The Wall Street Journal today had a front page article on Click Fraud. The article is currently available online to the public, but may have a limited shelf life, so click now.

Click fraud is an underhanded/illegal attempt that some companies use to undermine the pay-per-click advertising of a competitor. Pay-per-click ads appear as "Sponsored Links" on search engine result pages (SERPs.)

Advertisers bid for the right to appear as Sponsored Links for certain search phrases and pay Google or Yahoo each time they receive a click. Click fraudsters click on their competitors ads repeatedly with no intention of buying, just to increase their advertising bill at the end of the month.

This can result in inflated advertising bills or a loss of prime advertising real estate for the victim.

Click fraud is "the biggest threat to the Internet economy," Google’s chief financial officer, George Reyes, said during a December investors conference.

I think he meant it is the biggest threat to Google’s economy, but in any case, it is something that every pay-per-click advertiser should be aware of, just as every investor should be aware that past performance is no guarantee of future returns.

Click fraud appears to be more wide-spread in certain niches that are more competitive in the pay-per-click arena. The WSJ story focused on private jet charters, and referred to words valuable to class-action lawyers, such as mesothelioma.

Search engines like Google and Yahoo that reap huge returns from pay-per-click advertisers have it in their best interest to crack down on fraudulent clicks, as a loss in faith for this type of advertising would dry up their biggest cash cow.

Rich Brooks
You Can Click Me For Free