How a faulty advert can cost your site money.
Web browsers are more aggresive in warnings about security certificates. This extends to the content of embedded advertising links on pages. If one of the links uses https then a certificate scan is in order.
What happens if the certificate is not liked by the Browser?
Your visitor will get a warning message about security of the page. At this point most will QUIT, many choosing never to return. Their trust has been broken. One thing that developers often assume is that the ordinary public can work out for themselves what is happening. As a trainer, I can vouch that very few users have the courage to doubt a security warning on their browser. Most will assume it means they face a great and unknown risk.
So make sure that your secure affiliate and advertising links have valid certificates. You will also need to test them across the different browsers, as each has their own take on how to manage security. IE might pass something that Firefox or Opera will knock out.
Tags: affiliate links, an ad can lose you money, security mistakes