What is Click Fraud? How to Detect and Prevent It

What is Click Fraud? How to Detect and Prevent It

Pay-per-click advertising has been the go-to digital marketing method for decades As PPC continues to grow, so too does the threat of fraud in this space. Pay per click search ad spending is expected to reach $260 billion by 2028. (Statista)

With so much money flowing into PPC advertising, fraudsters see it as a big opportunity to cash in Click fraud has been a problem from the start, and has only increased with time. So how can you detect and prevent ad fraud in your PPC campaigns?

What is Click Fraud and How Does It Work?

Click fraud is a form of advertising fraud where technology is used to inflate clicks on pay-per-click ads. This could be perpetrated by devious affiliates seeking quick earnings, fraudsters willing to use their technical knowledge for malicious intent, or even the publishers themselves to increase ad revenue.

A sudden drop in your ad budget with a rise in conversions is often the first red flag. Effective click fraud detection can help identify these suspicious patterns early, preventing unnecessary losses. Because this kind of waste costs digital marketers billions each year.

But how exactly do fraudsters target PPC campaigns with click fraud?:

Botnets

One of the most common types of click fraud is botnets. This is a network of real user computers controlled by fraudsters using malware. These zombie computers are directed to drain an advertiser's budget by generating fraudulent clicks.

This type of click fraud is difficult to detect because the source IP addresses of the clicks come from real but infected, visitor computers. As a result, IP blacklisting efforts become less effective. Fraudsters exploit the real user’s history, cookies, and profile to blend in, making their activity appear legitimate with a track record of actual conversions.

Click Farms

Click farms are like a human version of botnets. Rather than controlling computers with malware, fraudsters hire workers in developing countries to click on digital ads all day. Because real human visitors are used in this strategy, catching this type of advertising fraud can be incredibly tough.

Ad Injection

If your computer is infected with malware, it may be used for ad injection. While you browse on websites, the malware injects ads into them without anyone’s consent. If you click on the ads, the advertiser gets charged. This weakens the the ad performance because the audience isn’t properly defined and targeted.

Domain Spoofing

Another form of click fraud is when fraudsters create replica websites with nearly identical URLs. These fake sites are then filled with ads to generate fraudulent clicks. This is known as “domain spoofing.” If you’ve ever landed on a website that looks identical to a major site like Target or BestBuy but it has a URL with a .net instead of .com at the end, you’ve witnessed domain spoofing firsthand.

What Can Be Done to Prevent Click Fraud?

So how do you prevent click fraud, and what are the best practices for click fraud detection and click fraud prevention? Understanding how to detect click fraud is the first step in protecting your ad campaigns. As you can see, fraudsters leverage technology in crafty ways that are nearly impossible to detect with the naked eye.

Working only with reputable advertising platforms can help prevent your ads from being targeted by click fraud. Although the prospect of getting massive reach for a low price is appealing, it often comes with the risk of click fraud.

That said, click fraud can still plague any PPC advertising campaign. The only real way to spot it fast enough to take action is by leveraging machine learning. That’s where Anura comes in. By analyzing hundreds of data points and IP addresses in real-time, PPC advertisers can act in real-time to stop click fraud in its tracks.

Protect Your Business from the Impacts of Click Fraud.

Anura delivers a powerful solution for fighting advertising fraud. Using our click fraud protection software and click fraud prevention services, you can detect and prevent click fraud to maximize your campaign ROI. Enjoy the peace of mind that you’re not paying for clicks generated by fraudsters.

Get started with a free trial today to see exactly how much you could be saving from click fraud.