What Is Click Fraud & What Does It Look Like?

Click fraud is a type of online fraud that occurs when a person or automated script clicks on an online advertisement with the intention of increasing the advertiser's cost or depleting their budget without any intention of genuinely showing interest in the product or service being advertised. Click fraud can be done by competitors, unscrupulous publishers, or sometimes by people who want to earn money through pay-per-click (PPC) programs.

Click fraud is an issue for online advertisers, and it can have a significant impact on their marketing budget. It can reduce the return on investment of an advertising campaign and can even cause an advertiser to stop using online advertising altogether.

Click fraud can take on many forms. Some common examples of click fraud include:

1. Manual Click Fraud: A person or a group of people manually click on ads to increase the number of clicks and drive up the cost of the campaign.
2. Bot Click Fraud: Automated scripts or bots are used to simulate clicks on ads. These bots are programmed to click on the ad repeatedly, making it look like there is genuine interest in the product or service being advertised.
3. Competitor Click Fraud: A competitor of the advertiser clicks on the ad to drain the budget and reduce the advertiser's visibility in the search engine results pages.
4. Publisher Click Fraud: Some publishers may use click fraud to earn more money from the PPC programs. Publishers may use bots or manual clicks to increase the number of clicks on the ads on their website.
5. Device Farming Click Fraud: Some fraudsters use device farms, which are collections of smartphones or computers, to simulate clicks on ads.

Click fraud can be difficult to detect, but there are some common signs that can help advertisers identify click fraud. If an advertiser notices a sudden spike in clicks on their ads, it may be a sign of click fraud. Other signs may include a high number of clicks but a low conversion rate or very high click-through rates, or clicks coming from the same IP address.

The image on the above shows sites that have very high click-through rates. The image below shows sites that have around the same number of viewable images but no clicks attributed to them. They are also reputable sites. The placements above are likely using click fraud to increase their earnings.

To protect themselves from click fraud, advertisers can take several measures. For example, advertisers can set up filters to prevent clicks from certain IP addresses or locations. They can also use fraud detection services provided by some advertising platforms.

In conclusion, click fraud is a serious issue for online advertisers, and it can have a significant impact on their marketing budget. Advertisers must take steps to protect themselves from click fraud, including using fraud detection services and setting up filters to prevent clicks from certain IP addresses or locations. By being vigilant and proactive, advertisers can reduce the impact of click fraud on their campaigns and ensure their marketing budget is being used effectively.