The cost of your affiliate channel may be increasing, but the reasons behind it could be more complex than just the quality of traffic.
Sometimes, users are already searching for your brand but end up clicking on a partner's ad in the search results. In such cases, the conversion is credited to the affiliate channel, meaning the brand pays a commission for demand that was already warm.
Tools like Bluepear can help you identify who is purchasing your branded queries and which affiliate IDs are behind the ads.
It's essential to monitor your branded queries to understand the dynamics of your affiliate marketing strategy better.