How to Avoid Click Fraud
Prevent fraudulent clicks with a few simple steps!
Many business owners choose to advertise their businesses online with pay per click (PPC) advertisements. However, when these ads are utilized incorrectly, it can involve a lot of fraudulent clicks. Fraudulent clicks are when online users accidentally click on an ad that they have no interest in. Many websites post ads in ways that trick users into clicking them, which means that there is not ROI for the ads that business owners are paying for. Sometimes, ad publishers will find ways to click on the ads multiple times themselves, in order to generate more money for themselves. Or, ad competitors will generate false clicks on an ad to use up their competitor’s budget early. To find out if your pay per click ads are targeting the right demographic and gathering a good ROI, read on.
- Monitor your clicks. If you suddenly notice a huge spike in the amount of traffic your ad is generating, consider checking the IP addresses to find out where the clicks are coming from. Usually, a spike in traffic—like going from a steady 100 clicks per day to suddenly 400+ clicks per day—is not organic, but rather, is from an unwanted source.
- Check the IP addresses. All of your clicks should be coming from unique IP addresses. If you notice a lot of duplicate IP addresses, shut your ad account down temporarily. It’s possible that someone is using bot technology to generate a multitude of clicks, but since the clicks are all coming from the same place, it’s not actually drawing any new customers to your site. Take some time to re-evaluate your ad strategy while your ad account is down. This will save you from using up your entire PPC budget.
- Set up IP exclusions. Sometimes, you’ll notice that a lot of clicks are coming from the same areas. This could be from a competitor or from a “click farm”, which are often located in poorer countries with lower labor rates. You can adjust your ads to avoid specific IP addresses or to discontinue targeting whole areas. Just remember to consider the true clicks you’ll be cutting off; if you are getting more true clicks than fraudulent clicks from a specific area, then it may be a better choice to continue targeting that area, and try to find an alternative way to block the fraudulent clicks.
- Target your audience. Try to use geographical tools as much as possible. You don’t want your ads showing up on California-based websites when you only cater to Maryland residents. Rather than broadening your ad reach, narrow it down to local areas where you expect the most customers.
Adventure Web Interactive
If you are concerned about fraudulent clicks, contact Adventure Web Interactive for help with your advertising management.
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