FRAUDULENT CLICKS

WordPress Meta Data Optimisation

They’re hoping you’ll panic and stop running your PPC ads because you’re worried about the bill. Your competitor will then get all the clicks and sales once you’ve shut down your ads.

This also happens when site owners pay individuals to click ads on their own websites so they receive part of the ad revenue paid by advertisers. The more expensive the keywords the bigger the payment, and the greater the problem.

You can take measures to eliminate click fraud and prevent it from completely diminishing your advertising budget. We’re going to go over some of the techniques you can use to help avoid this pernicious type of fraud.

Don't forget to also check out our PPC audit guide for some extra campaign optimisation tips.

1) What Are Your Competitors Doing?

See who is competing with the keywords you’re using in search engines, there are companies which offer click track reports which will detail the number of clicks your ads get from your direct competitors. They often give free trials so you can use them and see how they work for you.

2) High-value Sites

Both Google and Yahoo will let you set up an ad campaign to run ads on any number of websites, however you do need to watch out for low quality websites as these is a greater risk for click fraud, so stay away from them.

Being choosy about where your ads are displayed will have a much better chance of avoiding this type of fraud.

If you'd like to take a more hands-off approach and have your PPC campaigns managed for you instead, get in touch with our team of experts today!

3) Specific Countries

Only advertise in certain countries as this will help to avoid being caught out by click fraud. You’ll find that in countries where the pay is low, some people will be paid to endlessly click on adverts, so don’t run those ads in countries where you could be a victim.

4) Track Advertising Campaigns

You need to track your campaigns and monitor what they’re doing. In Google you can use Account and Campaign Performance so you can monitor the percentage and number of clicks which Google will have categorised as completely invalid. There are also a number of independent campaign tracking services which specialise in tracking every aspect of a PPC campaign.

5) Different Bid Prices

Limit the amount of times you are going to pay per click. By limiting your exposure and limiting your placement of ads, you’ll give yourself a fighting chance of avoiding click fraud. You don’t want your ads to appear on just any old website just because it’s relevant to your keyword, be vigilant, set different bid prices for specific content targeted sites.

6) Software Programmes

If you invest in a software programme that generates reports, you’ll be helping yourself to identify content-targeted websites which may be sending an alarming amount of visitors to your site. With some programmes you can prepare a fraud report should you need to produce evidence in the future.

PPC Fraud – Let Us Help You Win

PPC advertising is an extremely important part of your campaign, so don’t let click fraud win. It’s crucial to your marketing mix, and without it you could miss out on making sales. If you follow our tips you have a fighting chance of stopping click fraud happening to you.

To see whether you need to fine tune your ad campaign to avoid fraud, call NOW 0800 110 5923 and let us give your campaign a FREE PPC Audit to help you get one step ahead.

And don't forget about landing pages.