Search Engine Providers Team Up Against Click Fraud
Following several lawsuits and criticisms from advertisers, the leading search engines providers have decided to work together with two advertising trade groups to measure ‘click fraud’.
Click fraud is when the advertisers are billed for bogus traffic generated by repeatedly clicking on the ad link to overcharge a rival’s marketing costs or to increase their ad revenue.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the non-profit Media Rating Council said they are teaming with Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Ask.com, LookSmart and others to form the Click Measurement Working Group.
The team will work on ways to define valid clicks and invalid clicks on ads. The IAB said the guidelines will outline an industry-driven auditing and certification recommendation for search engines, online ad networks, third-party ad servers and other companies that make money from clicks.
According to vendors who sell click-fraud combatting services, fraud rates are as high as 30 percent. Google and Yahoo counter that click fraud rates are minimal.
