Business week article on click fraud

[Karomesis]

Just curious to see if any of you guys read the latest business week front page story on click fraud and what you think of it?

It seems that most of the click fraud was centered almost exclusively around adsense publishers using bots,paid clickers, and parked domains with a baziliion ads on them.

I haven't even really considered using content network until I really master the search results, but this kindof stuff makes me even less likely to use it in my business model, at least until I know my clicks aren't coming fom ad farms.

[integramed]

Here's the article:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine...0/b4003001.htm

The main focus of the article is fraud on the Content (AdSense) network. I've been using adwords heavily since day 1 and never had a problem. But, there are a few simple precautions you can take:

1. Setup your targetting correctly, so you are not advertising in unecessary locations e.g. don't advertise in countries that you don't need to.
2. Always set a daily budget for each campaign. That way no matter what happens your exposure is limited.
3. Try not to use excessively high bids that will just draw attention to you e.g. if you bid super high just to get the #1 position you might be more of a target.
4. Consider using the option that lets you set seperate bids for Content, so you can set them lower if needed.
5. Be careful using very general keywords. Try to use keywords as specific as possible to your business.

[Karomesis]

thanks for posting the link integramed

Great advice too. Do you think it's wise to become proficient with search results first and then move to content? or is it irrelevant?

[Mathese]

Originally Posted by Karomesis

Do you think it's wise to become proficient with search results first and then move to content? or is it irrelevant?

I think for almost every advertiser the results of content match do not perform nearly as well as search. The reality is that they are two totally different animals. Search is the pull marketing that is so highly regarded and content is more push, not really much different than a banner ad.

Not only would I get a good grasp on content first but I would tread very lightly once you do start. Costs can get very high very fast in content, despite low bid prices.

[romanovs]

Any suggestions for good click fraud detection sofware?

[AussieWebmaster]

There are a bunch out there. KeywordMax has one that is part of their tracking software and is reasonably priced.

You can check yourself with log files and a spreadsheet though it takes a little work.

[Chris Boggs]

This is a subject that is gaining a lot of publicity, although this article really doesn't bring anything "new" to the table. Two separate initiatives are underway that should help to better define click fraud and to get an estimate on the actual numbers from a third party. The IAB has started the "Click Quality Council" with Click Forensics; and SEMPO and Fair Isaac are working with advertiser data on a study.

We are working on an updated formal Point Of View on the matter, but you can see an introduction in last week's search marketing newsletter that I happen to edit, found here. I would assume many other SEM's handle the click fraud issue in a way that is similar to AA|RF.

[vayapues]

Click fraud is a serious problem, which threatens my business model. As I am sure it threatens many of yours.

My kids websites are a substantial portion of my income. Google's response to click fraud some months back really got under my skin. Their response, as I recall, was that it is a none issue, because click fraud will ultimately drive down the cost per click. The result is that advertisers will be paying the same amount of money to reach the same number of real customers regardless.

In other words suppose without click fraud I pay 10 cents per click. After 100 clicks I am charged a bill of $10.00. Click fraud drives the price per click down to 5 cents per click. Now, after 200 clicks I get a bill for $10.00. Half of the clicks are fake, but it does not matter, because you are still paying the same amount as before for the same number of real clicks.

Even if that were true, it does me no good. As a publisher, my own earnings are still cut in half. The cheaters rob me of half my income.

Dishonesty in general. What is up with that? Are you really so focused on making more money that you are okay with having no soul?

[Karomesis]

Dishonesty in general. What is up with that? Are you really so focused on making more money that you are okay with having no soul?

some of our fellow marketers seem to be, but thankfully most are pretty helpful and decent people, especially on this forum.

I know there are people on this forum and another adwords forum I post on who have no obligation to help anyone or even care because they are already very successful, but they continue to suffer noobies and lend a helping hand which is much appreciated.