Click Fraud on Google Less Than 1%

While interviewing Shuman Ghosemajumder of Google today, Andy Beal was able to expose the fact that the undetected click fraud rate on Google AdWords is less then 2%.

Ghosemajumder showed proof to backup his numbers and then later clarified that those figures included "invalid clicks" so he claims the true undetected click fraud percentage was more than likely a fraction of 1%.

I wonder. I see a lot of "click quality adjusment" credits in my account on a monthly basis. If they are catching this much click fraud, I doubt the stuff they miss is such a small fraction.

Yahoo and Click Fraud = Deja Vu?

No time to answer a reader question today, so I'll just point you in the direction of an article on WebProNews that discusses how Yahoo is Again Linked to Click Fraud.

Q and A: What can we do about click fraud?

Dear Kalena...

We have been overwhelmed by click fraud, we now are forced to pay a higher click rate, because I have my people pausing our campaigns at night and restarting them in the morning to run during the day.

I do not know what to do any more with this matter other then to put up useless sites and fill them with adsense ads. I cannot bring myself to do other people because I know how I feel about the issue at hand.

Trying to prove click fraud is an almost impossible task, I have copied logs and traced IPs and emailed them to google about this and they still say it is not possible.

Now I am really in the dark as my desk lamp just bit the dust.

Tim

Kalena's Answer:

Dear Tim

Sorry to hear you are in the dark (literally!) about click fraud. It is a worrying topic, especially when recent research has thrown a light on possible connections between spyware, fraudulent clicks and large pay per click providers.

Putting up lightweight sites stuffed with AdSense ads is not the answer. If you have genuine concern that click fraud is impacting your account, you should do one or both of the following:

1) Subscribe to a click-fraud detection service. Some I am aware of include AdWatcher, ClickLab, Who's Clicking Who and Click Detective. Most of these offer a free trial period or trial version. Of these, I have only trialled WCW and I have to admit that I was bitterly disappointed, partly because I couldn't get their code to work on my site and partly because they made promises on their site that just weren't true. Regardless, I read good things about these type of programs, so they must work.

2) Phone Google and ask to speak to an AdWords account manager about your suspicions. Make sure you research your account and have the "proof" in front of you. If you are concerned enough to call them direct, they may take your reports a little more seriously and spend more time investigating your claims.

Good luck!

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Have YOU been affected by click fraud?

We've got a poll going at the SEC Lounge about click fraud. Have you been affected by it? Have you reported it? Been reimbursed? Or was your claim rejected like mine was?

I want to know your feelings on the subject. Become a member of the Lounge (free) and take part in our poll.

Yahoo Linked to Spyware Click Fraud

Some years ago, I closed my Overture pay per click advertising account (now owned by Yahoo! and re-branded as Yahoo! Search Marketing) in protest over Overture openly undertaking ad-testing with notorious spyware manufacturer Gator (now re-branded as Claria). If you're unfamiliar with the terms "spyware", "scumware" or "thiefware", catch up here.

I have since resurrected my account with Overture/Yahoo! as it was my understanding that the deal with Gator/Claria was dead. But today I learned of an alarming report by Ben Edelman linking Yahoo! to click fraud via a current syndication arrangement with not only Gator/Claria, but with "many dozens" of spyware companies. Even more alarming was the revelation that Yahoo! provided 31% of Gator/Claria's income in 2003!

This is serious stuff folks. Anyone with a Yahoo/Overture pay per click account should study their traffic logs carefully (don't rely on the reports from Yahoo) and lodge a formal complaint with Yahoo! if spyware connections are involved as outlined in Ben's report. Don't take click fraud lying down! Especially when it's lining the very pockets of the company that denies it exists. I am investigating my own Yahoo! account and will post here if I find any click-fraud issues.