Internet Advertising and Click Fraud

Lately I’ve been getting more requests from clients to talk with them on the ever important issue of click fraud and the negative effects it has on businesses. In most cases the first question raised is “What is click Fraud” and I would say the shortest to the point answer is “The act of purposely clicking ad listings without intending to buy from the advertiser.”

Now some like to mislead advertisers and say that click fraud is an issue that is under control, that it really doesn’t affect their business or that the end is near for click fraud.

All of the above in my opinion is untrue. Click fraud affects all sizes of business, any ad budget and will probably never stop. I like to think of click fraud in the same way as viruses. Every day we find ways to stop viruses, however the virus creators always find a way around. It’s the same with Click fraud, We might stop one method but the people doing it will find a way to keep it going.

Another thing to think about is, What sort of resources are really put into stopping click fraud at the search networks? At the end of the day how much money does a search network make from click fraud? As long as someones clicking, the networks profit. So if we stop click fraud 100% and ads become more effective would ad network revenues drop by 10 – 20%? More than likely, cause if there is no click fraud advertisers would be able to spend less and get more.

Anyways that is my thought of the day. It’s an opinion that I know is shared by others. If you want to talk click fraud contact me. If your looking for a great solution to monitor your advertising I would recommend Click Forensics.