The Modern Rules of Click Fraud Protection

Click fraud is a type of fraud where the perpetrator profits from an automated click on an advertisement on a website. This can be done using software or by paying someone to click on your ad. Click fraud is becoming increasingly common and can cause serious losses for advertisers. It can be difficult for companies to detect this type of crime, but there are ways to do so effectively and efficiently with the help of a professional service provider or technology partner. In this article, we will understand how click frauds work, and how to protect your business from the fraud itself and its consequences.

What exactly is "click fraud"?

Click fraud is a form of internet fraud that occurs when a person or company clicks on an ad to generate revenue for the marketer. It's also known as clickbait fraud and is not detected by ad networks. Click fraud is a major problem for marketers because it makes it difficult to determine what kind of return on investment (ROI) they're getting from their campaigns. Click fraud is a major problem for advertisers. It can be difficult to detect, and by the time you find out that click fraud has occurred, there is almost nothing you can do to stop it or to reverse negative effects. Your budget is gone and the money you spent on the campaign may have been wasted. What's more, your brand reputation may suffer as users become dissatisfied with the content they see in their news feeds or search results pages - they don't want to see ads from companies they don't trust!

Types of click frauds

Click frauds come in dozens of forms. Some can be pretty simple to both implement and detect, others can require specific knowledge and usage of various internet technologies. Let's learn more about the most common types of click frauds.

Clicking farms

Such "farms" are considered to be the most popular type of fraud-related activities on the internet. Scammers hire real people and offer them a simple task. These "employees" have to click on specific advertisements for certain periods of time or numbers of clicks. Such a fraud scheme is not only illegal, but also highly immoral, since it exploits the labor of people who live in the poorest countries of the world. Sometimes click farms try to be more advanced than their competitors by teaching their workers special clicking techniques that will create the illusion of clicks from different real people.

Bots

Bots made more than a half of overall internet traffic in the world. Of course, they are used for click frauds too. They exist in various forms and can be used as a malware or as a part of the outside code on the computer of someone's else. For most of the time, bots are nearly impossible to track and are usually detected randomly. IP addresses and other info from such bots can look organic and create false data.

Domain spoofing

One of the simplest methods of click frauds that is still popular despite its quick detection. Sites with a low-quality content is presented as a popular label or brand, creating a fake expression of a reliable source. Domain spoofing is used in a variety of frauds, not only click ones.

Incentivized clicks

this type is on the verge of being legal. Companies can use different methods to motivate users to click on the necessary ads by offering some type of rewards in return. This method is especially popular in gaming sphere, where users are promised to receive in-game currencies or rare items that usually costs real money. The problem is that users who are attracted with incentivized clicks are not interested in the product in the ads. As the result, the advertisement campaign fails to complete required tasks.

Pixel stuffing

is a popular method where a fraud publisher loads ads, or an entire website, all within a 1×1 pixel on their site. The advertiser is charged, but the ads are unviewable by humans.

Ad stacking and fake "buttons"

This method arranges advertisements or even entire elements on a website in a way to provoke an unnecessary click on a link. As a result, user can open a dozen of various links without opening a required content. It leads to reputational damage for brand, as the user stops trusting both the original source of the ad unit and the brand that is presented in that advertisement. Some scammers can use this method to infect users gadgets with malware.

Pixel stuffing

Scammer publish ads or other links very close to each other in a 1x1 pixel format. The advertiser gets charged as usual, but users can't even see the advertisement itself.

How to protect your brand from click frauds

Protecting your business from click fraud is a smart investment, and there are several ways to do it. Click fraud protection helps protect your business from click fraud by monitoring what is and isn't legitimate traffic. The best way to protect your business from click fraud is to use a service that automatically detects and protects against suspicious activity on your website.

Click fraud protection is an important part of maintaining a successful online presence. It's important to be able to track how many clicks your ads are getting, so you can optimize your campaigns and stay ahead of the competition.

A great example of this type of service is Google Analytics' Click Fraud Detection algorithm (CFDA). CFDA uses machine learning technology to detect fraudulent clicks on high-traffic, low-conversion websites - meaning it can spot patterns that human analysts might miss. The algorithm also provides insight into how much money has been lost to fraud, so businesses know exactly how much damage has been done by scam actors who want nothing more than to steal from them.

Another way to protect against fraudulent clicks is to install plugins or software on your website's CMS platform (such as WordPress). These types of tools work similarly to CFDA in that they automatically detect suspicious activity. However, they may not be as effective because they rely on manual input rather than machine learning algorithms like CFDA.

Another way to protect your brand from click fraud is to create dedicated landing pages. When someone clicks on one of your ads, they're taken to another page where they can download software or sign up for something free. These types of landing pages often take users through surveys before they are given access, and these surveys allow click fraud detection software to get information about how long people spent exploring content versus how long they took to just click through without reading anything.

Click fraud protection is a great way to protect your business. It's important to make sure you're using the best tools available and to stay on top of trends that could affect your business. If you want to learn more about brand bidding protection and other important steps to secure your business - contact us.