Recently I got the chance to listen to an expert on Ad fraud, Dr. Augustine Fou. Over the years he's worked with companies like American Express, Intel, Mastercard, Exxon Mobile, Nikon, General Mills, Verizon Wireless etc..
( point being, the man is damn good at his job)
Anyhow, for those of you at the stage of sourcing and buying traffic for your business- I thought you might find find this relevant. Here's a video on ad fraud, followed by my own recap- which consists of an overview of the metrics to look for if you're wondering if you've got a bot problem.
Just how BIG of a problem is digital ad fraud? Let’s put it in perspective in relation to other crimes committed.
Money Lost Per Year
Why?
Ways To Recognize Ad Fraud And Stop It
The URL is a dead giveaway when it comes to determining if a site is fraudulent or not. Sometimes it will be obvious, as the URL will just be keywords thrown together from the niche.
Example: “www.michaelkors.com” vs. “www.cheapdesignerhandbags90%off.com”
Other times it will be less obvious, and the URL will be a slight variation of the real deal.
Example: “www.usbank.com” vs. “www.usbonk.com”
Often, the devil hides in the details. Simply looking at the metrics for your advertising can reveal problems.
Click Through Rate (CTR)
A typical click through rate when you have 100% real human traffic is going to be under 1%.
If you hear your advertising agency tells you that you have an 8% CTR, you might have bots.
100% Viewability:
Fraudsters stack all their ads above the fold to ensure 100% viewability. When dealing with humans, due to variations in site responsiveness and how long visitors stay on the site…. this is impossible to guarantee. If a publisher offers this, stay far away.
Time Spent On Website
Bots don’t waste time hanging around on your website. Their job is to click on your ad and get paid. If you’re noticing that the vast majority of visitors are spending mere seconds on your website, something is up.
An Extremely High Bounce Rate
A bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who leave your website without clicking on any of its other pages. Humans click around and explore your website. Usually bots don’t, because there’s no monetary incentive for them to do so.
Scrolling/ Mouse Movement
These metrics can be faked, but the majority of fraudsters don’t bother. Humans have high scrolling and mouse movement rates. Bots don’t.
Traffic Patterns
When viewing graphs of traffic, ones with lots of extreme highs and lows can be a tip-off that you’ve got a bot problem.
The reason for this is the publisher is simply turning their fire hose of bots on and off. One day there are tons of visitors, and the next day there’s almost none.
When a site is gaining REAL traction, it looks like a steadily increasing upwards curve.
---------------
If you find this interesting, Here's a more detailed version complete with graphs and shit.
Low-Cost, No-Tech Ways to Fight Fraud vMiMA.
( point being, the man is damn good at his job)
Anyhow, for those of you at the stage of sourcing and buying traffic for your business- I thought you might find find this relevant. Here's a video on ad fraud, followed by my own recap- which consists of an overview of the metrics to look for if you're wondering if you've got a bot problem.
Just how BIG of a problem is digital ad fraud? Let’s put it in perspective in relation to other crimes committed.
Money Lost Per Year
- Bank Robberies: 38 Million
- ATM Malware: 1 Billion
- Somali Pirates: 18 Billion
- Counterfeit Goods (U.S): 20 Billion
- Payment Card Fraud: 22 Billion
- Ad Fraud (U.S Only): 31 Billion
Why?
- There’s no ACTUAL federal law against it. Therefore, law enforcement does nothing to stop it. If you’ve been peddling meth, it’s high time you switched businesses.
- As you might have guessed, It’s extremely lucrative. Profit margins range from 80- 99%.
- It’s also very scalable. Once a fake website is created, fraudsters can slap as many ads on them as their evil hearts desire.
- Impression (CPM) Fraud: This involves creating fake websites and putting tons of display ads on the pages. Scammers simply just copy and paste the layout and content from legitimate successful websites, and BINGO- they’re in business.
- Search Click (CPC) Fraud: Here, fake websites are built for the sole purpose of participating in search networks. Scammers use bots to type in the keywords that the client has paid for. The bots then click on the client’s ads, generating CPC (cost per click) revenue.
Ways To Recognize Ad Fraud And Stop It
The URL is a dead giveaway when it comes to determining if a site is fraudulent or not. Sometimes it will be obvious, as the URL will just be keywords thrown together from the niche.
Example: “www.michaelkors.com” vs. “www.cheapdesignerhandbags90%off.com”
Other times it will be less obvious, and the URL will be a slight variation of the real deal.
Example: “www.usbank.com” vs. “www.usbonk.com”
Often, the devil hides in the details. Simply looking at the metrics for your advertising can reveal problems.
Click Through Rate (CTR)
A typical click through rate when you have 100% real human traffic is going to be under 1%.
If you hear your advertising agency tells you that you have an 8% CTR, you might have bots.
100% Viewability:
Fraudsters stack all their ads above the fold to ensure 100% viewability. When dealing with humans, due to variations in site responsiveness and how long visitors stay on the site…. this is impossible to guarantee. If a publisher offers this, stay far away.
Time Spent On Website
Bots don’t waste time hanging around on your website. Their job is to click on your ad and get paid. If you’re noticing that the vast majority of visitors are spending mere seconds on your website, something is up.
An Extremely High Bounce Rate
A bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who leave your website without clicking on any of its other pages. Humans click around and explore your website. Usually bots don’t, because there’s no monetary incentive for them to do so.
Scrolling/ Mouse Movement
These metrics can be faked, but the majority of fraudsters don’t bother. Humans have high scrolling and mouse movement rates. Bots don’t.
Traffic Patterns
When viewing graphs of traffic, ones with lots of extreme highs and lows can be a tip-off that you’ve got a bot problem.
The reason for this is the publisher is simply turning their fire hose of bots on and off. One day there are tons of visitors, and the next day there’s almost none.
When a site is gaining REAL traction, it looks like a steadily increasing upwards curve.
---------------
If you find this interesting, Here's a more detailed version complete with graphs and shit.
Low-Cost, No-Tech Ways to Fight Fraud vMiMA.
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