Alec Bertram's Avatar

Alec Bertram

@alecbertram.com.bsky.social

Reformed technical SEO/born again product person. Co-founder at @marcode.ai.

88 Followers  |  278 Following  |  17 Posts  |  Joined: 22.10.2024  |  1.9088

Latest posts by alecbertram.com on Bluesky

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RIP

03.01.2025 09:15 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

is this gen z compatible or do they need `rm -frfr /*`

14.01.2024 10:55 β€” πŸ‘ 39    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

* quality not guaranteed

25.11.2024 20:56 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

New starter pack just dropped

People named ✨ Alec ✨

βœ… Highest ratio of Alec's across all bluesky packs
βœ… Quality guaranteed - no Alex's or other imposter
βœ… What else do you need

go.bsky.app/KmDk2sZ

25.11.2024 20:54 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

That's some handy detection work. I would have never spotted the light switch

24.11.2024 09:26 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Wanna hear me rant about how brand paid/orgnaic search is being massively misattributed to affiliates? Tell @kelvinnewman.bsky.social to put me on stage Hero Conf

22.11.2024 13:56 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I've seen a lot of fraudsters do extreme things to hide their brand bidding activity, but trying to disguise ads as run by Google is not one I had on my bingo card for this year. I almost respect the level of crazy on display here.

22.11.2024 13:56 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

So users make navigational searches to reach Lebara, click an ad that is indistinguishable from the real one, and end up lining an affiliate's pocket.

The result for paid and organic teams, search revenue is misattributed to affiliates, causing all sorts of downstream issues and poor decisions.

22.11.2024 13:56 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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With the account verified, the advertiser uses a loophole to run ads for any domain (lebara.co.uk here) while hijacking clicks to send users to any URL they like.

Clicking the ad will redirect users via Lebara's affiliate network, but where users are redirected to scam and phishing websites.

22.11.2024 13:56 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Scammer bypasses Google search as verified advertiser - Which? News Fake Lyca Mobile adverts found on Google in a bid to steal payment details

This is not verification. The company details are public info, and the DUNS system uses the public details of the company as it's source. The Advertiser Verification system is a test of whether you know how to search the internet.

This same person verified themselves as Vodafone earlier this year:

22.11.2024 13:56 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

The affiliate has named their account "Google UK Ltd" and they'll soon gain 'Verified' status.

How? Google's Advertiser Verification is an automatic process that checks whether the user has entered the company's correct registered name, address, and company number, and whether D-U-N-S matches this.

22.11.2024 13:56 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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This is the craziest hijacked PPC ad I've seen in the 18 months since starting @marcode.ai

Just in time for Black Friday, an affiliate is attempting to verify themselves as "Google UK Ltd". They're running traffic to Lebara's Black Friday deals.

This is fucking crazy. 🧡 about how this works:

22.11.2024 13:56 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

We have just spotted the absolute craziest affiliate hijacking that I've seen since starting Marcode. Can't wait to share it

21.11.2024 09:15 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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This was my introduction to the Internet. Still a great reference for accessing the dark web

19.11.2024 12:16 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Obviously you're about to ask.

I main ninjaneer on badwater/bloodwater.

18.11.2024 18:50 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Introducing myself with a comprehensive list of every game I've played since 2008.

18.11.2024 18:48 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

What absolutely perfect UX.

IMO 2015 was peak internet. We still had @wstonesoxfordst and @betfairpoker. Selfie sticks weren't popular. SEO hadn't died yet. RIP

15.11.2024 16:37 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Balenciaga Summer 20 Campaign
YouTube video by Balenciaga Balenciaga Summer 20 Campaign

Nothing has ever made me want to buy something as hard as this ad does. Still think about this all the time.

15.11.2024 13:07 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

@alecbertram.com is following 19 prominent accounts