In an effort to insulate themselves from criminal charges, and to create as much havoc as possible,
some advertisers will employ clickbots, or programs that search for and click on PPC links to drive
up prices. These clickbots are usually automated and very often can’t be traced back to their “owners.”
Click fraud is also conducted by a program called Paid-to-Read (PTR). Underhanded businesses hire
readers to read and click through PPC ads. Again, this can be costly, but even more worrisome is the
fact that PTR schemes are difficult to track because multiple people using valid IP addresses are
clicking through the ads. It’s much harder to track multiple individuals than to track a single individual
using some repetitive activity or clickbots to commit click fraud.
Click fraud is monitored by watching the sources of PPC traffic. If a large number of clicks come
from the same IP address, it’s obvious that fraud is being committed. Often, though, this isn’t the way
it happens. Criminals use IP alternating software programs to click on ads. These clicks appear to
come from legitimate site users.
Another indication of click fraud is if a number of ad clicks also seem to come from the same time
frame (for example, 100 clicks over the course of 10 minutes). Monitoring traffic patterns is one way
that anyone committing PPC may be caught.
In the past, anyone caught conducting click fraud schemes would receive what equaled a slap on
the wrist. Today, however, many search engines are being made to answer for click fraud and the
costs that PPC users are having to pay because of it, so those search engines are cracking down. If
you get caught conducting a click-fraud scheme, you could face stout fines, and possibly even a
criminal prosecution that could result in jail time.
Click fraud is a serious crime. Don’t be victimized—and don’t be tempted to do it yourself.
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