Arrest Shows Google's PPC Vulnerability

[Garrett]

Michael Bradley, recently arrested for his boneheaded attempt to extort money from Google, is a wake up call to the PPC industry.

He claimed to have developed software that would automatically click on Google ads, potentially costing both Google and their advertisers millions of dollars.

Once he'd developed his software he offered it to Google for $100k. When he didn't hear back from them he threatened to release the program to 100 spammers and the public at large. He also offered his services as a click fraud consultant.

The FBI has him on tape, in Google's offices, making his "pitch."

Now consider a smarter click fraud engineer. His software allows fraudsters to type in competitor's names and then crawl the web clicking on AdSense ads where his competitor's ads appear. Perhaps it even clicks on AdWords ads for your competitor's search terms.

Instead of trying to extort money from Google, this click fraud engineer sells his software to unscrupulous marketers, allowing them to steal their competitors' ad budget.

Well, click fraud software already exists. I found some discussed in this WebMasterWorld thread (http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum81/462.htm). While I've never seen any advertised, I'm sure if you know the right people, or search terms, it would not be hard to find (I couldn't find any when I searched on "click fraud software").

How widespread is the use of PPC fraud software? I don't have any numbers. How widespread is manual click fraud? Again, not much talk from Google and Overture regarding the percentage of fraudulent clicks.

Because of this lack of information advertisers have to rely on anecdotal evidence from forums to determine the rate of click fraud, and the problem with this type of information is that it's only the most upset and indignant advertisers writing in, and is often biased against PPC.

I read an article recently from an organic SEO firm that argued against using PPC ads. The author pointed to click fraud as the main reason marketers should (pay him to) organically optimize their sites.

So if you're using PPC what can you do?

First off, watch for paid clicks that don't have corresponding page views. Be sure you're tracking everything separately, down to the keyword.

If you have to make a fraud claim, be sure that you've documented everything - including emails to whoever's hitting you with drive by clicks and emails to and from your PPC provider.

Finally, consider click fraud prevention software. Here are a couple I found but have not tested (and really, what more could they do than analytics software? The best defense is a good offense.)

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

So here's what I'd like to see from PPC providers - more information on click fraud prevention, both what they're doing and what advertisers can do. Documented click fraud percentages would be nice too, and bring some much-needed transparency to the PPC industry.

I used this article on CPC Click Fraud (http://www.alchemistmedia.com/CPC_Click_Fraud.htm) for research.

[WebMetro]

Not all industries have experience severe click fraud yet. But it is only a matter of time.
One thing you can do to protect yourself from fraud... keep you log files! Most PPC engines will look through your log files incase of fraud and give you a refund. It's your best defense.

[vincentg64]

The issue is discussed in details at
http://www.datashaping.com/security.shtml

[cbp]

Before rushing off to this site:

The issue is discussed in details at
http://www.datashaping.com/security.shtml

Check this article on them:
"The Latest in Sleazy Marketing Tools"
http://www.clickz.com/experts/ad/lead_edge/article.php/1492481

CBP

[awall19]

He was actually going to sell the software to 150 people for $1000 down and $250/month. April 1st he also wanted to launch a program called the reaper which would click on ads on a competitors site to kick them out of the adsense program.

The Internet News lead editor saw my Autoclick Software blog post (http://www.seobook.com/archives/000214.shtml) covering this guy on the 14th and called me today. He wrote an article (http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3329281) about him today.

[bjbtexas]

Google seems relatively harmless compared to others in the industry of PPC. I however don't go after the high dollar first place rankings.

Other PPC and Paid Inclusion sites:

• 7Search
• Brainfox.com
• Enhance Interactive
• ePilot
• Findology
• FindWhat
• Findit-Quick.com
• goClick.com
• Google Adwords
• Kanoodle
• Looksmart
• Mr. Wordsmith
• Overture
• Search123
• SearchBoss
• Searchfeed.com
• Smartseek
• Xuppa
• My Geek
• Mamma

I have found Kanoodle to be one of the fastest ways to drain your account on worthless clicks from unknown sites and meaningless affiliated search engines.

