The
Click Fraud Problem
by:
Christos Varsamis
Click fraud has become a
major problem for online marketers. If you participate on Google adwords
campaigns or Overture, you must already pay a lot for your campaigns.
What is click fraud?
Click fraud is the
deliberate clicks to PPC search engine ads for completely other reasons
than expressing interest for buying the related products or services.
Overture defines click
fraud as clicks arising for reasons other than the good-faith intention of
an Internet user to visit a web site to purchase goods or services or to
obtain information.
Google defines click fraud,
or invalid clicks, as any method used to artificially and/or maliciously
generate clicks or page impressions.
In simple words, Click
fraud means that someone is cheating you and that you pay too much for
your pay per click campaigns.
Who is doing that?
Three main groups click on
pay per click ads, without real interest in the offered goods:
People who joined Google
AdSense or other per click affiliate programs click on the ads on their
own web site to make a little income. Often, these people cooperate with
other webmasters to click on each other's ads.
Some unethical companies
click on the pay per click ads of competitors to drive up their
advertising costs.
Companies (often in India,
Russia and China) hire people who are paid to click on ads.
Google and other search
networks provide refunds to advertisers when click fraud has been
discovered.
Google and Overture employ
"fraud squads," or teams of people dedicated to fighting click schemes.
But at least two marketing executives say such countermeasures are missing
fraudulent clicks that are responsible for between 5 percent and 20
percent of advertising fees paid to all search networks.
This is a huge problem.
There is no “pay per click” Company denying that click fraud exists. Web
analytics companies estimates that the 50% of all click activity is
fraudulent.
This means that your pay
per click marketing activities are half effective as they could be because
of click fraud.
Overture spokeswoman
Jennifer Stephens refutes that estimate, saying that the numbers likely
represent acts of fraud that are ultimately caught. She added that
Overture filters most fraudulent clicks with the best antifraud system in
the industry, which combines technology and human analysis.
Most advertisers are aware
of the click-fraud issue but have not delved into it because of the
technical complexities involved. Others are concerned that they could
jeopardize their relationships with the powerful search networks if they
complain too loudly.
One of the best ways to
eliminate click fraud is using anti click fraud services such as ppctrax (www.ppctrax.com).
They provide services like the below:
IP address capture.
IP address geographic
Location.
User Agent (browser, bot
etc.)
See exactly what keywords
are generating your clicks
Date and Time stamp
System detects sudden click
spikes from one or more IP addresses
Real-time email alerts at
80% and 100% of your account's transaction utilization
IP address history - alert
you to prior offenders
Another similar service is
“who is clicking who”:
http://www.whosclickingwho.com
Other ways is the click
fraud capture software like Click Auditor:
http://www.keywordmax.com/click_auditor.html
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