PPC Guerilla Tactics - Click Competitors

[aardvarkads]

Sorry if this post is in the wrong category, but I didn't see a general PPC cat.

I have an e-com client who I use PPC to promote on providers like Overture, Google and business specific sites, like Bizrate. I track and compile a lot of data via query string from all PPC advertising.

I recently noticed that one term received a grossly dissproportionate amount of hits per purchase conversion rate on one specfic PPC provider. The ad term was being clicked on enough to make it the highest click rate term in the entire campaign on this particular PPC provider by a large margin; yet the product hardly sold.

While this isn't a large, corporate level ad campaign, we still spend a couple of grand a month on PPC. So, I don't believe this is just a freak anomally. I suspect that a competitor is repeatedly clicking this keyword, via script or manual slave wage labor, in order to drain my campaign's ad funds.

I am wondering:
1) Has anyone else seen this in their campaigns?
2) Has anyone heard or read of any preventitive measures Google, Overture, et al, have in place or plan to do to prevent this?
or
3) Am I just paranoid? :)
Regardless of whether or not you think I am paranoid, it seems to me that this could be a valid tactic to leverage out small/medium size players in the PPC world.

[flood6]

This article was popular recently and was published everywhere. It explains that there are peolple being paid to click on clients' AdSense ads.

This only works where cpc ads are displayed on small publishing sites because the small publishing site makes the money and gives a cut to the clickers.

One possible solution would be to pull the ads from "partner sites" and only allow the ads to be displayed in the serps and on larger established sites where they would be less likely to engage in paying clickers.

[bhartzer]

Be assured that all of the PPC programs have very extensive fraud measures in place to combat these sorts of things.

If you have a problem with one particular term, I suggest you contact the program immediately and report it so can be addressed.

[chelle60]

I've noticed that we get tons of phone calls from so-called SEO companies and on-line promoters who are apparently clicking our ads in Overture in order to get to our phone number on our web site. During certain times of the year (like last month, pre-Memorial day, end of school), every single phone call of this nature we got was about promoting us with keywords containing the term "bikini" or "prom." Our clicks for both these terms in Overture skyrocketed but the conversions didn't change at all from the previous month.

While it's possible that the clicks are just the result of more shopping and fewer conversions, I find it somewhat disturbing to think that advertisers out there who know we advertise with Google and Overture are clicking our paid links simply to get our contact information, then calling me and expecting me to welcome them, like they're my secret weapon in online advertising, when they've already cost me who-knows-how much by clicking on my ads and not making a purchase.

[gene02]

you are not the only one that has this problem with keyword like boat transport in april we had the same problem on the PPC there is some safety net in place if I recall correctly there is like a 2hr. charge block on IP address with overture not sure about the rest.

[bicycleguy]

Hi Aardvarkads-

I have seen the same kind of thing you are talking about with a few of our PPC ads. There are a couple of programs designed to reduce click fraud, check out

http://www.whosclickingwho.com/ &
http://www.keywordmax.com/click_auditor.html

Looks like neither one of them actually prevent fraudulent clicks but they act as monitors to gather information and identify who is clicking your ads. One of them has a deterrent feature.

Does anyone here have any firsthand experience with either of these programs?? I have only limited experience with them. Perhaps people interested in preventing clickfraud would like to hear more about them from other members. Comments anyone?

[makeyoursoftware]

Folks, even we have been try to figure out, but i was wondering are these tools more than the Web Stats Services.

I think one can only track IP & its Origin, May be Implant a Cookie, Is there any other method or a way to track further.

I know application like this below, THE APPLICATION GENERATES FAKE IP HITS

http://www.i-faker.com/

the application generates Unique IP HITS with all detailed information like different broswsers , OS & lot.

the Application can be installed run Online & on Desktop [I have not tested] but it can generate fill forms as well as per their new version.

How much powerfull could be the Offline application, cookies can easily be cleaned up.

I was just wondering how do web Stats or these Auditors handles these FAKES HITS.

[DrTandem1]

Gee, it was just a short time ago on another thread similar to this one that I was being maligned for suggesting that this occurs regularly. Of course, I suspect that the people disagreeing were people in the industry that prey on unsuspecting clients to sell PPC and associated applications.

Even Google has admitted that it is concerned with illegitimate click-throughs to their AdWords service. However, that doesn't stop them from selling it. I have yet to see a PPC scheme that worked for the actual web site being promoted and I have not seen any refunds from the service providers.

Personally, I sent one provider (Overature) absolute evidence of dishonest click-throughs by a competitor. Their response was that they did their best to dissuade such behavior, but could not control it and wouldn't issue a refund unless they themselves detected the fraud. Talk about the proverbial fox watching the henhouse...

PPC guarantees one thing...fraud. It's an application by the search engines that has no way of protecting you against such fraud. If your client simply wants to see their web site on the first page of results for their desired keyword, then by all means use it. However, caution your client that it will result in no significant ROI, if any. Explain that their unscrupulous competitors can and will click away at their account.

Notice how Google has recently changed the appearance of their AdWords. They no longer use the colored background. They use faint font reading, "Sponsored Links." Obviously, Google realizes that people avoid ads or anything that looks like an ad. This is a blatant attempt to confuse the actual results with the sponsored results. My question to Google is, "Why do you spend so much time, money and secrecy on your algorithms, if you're simply going to accept money for a top listing?"

Others, such as Yahoo! use bold font, but align the sponsored results the same as the actual results. They then place these sponsored results above and below the actual results. At least they are up front using the bold font announcing the sponsored links.

However, nothing made to fool the average searcher will prevent the dishonest click-through from competitors and/or pranksters. PPC is a waste of money.

[amberstar702]

One of my clients is an event ticket broker. He does very, very well with Google Adwords but states that one particular competitor with a number of computers in their offices will click continuously on several of his keywords. So far, it has only been an annoyance and not a serious interference with his income but he is frustrated with the lack of control by Google to remedy this problem.

If anyone comes up with an answer, we would appreciate knowing what it is.

Regards,

[DrTandem1]

That's my point. Google can deal with it, but won't. None of them will. Your friend just looks at it as the cost of doing business and I'm sure passes it on to the consumer with the already inflated prices of the tickets. Thanks Google.

[goinggolf]

We've had a similar problem in the last few weeks, we had a problem with a competitor and our adword clicks thru rate for those competing products went from around 10% to over 40% and sales never changed.

This went on solidly for 2 weeks and we informed Google, who responded with a standard email explaining that they had systems in place to deal with it. They suggested that if we were still convinced of click fraud we would have to supply them with all sorts of data in order for them to carry out any kind of investigation.

Luckily our competitor either got bored or decided to play fair as everything has returned to normal, but I am neither convinced nor confident of Google's ability to stop this kind of practice.

[meganjenna]

hii

Please can you explain me how to do PPC with example. Actually i want traffic and visitors to my site. i came to know that traffic will be getting by doing PPC. Please explain me with example iam new to PPC.

Please give response eagerly waiting for your reply...