Click fraud appears in the context of pay-per-click advertising, where an advertiser on a Web site is charged a small amount each time a visitor clicks on the ad, thus generating revenue for the Web site owner. Click fraud is when a person, automated script, or some computer program tries to imitate a genuine user in order to increase the number of clicks, thus generating illegal revenue for the Web site owner.
"Competitive click" is a method of click fraud with the intent of depleting a competitor's advertising budget. Click fraud is a serious issue resulting in many lawsuits. Click fraud is expected to reach $1.6 billion in 2008, an increase of over 45 percent from the current value.
You should be concerned about click fraud in the following cases:
1.)You publish a Web site and allow advertisers to run ads on it under a pay-per-click arrangement. In this case, you should take precautions that click fraud is not happening on your Web site, or you could be held liable.
2) You advertise on a Web site. In this case, you should avoid advertising on Web sites that are unprotected from click fraud.
Protective Measures
Practices
- Advertise only on reputable Web sites. Only run your ads on trusted Web sites. Additionally, check whether the Web site runs click fraud detection software or uses other means to prevent click fraud.
Tools
- Click fraud detection software. Click fraud detection software is available that detects suspicious clicks, especially from spyware and adware. The links section below refers to additional resources and software on this topic.
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