Interesting article, Google, Click Fraud and Invalid Clicks about Google and click fraud, by Matt Cutt’s colleague Shuman Ghosemajumder. There’s at least two categories that I don’t see addressed in the article. Maybe I read it too quickly. Twice.
- Identifiable robots. Some spiders identify themselves not just by behaviour but in the user agent and IP address. Does Google already include these in invalid clicks?
- Targeting. If Google delivers adverts to lower quality click sources, without advertiser control or notice, is that ethical? Does it, in fact, constitute a class of publisher click fraud?
I’ve had an article in preparation about these issues for weeks. I must make the time to complete it, before the industry moves on!
Richard Ball wrote,
Pssst, have you seen:
http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2006/12/the-twelve-ways-of-click-fraud.html
Check out #12 on the list. And my delightful comments. ;-)
Link | December 14th, 2006 at 5:47 pm
Jeremy Chatfield wrote,
Hi Rich@Apogee! Thanks for the link. And your comments :)
Interesting - I’ve a few niggles with it. I’m no fan of the way that Google treats advertisers. Their internal view appears to be that all advertisers are greedy scamsters, that agencies are even worse, since they are also stoopid and that AdWords API programmers are the worst of the bunch being greedy, stupid and incompetent enough that uniquely of all Google’s API users they must be charged a fee just in case they waste Google’s resources.
However, I think the “12 ways” casts undue doubt on rising revenues. I think I’ll articulate in an article, not a comment… Too long for a comment!
Link | December 14th, 2006 at 7:39 pm