Which of the following is not a recommended step when assessing competitors' affiliate programs?

Directly contacting a competitor to ask about their baseline commission rate is not a recommended or effective strategy. Competitors are unlikely to disclose proprietary information about their affiliate program terms, as this would give you a competitive advantage. Instead, you should focus on publicly available information or insights gleaned from publishers. Searching for competitors' names with "affiliate program" or looking at high-volume publishers and keywords are effective ways to gather competitive intelligence without direct, uncooperative contact.