What is Scrub Rate? Why Networks 'Scrub' Conversions

Scrub rate is the percentage of tracked affiliate conversions that are rejected (scrubbed) by the advertiser or CPA network. When a conversion is "scrubbed," it means the publisher's tracked conversion is reversed — the conversion count goes down, and the publisher doesn't get paid for it. Some scrubbing is legitimate (fraud prevention, duplicate filtering), but excessive scrubbing can indicate dishonest practices. Understanding and monitoring your scrub rate is essential for protecting your affiliate income.

Why Scrub Rate Matters

Scrub rate directly affects your bottom line. If you track 100 conversions at $5.00 each, you expect to earn $500. But if the scrub rate is 20%, only 80 conversions are approved and you actually earn $400. That's $100 less than expected.

At scale, scrub rate differences are enormous. A publisher sending 10,000 conversions per month at $3.00 each:

• At 5% scrub: 9,500 paid = $28,500
• At 15% scrub: 8,500 paid = $25,500
• At 30% scrub: 7,000 paid = $21,000

The difference between a 5% scrub rate and a 30% scrub rate is $7,500 per month — from the same traffic. This is why experienced publishers pay close attention to scrub rates and choose networks with transparent, reasonable scrubbing practices.

Why Conversions Get Scrubbed

Legitimate Reasons

• Fraud detection — The user's information was clearly fake, the conversion came from a bot, or the action was automated rather than performed by a real person.
• Duplicate leads — The same user already converted through another publisher or marketing channel. The advertiser only pays once per unique user.
• Non-qualifying demographics — The user doesn't meet the offer's targeting criteria (wrong country, wrong age, ineligible for the product).
• Incomplete actions — The user started the conversion flow but didn't actually complete it (e.g., started the form but didn't submit).
• Chargebacks or refunds — For purchase-based offers, the user returned the product or disputed the charge.
• Quality thresholds — The advertiser has quality metrics (phone number must be valid, email must be deliverable) and the lead didn't pass.

Questionable Reasons

• Excessive or opaque scrubbing — Some networks or advertisers scrub more conversions than justified, without providing clear reasons. This borders on commission shaving.
• Delayed scrubbing — Conversions that appeared approved suddenly get reversed days or weeks later, making it hard for publishers to identify and fix issues.
• "Quality" scrubbing without data — Vague rejections like "low quality" without specific criteria or evidence.

What's a Normal Scrub Rate?

Scrub Rate Range	Assessment	Typical Scenario
0-5%	Excellent	High-quality, non-incent traffic with strong audience targeting
5-10%	Normal	Standard traffic with some natural duplicates and fraud
10-20%	Elevated	Incentivized traffic, broader targeting, more fraud exposure
20-30%	High	Low-quality traffic source or aggressive advertiser scrubbing
30%+	Red flag	Possible shaving, severe traffic quality issues, or a bad offer

Scrub rates vary by offer type. SOI email submits tend to have higher scrub rates (more fake emails) than DOI offers (email is verified). CPL offers with multi-step forms tend to have lower scrub rates because the lead data is richer and easier to validate.

How to Monitor and Reduce Your Scrub Rate

1. Track Scrub Rate Per Offer

Compare the conversions your tracking system records with the conversions your network approves. If your tracker shows 100 conversions but the network only pays for 80, your scrub rate is 20%. Track this for every offer separately — one offer's scrub rate doesn't tell you about another's.

2. Use Sub IDs to Identify Problem Sources

Use Sub IDs to track conversions by traffic source, campaign, and page. If one traffic source has a 30% scrub rate while others are at 5%, the problem is the traffic source — not the offer.

3. Improve Traffic Quality

• Target more specific, intent-driven audiences
• Ensure your content accurately represents the offer
• Pre-qualify users before sending them to the offer page
• Remove traffic sources that consistently produce high scrub rates

4. Communicate with Your Affiliate Manager

If your scrub rate suddenly increases, contact your affiliate manager immediately. They can investigate whether the advertiser changed their acceptance criteria, whether there's a tracking issue, or whether a fraud pattern emerged.

5. Diversify Across Networks

If the same offer is available on multiple networks, run a split test. Send equal traffic to both and compare scrub rates. Significantly different scrub rates for the same offer suggest one network may be scrubbing more aggressively.

Example: Scrub Rate Impact Analysis

Scenario: You promote three offers and notice very different scrub rates:

Offer	Tracked Conversions	Approved Conversions	Scrub Rate	Revenue (at $4/conv)
Fintech App (SEO traffic)	200	190	5%	$760
Health Offer (social traffic)	150	120	20%	$480
Sweepstakes (incent traffic)	500	350	30%	$1,400

The sweepstakes offer has the highest scrub rate (30%) but still generates the most revenue due to volume. The health offer's 20% scrub on social traffic warrants investigation — is the audience mismatched, or is the advertiser scrubbing aggressively?

Related Terms

• Commission Shaving — Dishonest practice where networks intentionally don't report valid conversions
• EPC (Earnings Per Click) — Metric negatively impacted by high scrub rates
• Sub-ID — Tracking parameters for identifying traffic sources with high scrub rates
• Incentivized Traffic — Traffic type that typically has higher scrub rates
• Affiliate Manager — Your point of contact for investigating unusual scrub rates