Key Takeaways
- Click fraud is paying for inferior clicks.
- It’s typically caused by bots, competitors and accidental clicks.
- Signs of click fraud are odd traffic patterns, low click through rates and multiple clicks from the same IP address.
- It can be prevented by monitoring, targeting and doing anti-fraud work.
- It’s easy to detect and prevent fraud with a plan, such as a 5-day plan.
- Little checks every now and then can be a money saver.
What is Paid Media Click Fraud?
Click fraud is when you receive fake clicks on your online advertisements. It could be bots, competitors attempting to use up your budget or even random clicks.
The result? You’re paying for “junk clicks”.
This occurs with Google AdWords, Facebook Ad and other pay for advertising. And may lead to a negative return on investment (ROI).
Why Click Fraud Matters
Click fraud is not just an annoyance, but a monetary problem.
- Paying for bad clicks: Click fraud is wasted advertising dollars
- Less ROI: Less return on investment
- False data: Wrong analytics
- Poor decisions: Bad insights = bad strategies
Advertisers need to know how to detect and prevent click fraud in paid media.
Common Types of Click Fraud
1.Bot Traffic
Computer bots click on the ads.
2.Competitor Clicks
Others click to steal your money.
3.Click Farms
Others click to steal your money.
4.Accidental Clicks
Stuff happens, particularly on mobile.
How to Spot Click Fraud
Look out for:
- Significantly higher clicks and no increase in conversions
- High bounce rate (bounce)
- Clicks from the same IP address
- Geographically unusual traffic
- Very short session durations
If you have two or more of the above, you should investigate.
The Empowered Teaching Set Up Challenge (5-Day Plan)
Now here’s a quick set up to learn, run and track click fraud.
Day 1: Know Your Stats
First, check your stats.
What to do:
- Look at average CTR (Click-Through Rate)
- Review conversion rates
- Identify top-performing campaigns
- Objective: Know what is “normal”.
Example:
If you are used to getting 5% conversions and you suddenly get 1% conversions, something is wrong.
Day 2: Traffic Quality
Today we’ll look at the traffic sources.
What to do:
- Review geographic data
- Look at device (mobile vs desktop)
- Look at session duration
Practical Tip:
Deny traffic from countries where you don’t operate but receive large volumes of traffic.
Day 3: Suspicious Behavior
Investigate abnormal behavior.
Look for:
- Repeated clicks from same IP
- Clicks at odd hours (2am clicks)
- High clicks with zero engagement
Tool Tip:
Look for patterns in Google Analytics reports or ads platform reports.
Day 4: Prevent
Take action to prevent it.
Steps to take:
- Block suspicious IP addresses
- Exclude irrelevant locations
- Adjust ad targeting
- Use negative keywords
Example:
If you have invalid clicks from a country, then don’t allow clicks from that country.
Day 5:Use Protection Tools
Do it by hand, use tools.
Use:
- Click fraud detection software
- Ad network security options
- Rules to automatically suspend campaigns
Objective: Protect in the long term
How to Reduce Click Fraud
1.Use IP Exclusion
Don’t let serial offenders see your ads.
2.Focus on Targeted Audiences
Targeting minimises accidental clicks.
3.Monitor Campaigns Daily
Check for errors in 10 minutes.
4.Optimize Ad Placement
No ads on bad sites on display networks.
5.Track Conversions Closely
It’s all about the results
Relatable Example
Say you have an online shop.
- You get 500 clicks per day (normally 100)
- Sales remain the same
- A majority of the clicks are from a country you don’t service
This is clearly click fraud.
Solution:
- Block that region
- Review IP activity
- Tighten targeting
In a few short days your Cost Per Click (CPC) decreases and your conversion rate improves.
Tips You Can Use Now
- Set alerts for unusual traffic spikes
- Compare weekly performance data
- Pause campaigns showing abnormal behavior
- Use UTM tracking to analyze sources
- Start small with ad spend
Quick Recap
- Click fraud is expensive and uninformative
- Look out for peaks and valleys
- Have a 5-day plan to detect and resolve problems
- Use both manual and automated process
- Be persistent – prevention is an ongoing process
Conclusion
Click fraud may be hidden, but it isn’t harmless. And it’s not rocket science to stop it. Be vigilant and take action to combat click fraud Conversion Rate Optimization your advertising. Be vigilant, be aware and be analytical.