Analysis shows 8 ad networks are 100% fraudulent

While there is no denying the benefits for advertisers and publishers working with ad networks, choosing the right network has never been more important. One new report finds several networks are fraudulent. TUNE analyzed more than 24 billion clicks from 700+ ad networks.

by Kristina Knight

Their results: 8 ad networks that were 100% fraudulent, 35 networks with at least 50% fraudulent clicks; the average fraud rate across all networks: 15.17%. The full results can be found here.

Iasked a TUNE expert why fraud is so prevalent across networks.

John Koetsier, Mobile Economist, TUNE: If fraud is over 50% on an ad network, it's seriously shady. In an adtech landscape with 1000+ ad networks, some are bound to be owned by unscrupulous characters.

Kristina: Why didn't we know before that the fraud rates were so enormous?

John: We've known that ad fraud is high, and there are reports that estimate fraud costs marketers up to $16.4 billion a year. What I'm not sure we've had before is a systematic study of over 700 ad networks checking each of their fraud percentages individually.

Kristina: What can be done, at this point, to correct the situation?

John: Ad networks need to take the initiative to know what traffic, clicks, impressions, and installs they are delivering from their publishers. The problem is that most of them don't have the tools to do so at scale, in real-time. TUNE is offering this service to ad networks, using the same tools we use to help marketers root out fraud in their ad spend.

More from John and TUNE later this week, including his top 3 tips to find an ad network without high fraud problems.

Tags: advertising, advertising fraud, advertising network fraud, advertising networks, advertising trends, TUNE