Just how sophisticated is click fraud? You may not want to know
Click fraud is a real problem for advertisers. Not many deny that. But just how big of a problem is it? If you listen to companies providing PPC advertising services, it's manageable. They've got things under control.
But a click fraud ring recently uncovered by click fraud monitoring firm Anchor Intelligence may lead you to believe otherwise. The size of this ring is remarkable: it employed over 1,000 people, 10,000 websites and 200,000 IP addresses. All told, Anchor Intelligence reports that it generated $3m worth of fraudulent clicks in a two week period of time before it was discovered.
Analytics fraud for fun and profit
It is ridiculously easy to use Google's personalisation features to 'trick' analytics and bid management packages. If you believe shady folk make money in outsourcing click fraud activity to low wage economies then it's easy to believe the same workforce can be used to make money with this technique.
Facebook sued for click fraud
Facebook claims that its recent problems with click fraud are behind it but one advertiser is sending Facebook a clear message: your problems are just beginning.
Sports website RootZoo has filed a lawsuit against Facebook in federal district court in San Jose, California and is seeking class action status. The company is being represented by Kabatek Brown Kellner, a law firm with a history of litigating click fraud actions.
Facebook's click fraud problem
Click fraud is a major issue when it comes to search marketing and big money is at stake.
The source of the most insidious click fraud: rogue third-party
publishers who participate in PPC ad networks run by companies like
Google and Yahoo and who use click fraud in an attempt to intentionally
inflate their earnings.
Report: click fraud continues its march
Click fraud has always been an issue for advertisers using paid search, but for many, it has been considered a cost of doing business.
So long as campaigns are profitable, worrying about click fraud hasn't always seemed like a priority.
