Google's Click Fraud Pay OutAll PPC advertising and every advertising network is susceptible to click fraud to some extent. The fraudsters have found ways to beat almost every system out there. Google is by far the biggest online advertising publisher and network – industry estimates suggest that Google accounts for 70% of search advert spending. This means that Google is the biggest target for click fraud over the whole internet, and they have been taking action to try to cover themselves. Google had a rule in their Terms of Service which stated that advertising money for a fraudulent click could only be reclaimed within 60 days of the click. This put pressure on the advertising companies to continually monitor their clicks, and stay up to date with all of the cutting edge fraudulent techniques, to stand a chance of spotting fake clicks and not paying for them. Of course, this is no easy task, especially for small companies and individuals trying to compete with the big boys. It once again illustrates how the search engines don't take the effects of click fraud on small businesses very seriously. Lane's Gifts A company called Lane's Gifts felt that it was unfair to only offer a 60 day window for invalid clicks to be reported to Google, so they started a lawsuit against them. The rules that Google had on reimbursing clicks were unnecessarily stringent, and in a settlement, Google agreed to accept responsibility for invalid clicks since the company had started their PPC program. As part of the settlement, the figure of $90 million was agreed as a ceiling to the amount that Google would have to reimburse advertisers for old invalid clicks. Although Google were shown to be in the wrong in terms of the 60 day window, they will be very pleased with the results of the settlement. This effectively wipes clean their slate, and gets rid of their liability for several years for an amount of money which seems like peanuts compared to the size of Google. Many people had estimated the true cost of click fraud in the billions, so Google will feel that they have got a very good deal. Google have at least accepted responsibility for invalid clicks with this settlement, and have now opened a new website to deal specifically with click fraud. The advertising industry will hope that Google is now serious about its attempts to fight the problem, but there are still issues remaining. There is still no clear definition of click fraud, and no clearly defined boundary of responsibility for the search engines and advertising networks. While these issues remain unresolved, there will always be legal trouble between advertisers and the search engines. As an advertiser, it is your job to protect yourself from click fraud the best way that you can. It is clear that the search engines are only trying to protect themselves, so you need a dedicated service that will protect you. Good click fraud protection on ad tracking software will help you fight back against click fraud – all the big advertisers use it as an industry standard, and you will lose out if you don't. |
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| AdWatcher | 9.3 |
| HitsLink | 6.4 |
| HyperTracker | 6.4 |
| WhosClickingWho | 6.4 |
| DynaTracker | 6.2 |
| ConversionRuler | 6.3 |
| AdTrackz | 5.9 |
| AdMinder | 5.1 |
| ROIWiz | 5 |
| ClickAlyzer | 1.6 |
| ProAnalyzer | 0 |
