Click Forensics: Click Fraud up 16%

According to the latest report from Click Forensics, click fraud rose more than 16% in Q4 2007; that is an increase of more than 2% from Q4 2006 and a 0.4% increase of Q3 2007. Fraudulent traffic from botnets increased 15% over Q3 2007.

by Kristina Knight

In 2007, technology seemed to "help" click fraud. Bots are the leading cause of click fraud, accounting for thousands of fraudulent clicks each day. However, bots aren't the only problem. Because there aren't standardized rules for the pay-per-click industry, it is hard for companies to determine just how many fraudulent clicks are made.

Frank Addante, founder and CEO of The Rubicon Project says the biggest problem with click fraud is that the industry isn't standardized. He says with no clear-cut rules as to what is/is not click fraud, it is impossible to really know how many clicks really are fraudulent.

"Online advertising is still too hard," said Addante. [Advertisers] have to trust who is giving the data. One person's click is not another person's and any time advertisers don't get the results they want they turn to the platform for answers. . .[this] puts the burden on the advertisers to sort through, and not all advertisers have the time or money to keep up."

The Rubicon Project is a web-based, self-serve platform that offers all sizes of websites easy access to all of the available ad markets; it matches each ad impression with optimal money-making opportunity.