PPC is one of the most important and most profitable tools of online marketing. PPC gives almost instant results because it attracts the right audience to your website with the right copy or videos. Unfortunately, even PPC is not an absolutely safe way of traffic generation despite the fact that you pay money for it! Google click fraud has become a real threat for many online businesses today. 89% of online businessmen neglect click fraud monitoring and don`t even know that up to one-third of their users are not real users but bots. Google says that click fraud is “a rampant phenomenon”, and it shouldn’t be neglected. There always will be people who would love to earn with the help of scams and fraudulent activity. That is why it’s so crucial to learn how to detect click fraud now.
Mehbot -the Largest Google Click Fraud
Few years ago one Internet security company discovered the mind-blowing operation of “ the army of zombies”, or, in other words, the army of bots that depleted the resources of advertisers. The software that generated the army of bots was called Mehbot and it was created by Russian hackers who earned as much as $5 million! These bots clicked on video ads and exhausted the budget of online businessmen ( video advertising is very expensive). It was almost impossible to detect click fraud because their behavior was really similar to the behavior of real users. They could start the video and stop it at any moment, and only some specific behavior patterns could indicate that these were bots, not real people. Of course, the hackers had their own servers running this dangerous software but they also managed to infect as much as 8 million users. So many people didn’t even suspect that they have downloaded malware accidentally by downloading free programs on the Internet. The infectious software can even be installed after clicking on some advertisement or following the link in a suspicious type of blog.
Why It’s Necessary to Detect Google Click Fraud
Unfortunately, Mehbot is not the unique case of Google click fraud. There are plenty of scams that can make you spend your money on advertising and get you nothing in the end. Some companies use “pixel stuffing” type of scam in which huge banners that are supposed to attract visitors` attention are squeezed into small squares not noticeable for users. They are regarded as impressions by Google and are absolutely useless for advertisers. Some websites can arrange ads in layers so that only one ad is visible for users while the rest remains unnoticed. Online marketing specialists know dozens of tricks and scams that involve bots. Some ad buyers understand that the high traffic is stimulated by bots but they actually don’t care because they receive money for it. It`s a high time to learn how to detect click fraud because the number of ad fraudsters is growing with incredible speed. Moreover, they often operate from the regions of the world where they can be hardly detected. Even Google can’t reach them in those places.So Google click fraud monitoring in this case is useless.
Methods of Click Fraud Monitoring and Prevention:
- Set distinctive bids for content-focused platforms
Diminish the threat of losing money by constraining the sum you are set up to pay per click. It will help to prevent Google click fraud. Don`t choose any platform to place your ad, be picky and demanding.
- Advertise only in those countries where you will sell
Don’t spend money on advertising all around the world. In some countries with high unemployment rate people are paid some money to click on ads instead of bots ( yep, this Google click fraud is also possible). So don’t waste your money on faraway lands in which click fraud monitoring is impossible.
- Watch out for your rivals
This is a very important aspect of click fraud monitoring as rivals are those who are always interested in Google click fraud possibilities. Don’t use magic thinking, some people just want to earn more. Screen who is rivaling your keywords in the web search tools as they could potentially be the one responsible for click fraud on your website. Many services offer free snap following reports that points of interest the quantity of snaps on your promotions that originate from contenders and other normal wellsprings of extortion. There is software designed to detect click fraud effectively that helps many online businesses to run a successful PPC campaign.
- Keep an eye on your advertising campaign
You can’t prognoze what you don’t analyze on a daily basis. Good analytics are those people who can track daily changes and make relevant conclusions. Thus, click fraud monitoring on a daily basis is a must. If you are unable to do it, you’d better hire specialists. Though Google is unable to detect all Google click fraud, it provides users with tools that show users` behavior. Campaign Performance and Account Performance are such tools, and you should learn how to use them effectively as they will help you to detect click fraud. Learn all you can about AdWords. Some clicks Google see as not real and these tools will show you them.
- Choose only most popular websites with good reputation
Cheap websites are where you should never have your ads because you’re not protected from Google click fraud there. The owner of the website might hire bots. Most popular search engines enable you to set up promotion battles that lone run advertisements on the destinations you determine, in this manner maintaining a strategic distance from locales where unscrupulous income producing may happen.
- For God`s sake, buy the software that can detect click fraud professionally
If you have noticed some unusual users` behavior on your website or if your competitors are planning to exhaust your budget by paying for bots, you should definitely buy professional click fraud monitoring software. It will allow to detect all suspicious activity and block it forever. Click fraud monitoring software is a long-term investment that will pay off to you really soon. It`s actually the best way of click fraud monitoring.
Investing in PPC is one of the most reliable ways of reaping the harvest fast. While SEO requires time, PPC gives instant results unless you spend your PPC money on click fraud. So don`t forget to do click fraud monitoring.