Advertisers seek help at Yahoo's Traffic Quality Center

Online marketers who want to learn more about click fraud and possibly protect their online campaigns from such practices may find a friend in Yahoo. The search marketing giant recently launched the Traffic Quality Center which, among other things, educates marketers about online advertising campaigns.

by Kristina Knight

With a Frequently Asked Questions section, a blog, an area for click investigations and a tip sheet, Yahoo is hoping advertisers who log on will learn a bit more about online advertising before signing up for their first - or fiftieth - online marketing campaign.

Click fraud is one of the biggest concerns for online marketers. According to a recent report from Click Forensics click fraud on content publishing networks rose from 21.9% in Q1 2007 to more than 25% in Q2 2007. Much of the problem is from bots, computers that are set up to forward information including spam and viruses to other computers using the Internet. Many owners of these computers aren't even aware that their computer is part of the problem.

According to the website, "One part of our efforts to ensure that our customers are satisfied with their advertising experience and receive value from our traffic is our use of the Click Protection System, which is designed to help detect click fraud and invalid clicks."

Part of the Traffic Quality site will allow marketers to actually launch a click fraud investigation if they feel something has gone awry with an ad campaign. Users can also learn how to better monitor the incoming traffic to ensure that the traffic is quality and not simply bot traffic.