Anura PR Team
Every new year presents an opportunity for a clean slate. But that doesn’t mean we’ve left the previous year’s problems behind. Ad fraud isn’t going anywhere. Staying one step ahead of fraudsters requires a proactive approach.
To strengthen your defenses against ad fraud, make these six resolutions for 2019.1. Assess Your Providers
Constantly test your providers and not just ad fraud providers, but your data providers, too. You don’t owe loyalty to your third-party vendors. You owe your loyalty to your company and to your clients.
It’s your job to make sure the right tools are in place to give your clients the best possible product that your company can offer.
2. Evaluate Current (and New) Tools
Not only do you need to be testing your providers, but you also need to be evaluating your current and new tools in the marketplace. There’s no better time to test than Q1 when everything settles down.
Source: Pexels
Depending on your needs, you may find you’ve outgrown a current tool and that a new solution is a better fit. Make it a part of your annual resolution to at least test your tools yearly.
3. Question Your Traffic Sources
Advertisers need to question publishers about traffic sources. The type of traffic a publisher needs can potentially put an advertiser at risk for ad fraud. Ask publishers if they’re purchasing traffic, too.
Sometimes publishers will mix in quality traffic sources alongside seedy traffic in order to get a higher margin (and to pad their numbers). Also, ask publishers if they do programmatic advertising so you can monitor campaigns for red flags.
Publishers also need to question advertisers about their traffic sources, too. Advertisers might be purchasing their traffic from a traffic broker. Some traffic brokers purchase traffic generated from bot farms, passing that bad traffic onto advertisers who pass it onto publishers.
4. Test Your Demand Side Platforms
More than 70% of publishers use Demand Side Platforms (DSPs) for media buying. Failure to test DSPs can lead to several problems. With no benchmark, it’s not possible for publishers to accurately know if they’re getting the impressions that generate the most value.
More importantly, it’s been proven that fraudsters can beat viewability. Make sure you’re testing your DSPs to stay on top of any signs of fraud.
5. Monitor Your Campaigns
If you aren’t already, make it a point to better monitor your campaigns. Don’t rely on machine learning to catch fraud. Fraudsters like to stay under the radar, and you still need to deep dive into data. Tacit knowledge is what enables you, not machines, to detect small anomalies that indicate fraud is lurking.
Source: Pexels
6. Invest in an Ad Fraud Solution
In 2018, advertisers lost an estimated $19 billion to ad fraud. Start the year off right by strengthening your defenses against fraud by implementing an ad fraud solution. Not only will you stave wasted ad spend, but you’ll be improving your brand safety and boosting your performance by ensuring your campaigns are being seen by real users.
