SEL: More on Click Fraud

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Search marketing in the new media era.

April 18, 2005

More on Click Fraud

I'm not sure how much steam is left in the click fraud story, but it continues to be the hottest topic in search.

The Washington Post takes a look at the recent lawsuits and scandal surrounding potential click fraud. So how do the search engines tackle click fraud?

"Google is notorious for just flat out ignoring advertisers," Jessie Stricchiola said. "Google says, 'Thank you for your inquiry. We see no problem.' Sometimes Google does not even look at the data, and they give the most ridiculous explanations. Yahoo tends to be more proactive. That is because they have the people, more so than Google," which Stricchiola says views click fraud "as a purely technological issue."

I still take the approach that while click fraud may continue to grow, it will be no more of a problem than shrinkage is to the bricks and mortar retailers (ie. a problem, but not one that will cause the channel to collapse).

Some industry experts strike a measured tone. Andy Beal, vice president of KeywordRanking.com, an Internet marketing firm, says that click fraud may be growing as online advertising increases but that it is not a fatal flaw. Instead, he advises advertisers that click fraud is just a part of doing business on Google and Yahoo. He likens it to retailers who face the intractable problem of merchandise theft but remain profitable.

"People will take it for granted there will be some clicks of a suspicious nature, but the advertising model will be robust enough to withstand that," Beal said. "I don't think it is going to be an epidemic."

Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |

...the search industry queries new media