Buzz Marketing with Blogs: “Click Fraud”

“Click Fraud”

If you haven’t already, check out a story titled ”Web Marketers Fearful of Fraud in Pay-Per-Click” published today by the New York Times. “Click fraud,” as it is called, is apparently on the rise:

There is evidence that at least some scammers are clicking away at the ads, or having programs called hitbots or clickbots do it for them, with the knowledge that each click costs an advertiser money. Some of the troublemakers are disgruntled employees; some are companies trying to force competitors’ ad spending up; some are even Web page operators who let search engines deliver ads to their sites and then collect a cut when people click on those ads.

Scary? I’m dubious about this—of course it’s happening, but is it likely to happen to every company that advertises online? Of course not. It’ll happen to companies with problems—with publicity, ex-employees, a bad product. In short, it’s usually a byproduct of some kind of mistake the company makes in the short- or long-term. I, for one, don’t think it’s entirely a shame that there is away to make a company you’re unhappy with feel a little dent in the pocketbook. Conceptually, anyway, I love that the Internet is still a place where the individual can take on the corporate monolith.

OK, now I’ll get off my high horse and admit that yes, of course it should be eliminated and prevented and that many companies are or will be unfairly targeted. But I still belive most click fraud is a symptom of a larger illness.

The good news for businesses suffering from click fraud is that Google and Overture do have fraud programs in place, though they are cagey with the details of how they work.

Posted by Susannah Gardner on 03/03 at 08:10 PM • Marketing