Reports of click fraud with PPC campaigns, especially with Google Adwords, are on the rise, and researchers estimate the numbers are in excess of $1.6 billion as of 2008. Click fraud occurs when a competitor may be clicking on your ads to break your ad budget, or when someone installs a web robot or spider to generate fraudulent clicks on your ads.
PPC networks, including Google Adwords, confirm the existence of click fraud and are working hard to solve it. All we can do as PPC advertisers is to tweak our campaigns to reduce the risk of click fraud. Here are some tips for safeguarding your campaigns:
1. Keep an eye on your click through rates. It is easy to review your click-through rates and conversions with Google. You can even print out a daily or weekly report to monitor any bizarre activity. You might also want to reconcile your click-through rates with your actual web site traffic report. Check for IP addresses and websites that access your site regularly.
2. Set-up a daily budget. Limit your advertising costs on Adwords by setting up a budget. Your budget should be at a reasonable level allowing you to maintain it for several months. If you are a target of click fraud, your losses will only be limited to your specified budget.
3. Lay down a daily click limit. Adwords managers would do well to setup a daily click limit, according to Bruce C. Brown, author of the book "The Complete Guide to Google Advertising". This allows you to track the number of clicks on your ads. Once the click limit has been reached, your ad will disappear from the Adwords network.
4. Limit your Ads to certain locations. Using the geographic location feature is one of the best methods for safeguarding your campaigns against fraudulent activities. Research where your target market is mostly based and focus on running your ads only in certain countries or regions. It would be a waste of money to run ads on regions you won't do business in.
5. Don't be enticed by the free offers of some PPC programs. Some PPC companies offer free services, products or downloadable software to get you to sign-up with them. Be careful in accepting these offers, more so if you have to download a software that 'oversees' your keyword campaigns. Some hosting companies do offer Adwords 'credit' to sign up with them. These are generally safe as long as you are dealing directly with Google Adwords.
You need to report your experience directly to Google if you think you were a victim of click fraud. Google investigates click fraud cases with their own fraud protection team. Report your case as soon as possible to get your campaign back on course.
PPC networks, including Google Adwords, confirm the existence of click fraud and are working hard to solve it. All we can do as PPC advertisers is to tweak our campaigns to reduce the risk of click fraud. Here are some tips for safeguarding your campaigns:
1. Keep an eye on your click through rates. It is easy to review your click-through rates and conversions with Google. You can even print out a daily or weekly report to monitor any bizarre activity. You might also want to reconcile your click-through rates with your actual web site traffic report. Check for IP addresses and websites that access your site regularly.
2. Set-up a daily budget. Limit your advertising costs on Adwords by setting up a budget. Your budget should be at a reasonable level allowing you to maintain it for several months. If you are a target of click fraud, your losses will only be limited to your specified budget.
3. Lay down a daily click limit. Adwords managers would do well to setup a daily click limit, according to Bruce C. Brown, author of the book "The Complete Guide to Google Advertising". This allows you to track the number of clicks on your ads. Once the click limit has been reached, your ad will disappear from the Adwords network.
4. Limit your Ads to certain locations. Using the geographic location feature is one of the best methods for safeguarding your campaigns against fraudulent activities. Research where your target market is mostly based and focus on running your ads only in certain countries or regions. It would be a waste of money to run ads on regions you won't do business in.
5. Don't be enticed by the free offers of some PPC programs. Some PPC companies offer free services, products or downloadable software to get you to sign-up with them. Be careful in accepting these offers, more so if you have to download a software that 'oversees' your keyword campaigns. Some hosting companies do offer Adwords 'credit' to sign up with them. These are generally safe as long as you are dealing directly with Google Adwords.
You need to report your experience directly to Google if you think you were a victim of click fraud. Google investigates click fraud cases with their own fraud protection team. Report your case as soon as possible to get your campaign back on course.
