Battling Click Fraud One Click at a Time

There is a crucial debate since a few months about the issue of click fraud. In a very interesting article, Jennifer LeClaire (http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=02300243EWSR) details what is at stake and what the industry is doing. "While Google and Yahoo are trying to curb pay-per-click fraud, some say their solutions are not enough. In the meantime, quality publishers are taking control in the war against click fraud by bringing inventory management in-house rather than syndicating ads to large ad networks. By providing a source of traffic and positive ROI, publishers are able to prove their value directly to online advertisers" explains Jennifer LeClaire. "It's an issue that is costing search engine marketers millions of dollars each year. Click fraud is the act of repeatedly clicking an online advertiser's pay-per-click ad with sinister motives. Since the advertiser has to pay for each click the ad receives, fraudulent clicks can be very costly when foul play is involved. Take, for example, the competitive vendor who wants to bleed his rival's ad budget dry. Or, it could be an angry customer who is trying to get even with a merchant."