Reducing Pay Per Click Fraud

Posted on 06. Aug, 2009 by Pete Hollier in Pay Per Click

PPC Click Fraud Forewarned is Forearmed

Although Pay Per Click Campaigns offer businesses an effective method to increase targeted web site traffic and web site conversions, PPC campaigns must be entered into with considerable caution due to the prevalence of Click Fraud.

The Motivation

There are various reasons why click fraud occurs, the primary reasons being:

• Generate an illicit income
• To undermine the competitiveness of competitors

The Methods

The methods utilized by the fraudsters range from the simple to the sophisticated.

Simpler methods of click fraud include, Content site owners clicking on the links on their own site to generate income, and competitors clicking on links to cause competitors to increase PPC spending and to improve their own positioning.

The more sophisticated techniques used by organized culprits include both the use of software programs (click bots) and the hiring of low paid individuals to click on links in both content networks and Search Engine listings.

Industry Progress

Although still an issue for Pay per Click advertisers, the rates of fraudulent clicks is reducing. Click Forensics reports an average click fraud rate of approximately 17 % although geographic areas had varied rates of click fraud.

Progress on addressing fraudulent and invalid clicks has been made, the major industry stakeholders recently agreed to the guidelines set out by the Interactive Advertising Bureau which will go some way towards limiting the risk to Pay Per Click advertisers. Guidelines are available at Click Measurement Guidelines.

Although not definitive the following information is what the major PPC providers have available for their advertisers:

• Google: How Google Detects Click Fraud
• Yahoo: Yahoo Click Fraud Guidelines
• Microsoft: About Invalid Clicks

Avoiding Click Fraud

Unfortunately given the statistics it is unlikely that you will be able to alleviate click fraud entirely from your PPC campaign. However, by taking precautions and carefully monitoring your Pay Per Click traffic the number of invalid clicks and their associated costs can be reduced.

Click fraud will not go away and without doubt the perpetrators will continue to find new and more sophisticated methods to obtain their illicit incomes. A few things to consider which improve your chances of avoiding click fraud are:

Content Networks: Monitor the content networks where your ads are displayed and using an analytics program analyze the performance of the network with regards to clicks and conversions. Ban the low converting content network and affiliate sites from displaying your ads.

Monitor Click Volumes: Although this will require some statistical data, monitoring your click volumes from various locations will provide and indication of a sudden spike in the numbers which may be caused by inappropriate clicks.

Your Competition: Know who is competing for your keywords, there are numerous software programs which can assist with this. Once you have determined your keyword competitors you can use an IP filter do disable the ads from being clicked from your competitors domain. This of course is not fool proof as other IP’s can be used.

Use Ad Display Filters: Many PPC providers enable you to determine when your ads are displayed and where. Using both these filters will minimize your risk. Geo targeting is an important tool in the fight against illicit clicks as is clearly shown by the above image.

Contract a Click Fraud Auditor: There are many third party firms which provide services to assist you identify invalid clicks such as Click Forensics.

Report Invalid and Fraudulent Clicks: Once you have identified you have been charged for invalid clicks, report them to your Pay Per Click provider and request a refund. The major providers are aware of the problem and have programs to identify the problem. However, how well this works or how much effort has been put into this area by the search engines is questionable. After all they do get paid by the click.

Written by: pete@seowizardry.ca a Pay Per Click Management Consultant

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