| Click fraud is the latest 'hot topic' circulating the | | | | issue" says John Slade, Yahoo's senior director for |
| online marketing arena, but what is it? And how | | | | global product management. |
| does it affect you as a merchant running a | | | | "Google strives to detect every invalid click that |
| pay-per-click campaign? | | | | passes through its system" says Shuman |
| Spending on Internet advertising is growing faster | | | | Ghosemajumder, the Google manager for trust |
| than any other sector of the advertising industry | | | | and safety. "It's absolutely in our best interest for |
| and is expected to surge from $12.5 billion last | | | | advertisers to have confidence in this industry." |
| year to $29 billion by 2010 in the U.S. alone, | | | | As a positive for the future, Google is currently |
| according to the researcher eMarketer Inc. With | | | | testing a cost-per-action (CPA) platform, which |
| around 50% of this spending being spent on | | | | should effectively deal with click fraud. With CPA |
| pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. | | | | ads you don't pay by the click but instead pay |
| Here we offer you a complete guide as to what | | | | when the customer reaches a certain goal: buys a |
| this phenomenon is, who is likely to commit such | | | | product, fills an enquiry, etc. |
| an act, how to identify & prevent click fraud | | | | How to identify click fraud on your pay-per-click |
| and how to best report instances of suspected | | | | campaign |
| click fraud on your PPC campaign. | | | | Before you can even contemplate identifying click |
| What is Click Fraud? | | | | fraud you must have effective tracking tools |
| According to Wikipedia "Click fraud is a type of | | | | implemented on your website and, if possible, |
| internet crime that occurs in pay per click online | | | | access to your server logs. With tracking tools in |
| advertising when a person, automated script, or | | | | place, the most obvious way of spotting click |
| computer program imitates a legitimate user of a | | | | fraud is to simply observe any spikes in traffic |
| web browser clicking on an ad, for the purpose of | | | | where there is no particular shift in your |
| generating a charge per click without having actual | | | | conversions. |
| interest in the target of the ad's link" | | | | Once identified, these spikes can then be analysed |
| Click Fraud is estimated to range from 5% - 15% | | | | by looking for repeated clicks from sources that |
| of pay-per-click traffic (some estimates are as | | | | look similar. This similarity could be an IP address |
| high as 20% - 35%) although Google estimates | | | | or an IP range; it could be a combination of IP |
| click fraud at only 2% due to the rigorous | | | | range; browser version; operating system. |
| detection methods they claim are in place. | | | | Basically look for data in groups that looks |
| In a recent study by Click Forensics, click fraud | | | | fraudulent. |
| reached a new high of 14.2% in the last quarter | | | | If all this is just 'a bit too heavy' for you then |
| of 2006 with the average rate of click fraud on | | | | there are a number of companies out there that |
| 'content networks' as high as 19.2% for the same | | | | can help. |
| quarter. | | | | - AdWatcher - claims to able to spot click fraud |
| So who is likely to commit Click Fraud? | | | | so that you can report it. Covers other aspects |
| The click fraud villain is most likely to fall into one | | | | of PPC marketing, by helping you track your ROI, |
| of three categories: | | | | email success, etc. |
| - Online vandals with nothing better to do than | | | | - Click Auditor - offers the ability to check |
| cause a nuisance | | | | whether your competitors IP is the one |
| - A competitor clicking on your search network | | | | performing any abusive clicking, and says it will |
| PPC ads, with the sole intention of increasing your | | | | stealthily gather your competitors IP addresses |
| cost-per-acquisition (CPA). This could be | | | | for this purpose. |
| interpreted as click fraud, although currently the | | | | - ClickSentinel - focuses on helping you get |
| search engines do not consider this kind of | | | | refunds on fraudulent clicks, as requesting a |
| activity as click fraud | | | | refund from your PPC provider can often be |
| - Search Engine advertising affiliates who generate | | | | very difficult for the un-initiated. |
| self-income from fraudulent clicks on 'content | | | | - Click Tracks - reportedly has automatic click |
| network' adverts displayed on their own websites. | | | | fraud reporting along with other click tracking |
| This practice, at it's extreme, involves the use of | | | | (analytics) tools. |
| unscrupulous 'paid to read' or PTR sites, which are | | | | Reporting suspected Click Fraud |
| basically click-fraud rings, some with hundreds or | | | | When reporting suspected click fraud, you must |
| thousands of participants, paid to click on your | | | | include as much captured data as possible to |
| ads with no regard for your return on investment | | | | increase your likelihood of obtaining a refund or |
| (ROI) as the advertiser | | | | credit. |
| What are the Search Engines doing about it? | | | | The following guidelines are recommended: |
| Both Google and Yahoo claim that they filter out | | | | - Clearly state, at the very beginning of your |
| most fraudulent clicks. The costs involved for | | | | claim, that you are reporting suspected click fraud |
| these clicks are either not charged or are | | | | - Provide a full explanation to support your claim |
| reimbursed to advertisers who have been | | | | - Include your account details (do not include your |
| wrongly billed. | | | | password or payment information) |
| To combat click fraud Google applies four layers | | | | - State the exact keyword, ad and campaign |
| of fraud detection: | | | | where you suspect click fraud has occurred |
| | | | - State the exact time, date and IP address of |
| 1. Automatic detection - this filters clicks from | | | | each instance of suspected click fraud. This data |
| both the search and content networks in real-time | | | | can be gleaned from your server logs or 3rd |
| with the goal of removing them before their | | | | party tracking tool |
| existence is ever shown to the advertiser | | | | - Finally, state whether you are requesting a |
| 2. The "Flagging system" - an automatic process | | | | refund, credit or investigation |
| to remove invalid AdSense clicks | | | | If you were using any software tools, such as |
| 3. The "Manual review" - this process has more | | | | those highlighted earlier, to help you track and |
| than two-dozen Google employees tasked with | | | | report click fraud then include any reports |
| manually reviewing and removing any suspicious | | | | generated by these in your claim. |
| AdSense clicks | | | | Lowering the risk of Click Fraud happening to you! |
| 4. If the first three layers of protection fail then | | | | Always bear in mind that your PPC objective is to |
| the fourth and final layer of click fraud detection | | | | get conversions and not just clicks. |
| falls to the advertiser and 3rd party click fraud | | | | The more you have researched the |
| detection companies. Google refers to this layer | | | | demographics of your intended client base the |
| as "requested investigations" | | | | better your chance of avoiding click fraud. Are |
| Googles main aim is that the first three layers of | | | | your clients from a specific country or location? |
| filtering will identify all invalid and fraudulent clicks. | | | | When are they likely to search for your product |
| These layers currently filter more than 98% of | | | | or service? What are the key search-terms they |
| invalid clicks. | | | | are using? |
| And should you be in any doubt, both Google and | | | | With demographic data in-hand you can target |
| Yahoo have, in the past, released the following | | | | your ad campaigns more effectively and lower |
| statements: | | | | your risk of click fraud. |
| "We think click fraud is a serious but manageable | | | | |