[Alchemist]

Hi Garrett,

Firstly, I thank you for the credit to the click fraud info page on our site. Much appreciated!

Click fraud is a problem. Anyone who has attended SES and heard me rant on and on about it has some sense of the elements involved - and just how "rascally" the issue is. It is simply a matter of time before it is addressed properly by the ppc engines and by legal means. I'm working on it... :-) Lots of good info to come.

Thanks again. FYI, for any advertisers who have substantial log/tracking data that looks suspicious and would like assistance in analyzing it for fraud, I would be happy to help. I currently do this at no cost for a few companies, so feel free to send data my way.

Regards,
Jessie Stricchiola
jessie-at-alchemistmedia.com

[webhoster]

Well Garret, now this is a post we can work with. Much better than many of the google rants.

PPC, originally touted as THE effective and cost effective way to advertise... Turns out to be one of the most expensive ways to advertise,,, and the cat is out of the bag. It's riddled with fraud. From the largest PPC providers including Google and Overture, to the smallest or rippoff psuedo niche search engines.

You cannot prevent PPC fraud. Any more than you can positively the indentify anyone ordering something online at time of order. The internet never has been, and never will be a secure place to do business of any kind. It's the Wild, Wild, Web, not the World Wide Web. Anything goes. We do the best we can within those contraints, to protect ourselves.

SO WHAT DO YOU DO:
The sooner the consumer wises up to the fact that PPC is a big ripoff for the consumer, and a big money maker for the search engines, and BOYCOTTS PPC programs,,, the sooner we can get rid of it and go back to paying for advertising based on number of impressions purchased. The way advertising on the internet started. The way advertising traditionally works in the real world and works well. The way it should go back to. If only the consumer forced it on them, would they do. The large advertisers make too much money on PPC to make a change on their own.

[treborc]

I have yet too and based on the amount of negative feedback about PPC I never will be using this type of marketing.

[webhoster]

Hi treborc,

That is a nice concept. We so far have been able to avoid it as well. But, only because we started our SEO almost 2 years ago and have had good success with our rankings until now. If not for that, we would be forced to use PPC.

The real search engine world is a monopoly controller by a handfull of big players who garner almost all of the serious searching traffic. These players collude to a degree and have fixated on PPC because it is proven to be a very good money maker, though it has not proven itself a cost effective form of advertising for the consumer. Basically these big players can do whatever they want. Chances are that until there would maybe be some kind of anti-trust action against them in the future, they will continue to push the consumer into classes and methods, so to speak, to suit themselves.

[Webmaestro]

Our little company (5 employees total) has been hit twice with PPC fraud on Overture. However, on both occasions, the Overture customer service team jumped right on it, and refunded our money for all the fradulent clicks.

In both cases, it was pretty obvious. The search terms in question averaged about 20 clicks per day... then suddenly jumped to almost 300 one day (on both occasions).

I hope our Google AdWords campaigns don't get hit with PPC fraud, because Google's customer support seems to be non-existent. I'm not sure where I'd go to for help in that situation. The last thing I'd want to do in such a situation is have to send an email... then wait... and wait... and wait.

[TrafficProducer]

What ever happened to fraud protection code at PPC engines to prevent click fraud?

Asking PPC engines for money back is costly in time and the PPC engine may not wish to believe that the clicks are not real people.

[Dave Hawley]

If not for that, we would be forced to use PPC.

IMO, ppc is only good for creating *additional* sales. It should also be an *option* never a necessity.

For me, Google AdWords is miles ahead of all others. Sure, I make a comfortable living without the use of AdWords, but make a *better* living with them.

The worst time to delve into PPC is when you *need* to. Do it now, and learn the ins-and-outs, while you are not worried if it increases sales or not.