Fooling Google, Yahoo: click-fraud is major problem and getting worse
Click-fraud, the act of clicking on a site’s ads simply to trigger revenue for the site is a growing problem.
There are a number of companies that provide advertising services in order to help sites generate revenue. Most of the sites that the general public visits on a regular basis are sustained only by ad revenue — yes, even this one. Google, Yahoo, and Chitika are a few of the biggest names in the business, and they do what they can to fight click-fraud. Though despite their efforts, pay-per-click fraud is on the rise according to Media Post.
In the fourth-qurater of 2006, the average click-fraud rate was measured at 14.2% for the entire industry and 19.2% for companies who also manage search engines such as Google’s AdSense. In the fourth-quarter of 2007, the average rate rose to 16.6% for the entire industry and 28.3% for search-engine networks.
Freakonomics did some math on the issue, coming to the conclusion that if Media Post’s numbers, which come from the Click Fraud Index, are correct, about 26 million web publishers are currently committing fraud. Ad-networks see this as a major problem and deal with it accordingly.
For example, Google has developed a number of methods to fight click-fraud. Googiewoogie reports that the company uses its own home-cooked software to monitor click-fraud. Specific information of every ad-click is recorded such as the IP of the click-source, the time the ad was clicked, and any potential click patterns. Google also has a team dedicated to examining individual cases of click-fraud.
Related Posts:
February 22nd, 2008
Isn’t this post click fraud?
February 22nd, 2008
Editor: Owen, post has been edited to remove the author’s joke – re clicking on ads.
February 23rd, 2008
that was the irony of the joke…
February 25th, 2008
Well, I don’t want to see the blogs that I read lose a source of income. I visit sponsors from time to time if I think I may be interested in the product / service the company is offering. It is a good way to support bloggers, and I do not consider this “click fraud”
June 30th, 2010
Please tell me,
How long do I have to tolerate all the following bulshit supposed to be originated from Yahoo? Isn’t there anybody responsible to bring those people to Court, for trying to deceiving me into revealing my password which should then be used against my will and without my knowledge to all my contacts for illegal purposes?
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Final Warning!!!
From: Yahoo Customer Service Add to Contacts
To:
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We are really sorry for any inconvinience this might cause you. Due to the congestion in all Yahoo! account users, Yahoo! will be shuting down all unused accounts. In order to avoid the deactivation of your account, you will have to confirm your e-mail by filling your Login Info below by clicking the reply button.
Full name: …………………………………..
Username: …………………………………..
Password: …………………………………..
Date Of Birth: ……………………………….
Occupation: …………………………………
Country Of Residence: ……………………
After you must have followed the instructions on the sheet, your Yahoo! account will not be interrupted and will continue as normal. Thank you for your usual co-operation. We apologize for any inconvinience.
Yahoo! Customer Care
Case number: 2641930
Property: Account Security
Regards,
Yahoo! Account Services
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We are really sorry for any inconvinience this might cause you.