Ad Click Fraud is a deceptive practice that undermines the effectives of digital ad campaigns including Google Search and Display Campaigns.
Essentially it involves the artificial inflation of click counts on pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns; so people/bots click on ads with no intention of using or engaging with the advertiser.
These counterfeit clicks can come from various sources such as competitors, automated bots, or even click farms which are organisations that employ people to click on ads.
Why is This Done?
Competitors might want to use up your advertising budget having your ads stop showing earlier in the day. Click farms, meanwhile, are often hired to make a particular advertising campaign appear more effective (if you’re just looking at click metrics) than it actually is.
Additionally, websites hosting the ads sometimes click on them to generate more revenue, as they receive a portion of the ad revenue.
For businesses relying on Ads to drive traffic and sales, this fraudulent activity can be devastating. The business ends up paying for clicks without potential customer behind the click.
Recognising the gravity of the issue, Google has implemented measures to detect and prevent click fraud, ensuring that advertisers are charged only for legitimate clicks.
However, as technology evolves, fraudsters and platforms evolve, making it vital for advertisers to be vigilant. There are 3rd Part Click fraud tools that block VPN traffic and allow for specific rules to be created around how often and to ‘whom’ the ad shows.
If you think you may be losing relevant traffic, invest in a click-fraud tool to overlays on your campaigns.
