Ways to Identify and Tackle Click Fraud

Finding and tracking the causes of fraud in clicks is the first step towards eliminating the issue. Click fraud is a massive expense for advertisers that operate on a nationwide and international scale. It is which is estimated to account for around 30% of the total paid per click advertising expenditure. With such a huge the stake, it's not surprising that the search engines invest an enormous amount of time and effort in figuring out solutions.

One method by which Search Engines and other pay per click program providers have sought to stop the problem of increasing click fraud is by the introduction of IP algorithmic repetition of addresses. These formulas are developed to identify suspicious click patterns that originate from a specific IP address. This will help uncover the existence of click farms as well as the sabotage of competitors, and also identify fraudsters who could be at the origin.

There is however many issues in this method of trying to spot fraudsters. For one, those who are logging using a dialup modem DSL cable modem or line are able to skip this test, as with each new online session the IP address is created. Additionally, there's an array of software that can alter IP addresses that could be used to 'cheat the algorithm. Session tracking and cookie tracking are two other ways through which search engines seek to identify fraud, however there are solutions to deceive the criminals.

More sophisticated software is in development that tracks and analyzes the behavior of every click-through, allowing businesses to monitor and track suspicious behaviour, though it could be viewed by some as intrusive and unproductive, since anything at a low level is likely to remain by unnoticed due to the extensive coverage of ads on the web.

The issue of fraud through clicks recently hit the headlines thanks to an action brought against Google which led Google to offer $90 million as a settlement. It could be a sign of acceptance of their obligations Google's offer is a way to highlight the severity of click fraud and the enormous cost it has to the economy of the internet.

There are numerous self-help methods which can be employed to keep an organization free of danger. The most obvious of these solutions is the dependence on SEO or organic results. If a website is well and completely optimized, it will eventually achieve a rank which a rival site will pay $2.50 for a single click. Also, with high organic rankings , there aren't any clickthrough ratesand therefore the expenses associated with PPC aren't applicable. Even though the process is more difficult and takes longer to show results as well, the SEO procedure is cheaper in the end and, with an estimate of 25% to 30% of clicks going to fraud as a result, an organically high-ranking will save money that could otherwise be lost to click fraud to allow for better investment.

Each year and the pay-per-click advertising market continues to expand and expand, it is inevitable that click fraud will follow. If no effective method for stopping click fraud is devised and successfully implemented, users are likely to lose faith in the marketing medium and will shift to more efficient and less costly marketing strategies that could seriously harm the search engines, and be a threat to the online economy overall.