Reading detection results

When adment detects an unauthorized ad on your branded keywords, it organizes the findings into three levels of detail. Each level gives you more specific information about the violation. This article explains how to read and interpret what you are seeing at each level.

Level 1: The main table

The Ad Hijackers table gives you a high level overview of all advertisers detected on your brand. Each row is a unique advertiser, not an individual ad. One advertiser may have triggered dozens of individual detections over time. The Detections column shows you the total count.

When reading the table, focus on these signals:

• High detection counts indicate a persistent, recurring violation.
• Last detected dates tell you when the advertiser was most recently seen on your keywords.
• Old First detected dates combined with recent Last detected dates mean the violation has been ongoing for a long time without being caught or addressed.
• No affiliate ID means adment detected the ad but could not match it to a specific affiliate in your program. This can happen if the advertiser is not using a tracked affiliate link, if your affiliate parameters are not fully configured, or if the advertiser is a competitor rather than an affiliate.
• Partner badges with an ID mean adment successfully identified the affiliate responsible. The tracking platform and their unique ID are shown, giving you a direct path to enforcement.

The Source column tells you which search engine the ad appeared on. A Google and YouTube icon on the same row means the advertiser was detected on both platforms.

Level 2: The case panel

Clicking a row opens the full case for that advertiser. This is where you get context around the violation and start managing it.

Key things to read here:

• Keywords show which of your branded terms the advertiser triggered. If they are appearing on multiple keywords it suggests a deliberate, targeted campaign against your brand rather than accidental overlap.
• Countries show where the activity is happening geographically. Violations concentrated in specific regions may indicate affiliates targeting markets where you have less visibility.
• Tags categorize the type of violation. Trademark abuse means your brand name or protected terms are being used without authorization in the ad copy or URL. You can also add your own tags to group cases however it suits your workflow.
• Mute activity toggle : if this is switched on it means new detections from this advertiser are being suppressed. Check this if you expect to see detections but the advertiser is not appearing in your New queue.
• Detected ads list at the bottom shows every individual ad instance captured under this advertiser. The count here matches the Detections number in the main table. Scroll through this list to see how the ad copy has changed over time and whether the advertiser is still active.

Level 3: Ad details

Clicking an individual detection in the case panel opens the Ad Details view. This is the evidence level. It shows everything adment captured at the moment the ad was detected.

How to read it:

• Ad title and description show you exactly what appeared in search results. Hijackers intentionally copy your official ad copy and impersonate your website, so compare the wording and the display URL against your own ads to see how closely they are imitating you.
• Ad destination link is the final URL the ad leads to. Look for tracking parameters in this URL. These are the affiliate identifiers that tell you who placed the ad. Parameters like aff_id, aff_c, or ps_partner_key followed by a value are the affiliate IDs you need for a network dispute.
• Redirect path shows every URL in the chain between the ad click and the final destination. A long redirect chain with multiple hops is a strong signal of deliberate cloaking. Legitimate ads typically go directly to the destination. Multiple redirects suggest the advertiser is hiding their affiliate tracking behind layers of URLs to avoid detection.
• Screenshots are visual captures of the ad as it appeared in search results and on the landing page at the moment of detection. The first screenshot shows the search results page with the ad visible. The second shows what the landing page looked like when adment followed the redirect. These screenshots are timestamped and are your primary evidence when submitting a dispute to an affiliate.

What to do after reading a detection

Once you have reviewed the evidence, the next step is to update the case status and take action. See the following articles for guidance on what to do next:

• Assigning and managing cases
• How to report a violation to your affiliate