Q: My conversions look great but customers don't stick — what's happening?

Q: My conversions look great but customers don't stick — what's happening?

Classic incentivized-traffic leak. A partner is paying users (cashback, points, "complete this offer") to convert. The sale fires, the commission posts, and the "customer" never returns — you bought a number, not a buyer.

How to spot and stop it:

— Compare cohort retention by partner. A source with great front-end conversion and terrible 30-day retention is incented traffic.

— Watch for abnormally high conversion rates with near-zero engagement (no email opens, instant refunds).

— Decide your policy explicitly: some advertisers allow cashback partners but at a lower rate and only for new customers.

— Require partners to disclose incentivized models on application.

Caveat: incentivized isn't always fraud — loyalty and cashback are legitimate channels for some products. The mistake is paying them your full content-partner rate. Segment and price them for what they actually deliver.

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