Your How to Combat Ad Fraud in Digital Marketing Page Title

Marketing or advertising has never been at the crossroads than before. Technology has indeed proved to be a double-edged sword for the industry. There has been an increase in fake news, clickbait journalism and ad fraud. If no major action is taken by major search engines then this could turn out to be a major problem in future. Nonetheless, there have been concerns by internet users across the world and most of them are fighting back through the use of ad-blocks. Some people might not be affected yet or even if they have, it is on a low scale. However, Google attests that ad fraud is real and it affects everyone who uses the internet.

How serious is ad fraud?

Ad fraud did not start this year or last year. It has been in existence since the advent of the internet. However, the problem has become persistent and has become a major concern for Google and other search engines since it directly or indirectly affects their users. It was until 2015 that Google started taking substantive actions in a bid to combat fraud in digital marketing, a move that resulted in the removal of about 8.8% of clicks in its blacklist filter. The problem has however persisted and according to a recent research done by Juniper Research; businesspeople lose close to $51 million in a day on advertising.

Despite the efforts being made by Google and other search engines, there are several challenges that keep cropping every day. For instance, fraudsters are also becoming smarter and according to BuzzFeed, LinkedIn and YouTube are often being used to design pop-under ads and redirect traffic in order to make traffic appear legitimate.

Types of ad fraud

Before proceeding further, it is important to demystify what ad fraud is. Most people only associate ad fraud with bot trafficking. However, ad agencies, as well as publishers, also commit different forms of ad fraud.

Ways on how to combat ad fraud

The following are some of the ways through which internet users can fight prevent or combat ad fraud.

Measure conversion rather than clicks

As a user, it would be appropriate to consider switching your bids to more actionable

metrics like lead forms or conversions. This technique should be applied if you are advertising on an open marketplace.

Use ad verification tool

If you are using a private pragmatic network, it would be imperative to employ people who will audit your website. You can even use several third-party verifiers to be more secure.

Use Credible platforms

It is a fact that most people are still using traditional advertising methods on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. Nonetheless, you need to use such networks at your own risk while exercising a lot of caution since Google and Facebook are also still grappling with the same problem.

Don’t depend on a machine

It is important to take control over your campaigns and manually implement them rather than automate every advertising process. If for example there are other parties involved, it is advisable to demand transparency about their policies with regard to ad fraud.

In general, internet users and advertisers are the major victims of ad fraud. However, there is much that can be done by both services providers as well as users to combat the scourge.