Protect

Protect – Protect is Ascend’s “always on” terms and conditions enforcement solution that monitors search, domain, code and content violations. The tool powers the user to gain control of their brand integrity within the affiliate channel, effectively eradicating ad spend inflation caused by policy violators and maintaining valuable relationships by rehabilitating violating publishers.
What’s on my dashboard?   Once logged in, you will land on the ‘Search’ dashboard by default. You can navigate to the sections of Protect you would like to view (Search, Domain, Code, or Content) by using the left Navigation.     Your dashboard will show summary data for the recent violations that have been created over the last 30 days.
What’s the Partner Page? The partner page is an aggregate view of all search, code, content and domain violations, all rolled up into a partner view. From here, users can take quick actions against problem partners and restore functional relationships. The partner page also allows the user to filter by the list of partners in their program by risk level, to allow for quick review of the current problematic partners. Lastly, the partner page provides tracking of recent and historical actions taken against a partner through a detailed recent actions list on the publisher card, or the even more in-depth historical actions view in the partner details view.
How do I switch between Search, Domain, Code, and Content?   Use the left side navigation to expand the column of the product you wish to get into. Click on the white arrow to expand the section and enter.
What should I do first?   The first thing to do when entering Protect for the first time is to set your Search and Domain policies. This lets our system know what you would like us to monitor and begins the monitoring in the platform.   It is done by going to the Settings page for each: Search https://protect.ascendpartner.com/search/settings Domain https://protect.ascendpartner.com/domain/settings
How do I set my policies?   Click the “Settings” tab on the left side navigation for the product you wish to set the policy. Open each of the blades by clicking on the name. Enter in your policy information in the appropriate section(s). Click “Save” after any new policy is entered.   Please note, policies only need to be set for the Search and Domain products. Code and Content run automatically without anything set.
How do I add an exemption? Navigate to “Settings” tab on the left side navigation. In the exemptions section, Click “Add New Exemption. Select the publisher and date range for exemption. Click "Save". Once an exemption is set, it can be removed by pressing the red “Remove” button next to the publisher name.   Please note, exemptions can only be done for Search and Domain. Both Code and Content do not have exemptions.
How do I view cases (potential violations)   Navigate to the ‘Cases’ page for the product you are looking through. Select the date range you would like to see (*default is set to ‘yesterday’) View the cases (or “potential violations”) that the system has found.
How do I create a violation when I find one?   Search:   Review the cases (rows) in the ‘Cases’ page and select the one(s) that are violations for a single publisher. Click the ‘Valid’ button Select the type of violation that took place. Click Save. Domain: Review the cases (rows) in the ‘Cases’ page and select the one(s) that are violations for a single publisher. Click the ‘Valid’ button Select the type of violation that took place. Click Save. Code: Creating a violation is not needed, as all data shown is already a valid violation. Next steps for each one would be to send a C&D to the publisher, asking for them to take down the code. Content: Review the cases (rows) in the ‘Cases’ page and select the one(s) that are violations for a single publisher. Click the ‘Valid’ button Confirm the publisher is correct and click “Save”.
Once a violation is created, how do I take action on it?    Action is taken by sending a Cease and Desist (C&D) email to the publisher who is in violation. To send a C&D: Navigate to the Cases page and open the Case Management Modal by creating a violation. Once the violation is made (or accessed on the Violations page), there is a button titled “Send C&D” Click the C&D button and select a template to use or write your own text. Click “Send” and the email is sent to the violating publisher.
How do I whitelist?   Whitelisting is marking a publisher as one to filter out from all future cases. You can whitelist by navigating to the whitelist for the product you would like and clicking the ‘Whitelist’ section. Once in the whitelist section, you can add the site to whitelist.   You can also remove sites from the whitelist in this same section.   Whitelisting can be done for Search, Domain, and Content.
How can I see my past violations? Navigate to the “Violations” page in the product of your choice. Select the date range of the violation. View the violation and the history of the violation (such as C&D’s sent or Notes added).
What is a ‘Search’ Case?   A Search case is when the protect system detects an ad that uses one of your monitored keywords. If a publisher is bidding on the restricted keywords, the system will find their ID and populate it (bolding the row and making it obvious).   From there, appropriate action can be taken on the publisher, such as notifying the publisher and setting their commission to 0% if desired.
What is a ‘Domain’ Case?   A Domain case is when the protect system detects a misspelling of your domain name listed, a practice commonly known as typo-squatting. The system looks for a publisher link on the site and notifies you if one is found.   If it is found that a publisher has registered a site that is an intentional misspelling of your trademark or brand name, action can be taken to have the publisher removed or remove the site.
What is a ‘Code’ Case/Violation?   A Code violation is a transaction that took place from one of your publishers that used a restricted coupon code (such as a ‘Friends and Family’ code). All code data that is provided are valid as they have occurred in the past. Action can be taken by informing the publisher, requesting they remove the ad from their site.
What is ‘Exclusive Code Monitoring’? Protect Code Monitoring has been expanded to include Exclusive Codes.  When viewing Code Cases, you will see publishers who have suppressed and exclusive codes on their site and can take action to have the publisher remove the codes You will also be able to view the Top Five Exclusive codes and Publishers in the Code Overview Dashboard
What is a ‘Content’ Case?   A Content case is when the protect system detects either a profanity or hate speech on one of your approved publisher sites.   It does not mean your ad is necessarily on the publisher’s page with the offensive language, but it does provide you with a URL to where the system found the language. From there, action can be taken on the publisher if so desired.
What is ‘Social Domain’ Monitoring   Along with protecting your domain names, Protect also monitors social URLs that contain your trademarked terms (such as Facebook.com/YOUR_COMPANY_MISSPELLED). Just as domain publishers try to capitalize on misspellings in domain URLs, there are also publishers who capture traffic by misspellings in the social networks.
How do I mark cases as Exempt? Click ‘Cases’ to view the cases in the system. Select the case(s) that should be marked as exempt. Press the “Exempt” button at the top of the page. In the modal that appears, click the button that says ‘Exempt Publisher’. Click Save.
How do I mark cases as ‘Invalid’ If case data comes through that is not a violation or exempt, it can be marked as Invalid by selecting the case rows and clicking ‘Invalid’ at the top of the page.
How do I change a publisher’s commission in Protect? Access the Case Management section for the product you are working in. After the violation is created, a section will appear that will let you change the publisher’s payout. Change the payout to the 0% term (*if you do not have a 0% term, there is a link to create one).