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The
Click Fraud Problem & how to eliminate it.
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Click fraud has
become a major problem for online marketers. If you participate
on Google adwords campaigns or Overture, you must already pay a
lot for your campaigns.
What is click fraud?
Click fraud is the deliberate clicks to PPC search engine ads
for completely other reasons than expressing interest for buying
the related products or services.
Overture defines click fraud as clicks arising for reasons other
than the good-faith intention of an Internet user to visit a web
site to purchase goods or services or to obtain information.
Google defines click fraud, or invalid clicks, as any method
used to artificially and/or maliciously generate clicks or page
impressions.
In simple words, Click fraud means that someone is cheating you
and that you pay too much for your pay per click campaigns.
Who is doing that?
Three main groups click on pay per click ads, without real
interest in the offered goods:
People who joined Google AdSense or other per click affiliate
programs click on the ads on their own web site to make a little
income. Often, these people cooperate with other webmasters to
click on each other's ads.
Some unethical companies click on the pay per click ads of
competitors to drive up their advertising costs.
Companies (often in India, Russia and China) hire people who are
paid to click on ads.
Google and other search networks provide refunds to advertisers
when click fraud has been discovered.
Google and Overture employ "fraud squads," or teams of
people dedicated to fighting click schemes. But at least two
marketing executives say such countermeasures are missing
fraudulent clicks that are responsible for between 5 percent and
20 percent of advertising fees paid to all search networks.
This is a huge problem. There is no �pay per click� Company
denying that click fraud exists. Web analytics companies
estimates that the 50% of all click activity is fraudulent.
This means that your pay per click marketing activities are half
effective as they could be because of click fraud.
Overture spokeswoman Jennifer Stephens refutes that estimate,
saying that the numbers likely represent acts of fraud that are
ultimately caught. She added that Overture filters most
fraudulent clicks with the best antifraud system in the industry,
which combines technology and human analysis.
Most advertisers are aware of the click-fraud issue but have not
delved into it because of the technical complexities involved.
Others are concerned that they could jeopardize their
relationships with the powerful search networks if they complain
too loudly.
One of the best ways to eliminate click fraud is using anti
click fraud services such as ppctrax (www.ppctrax.com). They
provide services like the below:
IP address capture.
IP address geographic Location.
User Agent (browser, bot etc.)
See exactly what keywords are generating your clicks
Date and Time stamp
System detects sudden click spikes from one or more IP addresses
Real-time email alerts at 80% and 100% of your account's
transaction utilization
IP address history - alert you to prior offenders
Another similar service is �who is clicking who�:
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