Manage Subscriptions · Subscribe Now · F.A.Q.'s
HOME · Friday, May 16, 2008
Marketing & Revenue Growth
Winning the Fight Against Click Fraud
Keep an eye on affiliates, competitors
By: Boris Mordkovich
Comments: 0
If somebody were to tell you that 20% of your advertising budget was being wasted on fraud, would you be worried? If you advertise on pay-per-click search engines, such as Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing (formerly Overture), MIVA, or others, you have reason to be concerned.
According to CNet.com, up to 20% of all pay-per-click activity delivered to advertisers is fraudulent. Two of the most common sources include competitors trying to deplete your account by repeatedly clicking on your ads, or a search engine’s partner or affiliate increasing their own bottom line by clicking on your ads.
As an advertiser, you must rely on the effectiveness of the search engine’s fraud monitoring techniques. However, given that they stand to gain financially from fraudulent clicks (since your ad account is charged each time any click is made on your ad), there is an apparent conflict of interest.
Fortunately, there are a number of ways you can go about detecting click fraud.
Regularly check and examine your incoming traffic for:
- sudden increases in your spending volume (unless it’s seasonal)
- keywords that normally don’t attract a lot of visitors are suddenly doing well
- multiple clicks coming from the same user/IP within a short period of time
- spikes in foreign traffic without an increase in sales
If you do not have the time or desire to monitor your traffic on your own, you can employ a 3rd party click fraud monitoring service. They range from $20- 100 per month but are able to detect fraudulent clicks that search engines can miss, and can help you get the refunds you are entitled to. Some of these companies include WhosClickingWho.com, and ClickLab.com.
Click fraud is a growing problem for many advertisers. To make sure that you are not a victim, it’s necessary to take matters into your own hands: detect click fraud and get your money back.
Blinklist | Del.icio.us | Furl | Ma.gnolia | Newsvine | Spurl | Reddit | Technorati
Published on Saturday, April 01, 2006
Comments:
Ecommerce Articles
- Browse All Articles
- Browse our complete archive of ecommerce articles.
- Accounting, Management & Legal
- Ecommerce articles related to managing a small business including ecommerce accounting, business strategy and legal considerations.
- Conversion & Usability
- Online business articles about converting web site visitors into customers and how to gauge and improve your business website's usability.
- Development & Programming
- Articles to help designers, developers and programmers create successful, search engine friendly ecommerce websites and improve existing ones.
- Hosting, Infrastructure & Software
- Articles for ecommerce businesses about ecommerce web hosting, business infrastructure, business strategy and helpful ecommerce & small business software.
- Interviews & Profiles
- Interviews with prominent ecommerce business personalities and profiles of successful online businesses.
- Inventory & Shipping
- Ecommerce articles about inventory management, ecommerce order fulfillment and product shipping considerations.
- Marketing & Revenue Growth
- Articles relating to online marketing, email marketing and using the Internet to growing your business.
- Search Engine Optimization
- Search engine optimization articles for ecommerce business owners, strategists, marketers and developers.
- Shopping Carts & Online Payments
- Articles covering ecommerce shopping cart platforms and options for choosing an online payment gateway.
- Training & Education
- Tutorials and articles providing training and education for ecommerce business owners and developers of ecommerce websites.
Search Articles
Ecommerce Community
- Ecommerce Blogs
- Read our blogs about ecommerce topics written by industry professionals.
- Community Forum
- Connect with other ecommerce professionals to trade advice and answers in our community forum.
- Podcasts
- Check out our ecommerce podcasts covering topics ranging from interviews to tutorials.
- RSS Content Feeds
- Subscribe to our RSS feeds and have fresh ecommerce content delivered to you.
Ecommerce Resources
- Free Email Newsletter
- Sign up for Ecommerce Notes, our free email newsletter for ecommerce business owners and developers.
- Ecommerce Directory
- Browse our directory of ecommerce products and services, or submit your own listing in our directory.
- Ecommerce Glossary
- Familiarize yourself with terminology or submit terms to help others with our Ecommerce Glossary.
- Events Calendar
- Find out about upcoming ecommerce events or invite other ecommerce professionals by posting your own event.
- Press Releases
- Browse ecommerce related press releases and post your own press release for distribution.
- Ecommerce Store & Back Issues
- Pick up back issues of Practical eCommerce magazine along with other merchandise from Practical Ecommerce
About Practical eCommerce
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Look at frequently asked questions regarded using our website, subscribing to our magazine and more.
- Advertising Information
- Information about advertising in Practical eCommerce magazine, on our website, or in our email newsletters.
- Editorial Sharing
- Learn about options for sharing our content with your visitors, customers or employees.
- About Us
- Learn more about Practical Ecommerce magazine and meet our staff.
- Contact Us
- Contact Practical Ecommerce at any time for more information. We'd love to hear from you.
Copyright 2007 Confluence Distribution, Inc. and Practical eCommerce.
All Rights Reserved.
There are no comments posted for this article.