| If you run PPC campaigns, you are undoubtedly | | | | most people trusted Google at that time and click |
| aware of the changes made over at Yahoo to | | | | fraud had not reared its ugly head to any great |
| the old Overture platform. Range bid pricing is in. | | | | extent. Ah, but that was then and this is now. |
| Gee, I wonder where they got the idea. | | | | Click fraud is garnering more and more attention |
| Pay-per-click marketing tends to be a love it or | | | | on a weekly basis. Just how many of the clicks |
| hate it platform. On the love it side, the platform | | | | are legitimate and how many are fakes? Some |
| is a way to generate traffic to a site immediately. | | | | estimate twenty percent. Some believe the figure |
| This, of course, allows you to first figure out if | | | | is higher while others believe it is lower. The point |
| anyone is interested in what you are selling and | | | | is nobody really knows. Regardless, the PPC |
| then figure out if your site can convert their | | | | platforms have received a ton of criticism and |
| interest into revenues. | | | | rightly so in my opinion. |
| On the downside, it costs money per click, which | | | | Facing up to the criticism, Google and Yahoo |
| means you need to keep an eye on whether you | | | | Overture promised to institute click fraud |
| are spending more than you make. Then there is | | | | prevention strategies. Supposedly this has |
| the issue of click fraud. Nobody really knows how | | | | happened. At the same time, however, both |
| bad a problem it is, but most people agree it IS a | | | | maintain the range bidding process. There is |
| problem. The people at Google and Yahoo deny | | | | nothing wrong with it per se, but it hardly brings |
| this, but who really believes them considering they | | | | more exacting information to the PPC process. |
| make money on the fraud? | | | | If click fraud is not an issue as claimed by Google |
| One of the interesting things about PPC is the | | | | and Yahoo, why do they continue to evolve their |
| bidding process. In the old days, GoTo was the | | | | systems towards providing less specific |
| big boy on the market. It later became Overture, | | | | information? Could they be hiding something? |
| which was purchased by Yahoo. The system was | | | | Perhaps making it near impossible for any lawyers |
| great. You could bid an exact amount for | | | | or the Justice Department to decipher what is |
| placement on the engine. This, in turn, made it | | | | going on? |
| easy to figure out where your ads would be | | | | Beats me. With all the criticism, one would expect |
| placed, how much the cost would be and so on. | | | | them to provide more detailed information and |
| Then along came Adwords from our friends at | | | | provide proof of the steps they are taking to |
| Google. Suddenly, you were bidding by range | | | | prevent click fraud. If anything, they are doing |
| instead of a specific amount. Nobody was really | | | | just the opposite. At least that is my opinion. |
| sure where the ads were going to appear, but | | | | |