Search engine marketing is a billion dollars of fraud in the industry, but click a threat to business search engine advertising and online marketing alike. Campaigns Pay-Per-Click ads are a simple concept, advertisers bid on search keywords most popular and pay the search engine companies ad every time someone clicks on their ads. It is a mutually beneficial relationship for the advertiser and the search engine company. The problem comes when the numbers of advertisers and their accounts are falsely inflated through click fraud.

What is click fraud?

Boris Mordkovich of Search Marketing Standard, a magazine devoted exclusively to search marketing, click fraud is defined as "everything clicked on an ad with no intention of actually buying or looking for information, but rather with the intention of depleting the budget of the advertiser. "

Who is behind this?

Who would benefit from deliberately running his bill? For starters, its competence. The ads at the top are always targeted by the ads a little further down the page. And if your competitor clicks on your ad several times a day or a few times a week, the search engines will not be aware of such a small amount. Does not seem much, but what can really add up, especially when you have multiple competitors do. So only a dent in your budget until you can no longer afford to advertise on the search engine.

Another common source of click fraud is search affiliates. When webmasters get a reduction in revenue from ads on their sites often play the same game as its competitors. They quietly clicks on your ad and increase your account and its benefits-one click at a time.

"It Could Happen to You" "Fight Back

When you think you have found a case of click fraud, you need to collect your information:

1. questionable clicks
2. keywords that are clicked
3. when you click, and
4. country where the clicks originated.

You can do this yourself by monitoring your server logs and see increases in unusual activity or repeated clicks from the same ISP address. Or you can get a third party to research for you. Clickclub.com, AdWatcher.com and WhosClickingWho. com are examples of services that will analyze which of the clicks are valid and will submit all relevant information in an organized report. This service can cost between twenty and one hundred dollars per month.

You can send this information to its search engine and request an investigation to obtain a refund. Mordkovich warns that you should expect some resistance, but said that "it is important to raise the issue to a supervisor." If the search engines is taken seriously, look at their claims.

The key to not becoming a victim of fraud, click is to be aware. See the sources of clicks. Check the server logs. Beware of the peaks. Consider a third-party watchdog if necessary. Click fraud is both real and frequent. So use a little caution and you can save a lot of money down the road.