Neowin.net - Google opens click-fraud Web site

Google opens click-fraud Web site

Posted by Emil Protalinski on 18 August 2007 - 21:07 · 9 comments & 4351 views

Google has launched the Ad Traffic Quality Resource Center, an online "resource center" concerning click fraud, which many consider a potential threat to the search giant's main source of revenue: Pay-per-click advertising. In the pay-per-click format, advertisers pay every time someone clicks on their ads. Click fraud happens when companies click on competitors' ads to drive up their ad spending or when Web publishers click on their sites' ads to increase their commissions. With some organizations estimating click-fraud incidence at over 30% in general, Google has gone on the offensive in researching the topic in question – the resource center is the latest in a series of click-fraud tools Google has been making available to its advertisers.

Google also proactively monitors its network for what it calls invalid clicks, which include not only malicious clicks but also innocent practices that may look like click fraud, such as clicking on an ad twice. It has concluded that less than 10% of clicks on Google ads are invalid and that only 0.02% are declared invalid as a result of advertisers' complaints. Google has also questioned the methodologies of companies that provide click-fraud monitoring and measurement services. As well, Google offers a service called IP Filtering, which lets advertisers "blacklist" certain IP addresses. In mid-2006, Google began reporting to advertisers the number of invalid clicks to their campaigns, as well as what percentage they comprise of all clicks.

Link: Ad Traffic Quality Resource Center

News source: InfoWorld

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#1 Posted by +Berserk87 on 18 Aug 2007 - 21:20: about time.

i keep seeing websites poorly designed with no purpose other then the person spamming his own google ads trying to get money....

#2 Posted by Unwonted on 18 Aug 2007 - 23:06: I have honestly never clicked on a Google ad. Heck, I've barely even seen one since I installed a hosts file. These click fraudsters are just making up for people like me

#3 Posted by hava333 on 18 Aug 2007 - 23:41: Bulls**t they let users blacklist IP addresses. If they did that I wouldn't be banned from the service.

#4 Posted by Croquant on 19 Aug 2007 - 00:19: I just block any and all ads that I see. Makes life a lot easier for me.

#5 Posted by night_stalker_z on 19 Aug 2007 - 01:14: Ive never been bothered by Google ads since they are text only. Ive seen some Microsoft ads which are 200x600 though which takes up half my browsing area. Those are annoying.

(2 replies) #6 Posted by ]SK[ on 19 Aug 2007 - 07:53: I haven't seen a Google advert since installing adblock plus.

#7 Posted by Julius Caro on 19 Aug 2007 - 11:50: I've never clicked on any, maybe once by mistake.
Some websites do encourage visitors to click on ads, as a way to support their website. But that's still fraud to me

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