on input from current and past clients, we’ve selected several different metrics as targets for prediction, and will combine those predictions into an overall quality score, so an advertiser can see at a glance whether they should consider working with an affiliate. One of the target metrics is chargeback rate (CBR); we’ll be using factors such as an affiliate’s historical CBR, tenure in our system, rate of program expulsion to predict future CBR. We’re also working to add predictive analytics to the Inuvo Platform in other areas, including transaction-level cost-per-action (CPA) fraud detection, expected earnings-per-click (EPC) projections, and a recommendation engine for advertiser-affiliate relationships.
We’re pursuing these projects not because we like predictive analytics – though we do – but because we think they will add value for the advertisers and affiliates using the Inuvo Platform. Ultimately, a feature’s value is best judged by its (future) users, so please let us know what you think! Give us your opinion on our current plans, and tell us what you’d like to see us predict in the future. Leave a comment here on the blog, submit feedback via our Feedback Forum or email us at analytics [at] inuvo [dot] com.
