Having worked with many different types of companies on their paid search compliance strategy, I’ve seen my fair share of program abuse. Paid search abuse takes many forms and involves a variety of bad actors, including trademark abusers or affiliate program violators.

With the rise of referral programs that reward users for referring new members, a new type of abuse has emerged. Referral programs are a useful means of acquiring new customers and users. By encouraging word-of-mouth with incentives, companies can accelerate growth at a reasonable and consistent cost. Referral programs are also a great way to transform loyalists into full-fledged brand ambassadors. With the opportunity to gain some extra perks, these star customers can bring on a lot of incremental traffic and revenue.