| Click fraud is becoming an ever increasing problem | | | | An analysis of your click tracking logs may show |
| with pay per click search engine marketing. To | | | | an abundance of traffic spaced apart in fixed |
| define it simply, click fraud occurs when a person | | | | intervals, say every 10 minutes, or a particularly |
| or automated computer program imitates a | | | | strange URL referring the traffic to your site. |
| legitimate web browser by clicking on an ad for | | | | Data such as this can clearly point out a click |
| the purpose of generating fraudulent charges per | | | | fraud problem that may be occurring because of |
| click. There are a multitude of reasons why this | | | | your bidding position, for example. Click fraud |
| may occur, such as competitors attempting to | | | | perpetrators love to target high cost per click ads |
| gain an upper hand, to the more likely scenario, | | | | showing in the top 3 positions. This particular |
| which is website properties attempting to increase | | | | keyword may have performed well in the 4th or |
| their commissions by generating bogus clicks from | | | | 5th positions, but above this, you may find that it |
| their sites. The purpose of this article is not to | | | | is a target for fraud. |
| discuss how or why this is occurring, but rather | | | | Now if you are running an automated bid |
| what you as an advertiser can do to combat it. | | | | management program, you may argue that with |
| Now what I am going to tell you is not rocket | | | | decreasing conversions, your ad may be adjusted |
| science, but a surprising number of advertisers fail | | | | out of such a position in the example I just gave. |
| to employ the most simple and effective of tools | | | | Although this may be true, without the specific |
| to mitigate their risk - click tracking. Most site | | | | details of the clicks, you may have no idea as to |
| owners who spend any serious amount of money | | | | why words are not performing well in certain |
| in the form of pay per click advertising usually | | | | positions, and you may not have the ammunition |
| take the step to install conversion counting code | | | | necessary to present your case to the search |
| on their sites, whether it's the free stuff from | | | | engines for a fraud investigation to occur. Without |
| Yahoo! or Google, to more sophisticated third | | | | the knowledge of when and where your clicks are |
| party tracking tools. | | | | coming from, you are running a campaign with |
| The problem for many advertisers, is that | | | | your eyes only half open. |
| although they may be tracking conversions and | | | | The limited space in this forum does not allow us |
| managing their pay per click campaigns with | | | | to go over the multitude of examples of how |
| automated bidding tools, many, if not most of | | | | specific click tracking data can help you ferret out |
| these tools lack the tracking data that allows the | | | | click fraud. However, the point here it to illustrate |
| site owner to see details down to the click level, | | | | just how monitoring this kind of data can help you |
| such as time of click, referring URL, IP address of | | | | fight the kind of fraud that is occurring that can |
| the click, etc... Although many click fraud | | | | chip away at your precious advertising dollars and |
| perpetrators employ tactics that hide or mask | | | | impact your ROI. |
| some of this data, such as IP address, having the | | | | There are a number of products on the market |
| ability to see this data can point out potential | | | | that can help you analyze this data. If you are |
| problems and allow you to nip it before it gets | | | | managing your own campaigns, you will find that it |
| too far out of control. | | | | is an investment well spent. If you are outsourcing |
| Let me give you an example. Let's say that you | | | | your pay per click advertising to a professional |
| see traffic has picked up on a particular word that | | | | management company, then you should make |
| has been performing well historically for you, but | | | | sure that this data is available and analyzed by |
| conversions have not increased proportionately. | | | | your account managers on a regular basis. |