No matter which pay per click advertising platform you use there is a good chance that eventually you will be the victim of click fraud. No advertising campaign is immune to click fraud and unfortunately the more successful your advertising campaign is, the more likely it is to be targeted.

Each advertiser has a different system for tracking ads and handling click fraud once it happens, but the trick to a successful advertising campaign that does not bleed your wallet dry is to prevent click fraud before it occurs.

Focus on making sales, not getting clicks.

• Too many advertisers fall into the trap of trying to get clicks, not achieving their goal of making sales. Google and Yahoo want your ads to get as many clicks as possible because it means more money for them, but not necessarily for you if the clicks don’t become sales. You, however, should focus on making sales, not getting clicks, or else you are setting yourself up for click fraud.

• Minimize your chances of click fraud by carefully targeting your advertising campaigns to the locations, age groups, time of day, and keywords that match the demographics of your target market. When your ads are highly targeted the chances of click fraud decrease.

Choose Search Ads over Content Ads

• Pay per click ads placed on websites rather than in search results are more likely to be targeted for click fraud. There are elaborate click fraud networks designed to make money from fraudulent clicks on content ads because they only payout for the website owner when they are clicked.

• Pay per click ads placed in search results are not involved in these scams because they do not pay out when they are clicked. Google, Yahoo, and other pay per click advertising services give you the option to have your ads displayed in search results, on related websites, or both. Choosing search results only will decrease the likelihood of your ads being involved in a click fraud scam.

Related Articles:

• Huge Legal Issues Surrounding Click Fraud
• Protecting Your PPC Campaigns Against Click Fraud
• The Worst Threat Ever To PPC
• New pages on click fraud added
• New Update – Click Fraud Case Studies!

Click fraud is yet again a big problem; a recent report for the first quarter of 2009 stated that the average click fraud percentage was 13.8%. This was a decrease in comparison to the last quarter in 2008 which was reported to be 17.1%. Although it dropped significantly the problem is far from gone.

According to recent news Facebook a popular social network that recently started advertising and promised huge returns to investors has been charged with click fraud. There have been several reports from advertisers using quality ad trackers that have detected a 90% click fraud rate meaning that only 10% of clicks were valid. In some instances some advertisers have stated that Facebook click fraud has been as high as 100%! This has resulted in thousands and thousands of advertising dollars lost due to click fraud. Facebook has admitted that it is a major problem and is dedicated to finding a proper solution.

Google in the past has dismissed click fraud as a major issue and rejected several times that click fraud was as big as it was being reported. However, recently they have come to terms and acknowledged that click fraud is a huge problem. It is a very sensitive issue to Google because almost all of their revenue comes from online advertising and click fraud will only mean bad news to its reputation.

Microsoft is also actively engaged in fighting click fraud; they received several reports from their advertisers over suspicious click fraud activity (generated from 3^rd party ad tracker tools). After Microsoft received such information they investigated and discovered that it is a big deal and is suing three family members that boosted their traffic by hindering other advertisers. Microsoft is seeking $750,000 from the family due to fraudulent activity. Microsoft also credited over $1.5 million to their advertisers which were affected by the scheme (which would have never been credited if advertisers had not used a 3^rd party ad tracker). Microsoft stated that click fraud is likely to continue if it is left unchecked. It is clear from the Microsoft case that having a 3^rd party ad tracker that can track click fraud is priceless and moreover can save thousands from click fraud alone.

Click fraud continues to be a big issue that major search engines have been unable to eliminate. Fighting click fraud is making progress and will continue to do so because of 3^rd party ad tracker tools which are simply not provided by the big search engines. Search engines make a lot of money from click fraud, as Microsoft has stated “click fraud is likely to continue if it is left unchecked.” In other words online ads must be monitored and must be monitored by a 3^rd party ad tracker solution to be able to truly track and prevent click fraud.

The bottom line is that although the search engines are taking action click fraud is here to stay. Search engines are acting based on the reports that they have received from their advertisers. Advertisers receive their information from a 3^rd party ad tracker. Simply put, if advertisers were not using ad trackers no money would be awarded and search engines would not be participating as actively in fighting click fraud. It is through quality 3^rd party ad tracker tools that have and will continue to improve the quality of clicks received! Simply said preventing click fraud with a 3^rd party ad tracker is essential to online advertising.

Related Articles:

• Huge Legal Issues Surrounding Click Fraud
• Protecting Your PPC Campaigns Against Click Fraud
• The Worst Threat Ever To PPC
• New pages on click fraud added
• New Update – Click Fraud Case Studies!