How to Protect Yourself From Click Fraud
Click fraud is defined as clicks to an ad, or series of ads, that were shown to have been fabricated. There are several reasons why click fraud happens, like botnets that use computers from different IPs to launch a directed attack on the industry. It’s a problem that touches all of us, even if you are not directly affected by click fraud in your campaigns. That’s why it’s so important to know the signs of click fraud, and to work with your ad exchanges to provide data when you find it.
Of course, click fraud is not something you can stop on your own. Still, you can make yourself nearly impervious to click fraud if you take some precautions to protect yourself.
Target by Location and Interest
Buying viewable impressions is an excellent way to keep your traffic numbers high and cut the chances of click fraud occurring. If you target users by location, it is much harder to spoof a location consistently, which reduces the potential damage click fraud can do to you. Targeting by interest also reduces the number of hits your ad receives, thereby reducing your chances of getting targeted by fraud.
Targeting by location also reduces click fraud from countries outside of your home. Countries with lower rates of labor tend to employ people for the purpose of clicking on ads, so you can avoid that altogether by keeping your ads local.
Monitor Everything
Ad exchanges limit information on their inventory, but you can still gather information about where leads come from based on the data they provide. Be wary of obviously faked data, and stay vigilant for sudden spikes on the positive or negative side.
Bio: Ted Dhanik is the co-founder and CEO of engage:BDR. Ted Dhanik specializes in display advertising, and has helped grow segments in mobile and video as well. Ted Dhanik, and the team at engage:BDR, help businesses of all sizes to grow their leads through targeted traffic.
