Anti Click Fraud Tools

[PPC]

What are the best click fraud tools available right now?

[telNform]

Personally, I used WCW Whos Clicking Who (www.whosclickingwho.com) it has a custom popup deterrent when it meets certain criteria that you define.

[AussieWebmaster]

I have found KeywordMax's Click Auditor good for keeping an eye on things... though will check out the above to see if a proactive approach works better or as a solid supplement.

[ClickFraud]

I recommend caution when relying upon tools that popup warnings and claim to be adding significant value, firstly these type of tools demonstrate a lack of understanding with regard to how Google & Overture protection systems work.

They will also often not work when an attacker is employing their own sophisticated technology to conduct the fraud. The main type of fraud these tools track is the same kind of click fraud that the ad networks ARE generally capable of detecting and dealing with in an automated way.

That said, I recently spoke to one of my clients who was refunded $1,000 by the search network due to click fraud, given the fact he spent over US$1 Million for the period in question I have some doubts they managed to detect it all.

I'm not bashing any particular service here, some of them are really great at tracking ROI and such, just keep in mind that click fraud is a much more complex world than most people fully understand. Competitive clicking should be the least of your worries.

So, watch our for Clickfraudfraud ;)

Adam

P.S. It matters not whether you try to call it clickfraud or click fraud, the best SEO in the world isn't going to stop the inevitable.

[JohnHammer]

I'll point you to my post earlier about our company's new service:

http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=4149

JH

[AussieWebmaster]

I recommend caution when relying upon tools that popup warnings and claim to be adding significant value, firstly these type of tools demonstrate a lack of understanding with regard to how Google & Overture protection systems work.

They will also often not work when an attacker is employing their own sophisticated technology to conduct the fraud. The main type of fraud these tools track is the same kind of click fraud that the ad networks ARE generally capable of detecting and dealing with in an automated way.

That said, I recently spoke to one of my clients who was refunded $1,000 by the search network due to click fraud, given the fact he spent over US$1 Million for the period in question I have some doubts they managed to detect it all.

I'm not bashing any particular service here, some of them are really great at tracking ROI and such, just keep in mind that click fraud is a much more complex world than most people fully understand. Competitive clicking should be the least of your worries.

So, watch our for Clickfraudfraud ;)

Adam

P.S. It matters not whether you try to call it clickfraud or click fraud, the best SEO in the world isn't going to stop the inevitable. Have you thought of offering this as a percentage of the return gained... like the companies that got you refunds from overcharges on your phone bills... first person to try that should get rich.

[JohnHammer]

Hey AussieWM:

Great idea. That's why I come to these forums.

I checked with the boss and he said for certain minimum ad spends, he would be happy to take the risk.

If you know any SEO's or companies with at least 4 figure ppc budgets, let us know.

JH

[projectphp]

4 figure over how long?? >$1,000 a month?? A Year??

Good idea BTW, but can we hear a bit more on your methodology??

[AussieWebmaster]

Hey AussieWM:

Great idea. That's why I come to these forums.

I checked with the boss and he said for certain minimum ad spends, he would be happy to take the risk.

If you know any SEO's or companies with at least 4 figure ppc budgets, let us know.

JH So I guess if it really takes off you guys are sending me some kind of outrageous gift for the concept!!!

I oversee about 700k plus a month on various engines.

[JohnHammer]

ProjectPHP:

That would be a monthly budget.

I'm not sure what you mean by "methodology". Can you explain?

JH

[JohnHammer]

So I guess if it really takes off you guys are sending me some kind of outrageous gift for the concept!!!

I oversee about 700k plus a month on various engines.


How about a Lexus? Which model do you like? What color?

Or do you prefer B'mer or Mercedes?

LOL

Seriously - the boss says let's have a go at it. Test us. I'm sure with that type of spend, there's plenty to go around. Also, he's more interested at the moment in building relationships and a couple other things than the up front fees.

PM if you're interested.

JH

[projectphp]

By methodology I mean "how it is done".Is the click run through your server, log file analysis, JavaScript include... what?

Couldn't find such info on your site is all.

[JohnHammer]

projectphp:

There is a small snip of code you put on your landing page(s) which feed data into our system. Our software then collects that and reports it, and does the other magic things from there.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

JH

[AussieWebmaster]

I was thinking more in terms of past activity... if I can get you a 12 month dump of my log files can you find instances of click fraud?

[AussieWebmaster]

Also came across this PPC Cheaters Forum ("http://www.ppccheater.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.cgi?board=2)... it has some potential and is trying.
Figure it's worth a stop to stay on top of things.

[JohnHammer]

AW:

I won't say for sure that we could capture the fraud by looking at raw log files, especially with what sounded like a very big site or group of sites.

However, I'm very open to having our DBA's give it a go.

JH

[zedseven]

Here is an interesting article on fighting click fraud.

http://fantomaster.com/fantomNews/archives/2005/04/05/fantomtip-brhow-to-fight-click-fraud-effectively/

[Jeff Martin]

Thought those interested in click fraud would like to know that I and seomike have launched a free, full featured click fraud tool - VeriClix.

http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?p=51470#post51470