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May 05, 2004
Click Fraud: The Google Killer
Google listed click fraud as one of the potential "worries" that would-be investors should consider. In fact, they admitted to regularly paying refunds because of click fraud and stated that they may have to make retroactive payments.
Michael Bradley recently tried to pressure Google into paying $100,000 for his click fraud software, and though he was arrested by the FBI, his attempted extortion points to the weakness of pay per click advertising.
Click fraud remains a major topic among forums, and I imagine it will become a more mainstream topic in more mainstream media as people begin to inspect what's affecting Google's revenue.
The SEORoundTable blog linked to a recent thread in the IHelpYou forums called "fraudulent clicks today.
"Barry named his post "Click Fraud: Pros and Cons" so I clicked through, wondering what the possible pros of click fraud could be from the marketers perspective (from any perspective, really - fraud hurts the ppc vendors in the long term).
AndyJ, a member of the IHelpYou forum, pointed out that "clicking on your ad boosts the click through rate. A higher CTR equals a higher position for less cost in many cases."
I was surprised to read the number of people who consider fraud just a cost of buying PPC advertising - it seemed that many some who posted were resigned to paying more money for fewer real clicks.
AndyJ said, "Any of us that use AdWords or any other PPC has to pay for a certain percentage of fraudulent clicks. I factor it in as a cost of doing business."
How long will ad buyers be willing to pay the extra cost? As long, apparently, as ppc still delivers value. The issue as I see it though is that buyers still don't receive what they paid for.
The thread, later joined by a second tier ppc vendor who bashes google ppc, decends into mild though interesting bickering as members rise to defend Google, but some members do voice some interesting points.
Junior Harris alluded to click fraud software in his post, and included a dishearteningreminder: "there are some pretty creative hacks out there auto generating everything from UA, referrals, and possibly IP addresses as well. The key to remember is not to spend more than you can afford to give away."
WebmasterT pointed out that "itemized clicks would provide transparent and easy detection of fraud." He then asked why, if Google can provide this information to AdSense partners why can't they provide that same transparency to people who are paying for ads.
Regarding Google refunds from verified instances of click fraud, AndyJ said, "I have had 2 occasions in the past to report a gross fraud such as yours. After supplying the AdWords team with the required information, they did in fact resolve the problem and issue a refund within about 4 weeks."
There's a click fraud thread at JimWorld, however, that tells a slightly different story. One webmaster lost thousands through alleged AdWords click fraud and it took months of continued effort to get a refund. The thread runs from 9-29-03 through 11-15-03 (when he finally got his refund) but he alleges the fraud occurred three months before his first post.
Another click fraud thread at WebMasterWorld mentions fraudulent clicks coming from proxy servers in India.
Pierre Zarokian, President of SubmitExpress.com, offers the following advice for pay per click advertisers:
Repetition of IP Addresses
His entire article, Click Fraud: Is It Happening to You?, is an excellent resource for anyone who suspects click fraud.
Thanks to Pierre for the tips on how AdWords users can watch
out for click fraud - but what can Google do? Can click fraud be wiped out forever? And how valuable is stock in a company whose primary source of income is the target of such diligent and resourceful fraudsters?
If anything kills Google's growth it will be click fraud - the decomposition of AdWords value.
About the Author:
Garrett French is the editor of iEntry's eBusiness channel.
Garrett French | Staff Writer | 2004-05-05
http://www.webpronews.com/insiderreports/searchinsider/wpn-49-20040505ClickFraudTheGoogleKiller.html
Posted by Hans A. Koch at 11:24 AM | Comments (0)
May 03, 2004
India's secret army of online ad 'clickers'
NEW DELHI: With her baby on her lap, Maya Sharma (name changed) gets down to work every evening from her eighth-floor flat at Vasant Vihar. Maya's job is to click on online advertisements. She doesn't care about the ads, but diligently keeps count — it's $0.18 to $0.25 per click.
A growing number of housewives, college graduates, and even working professionals across metropolitan cities are rushing to click paid Internet ads to make $100 to $200 (up to Rs 9,000) per month.
"It's boring, but it is extra money for a couple of hours of clicking weblinks every day," says a resident of Delhi's Patparganj, who has kept a $300-target for the summer.
Traffic to click overseas Internet ads — from home loans to insurance — is spreading fast in India. "I have no interest in what appears when clicking an ad. I care only whether to pause 60 seconds or 90 seconds, as money is credited if you stay online for a fixed time," says another user.
Here's how it works: online advertisers in developed markets agree to pay hosting website each time an ad is clicked. With performance-based deals becoming dominant on the Internet, intermediaries have sprung up to "do the needful”.' Why, type in 'earn rupees clicking ads' in Google — you get 25,000 results.
"I'm not surprised. As competition intensifies, people are using every trick to increase their revenues," says Sam Balsara, CMD, Madison.
The trend is catching up in India. Says Goutam Rakshit, chairman, Advertising Council of India: "It's a numbers game as far as media buying is concerned. And anybody who can manipulate numbers gets the edge. This is unethical, and needs to be curbed."
Take Click2freemoney.com. Calling itself an Internet advertising company that shares profits with members, it gives three options to earn money — by clicking on website links via e-mails that they send, by clicking on banners and text ads in their paid-to-click section, and by referring others to the website.
No wonder Internet ad firms have been floated in neighbourhood colonies, promising to share "secrets" to earning in dollars by clicking online ads for an upfront fee of Rs 250 to Rs 1,500.
Typically, online ad clickers get their money remitted by opening accounts through PayPal or StormPay — which enables money transaction if you have an e-mail address.
Most clickers, however, opt to pay commission to middle men and encash earnings in rupees. Clickers say they pay $7 commission for every $50 earned.
Clicks are bought to boost number of hits for web ads or online advertisers who are not tracking user location. Rakshit says new tech solutions are being developed to bring in some sort of accountability. "It is going to be a cat-and-mouse game," he says.
Industry, as a whole, is confident that this is an interim trend that will fizzle out in the long run. But for the moment, there are countless Maya Sharmas clicking away.
N VIDYASAGAR
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
[ MONDAY, MAY 03, 2004 08:20:34 AM ]
Posted by Hans A. Koch at 08:20 AM | Comments (0)
