I recently wrote an article about click fraud and today’s article is about showing examples of how to minimise the risk of becoming a victim of click fraud. First, let’s recap on what it is, followed by a few examples on how to avoid click fraud.
What is click fraud?
Click fraud is a black-hat technique of clicking on pay per click ads to generate fraudulent charges for advertisers, which is seen on multiple advertising networks—Google AdWords being the most popular. Whenever this problem occurs, businesses run into the risk of being charged beyond their forecasted expenses, getting delisted by Google’s algorithm, or even getting permanently banned from the platform itself.
The sad truth about Google Ads click fraud is that it’s perpetuated by competing businesses that are a little too desperate for an advantage over other firms. At this point, unfair advertisers are doing all they can to hijack their competitors’ ads expenses by driving up their costs and forcing them to meet their budget caps early in the day, and you could be one of their victims.
Related article: What you need to know about click fraud?
A growing issue for today’s businesses
Through the Internet’s help, today’s businesses have an array of money-making opportunities that they can capitalise on through well-built Google Ads strategies. However, the problem is that the same opportunity-packed nature of the platform also means that it has its respective pitfalls—one of the prominent being click fraud.
Although it may not seem like much at first, click fraud is a significant issue that any business owner should be aware of because it costs tens of thousands of businesses $51 million dollars collectively daily. Unfortunately, many companies fall prey to the problem of fake clicks that cause them to lose more customers and opportunities.
What can you do to minimise your risk of experiencing click fraud?
At this point of your journey into the world of Google Ads, you’re probably thinking that Google’s own Ad Traffic Quality Team and anti-click fraud program are more than enough to protect you. Although such solutions are definitely making a difference where it counts, it’s still essential to take on additional methods and practices that can further improve your safety levels.
5 examples of how to avoid click fraud
To help ensure that your business gets to successfully circumvent the threat of AdWords fraud as best as it should, here are some examples of successful approaches on how you can avoid click fraud:
- Limit your exposure in different locations. Google Ads allows you to stop showing ads in specific postcodes where fraudulent clicks may be coming from.
- Only target high-value websites within Google Display Network
- Running remarketing campaigns to exclusively target actual customers that are most likely to convert after spending a meaningful amount of time on your website
- Investing in fraud detection software for round-the-clock protection. There are a number of click fraud softwares out there, such as Clickcease, ClickGUARD and more.
- Hire a PPC freelancer to monitor and manage your Google Ads campaigns.
Conclusion
While being on the Internet and using digital marketing is an experience that will set your business up to face various risks over time, Google Ads click fraud is something you should be especially aware of. Once you consider the key points mentioned above, you’ll be able to ensure that you can help your digital marketing strategy remain protected and robust without the risk of black hat interference!
If you’re looking for a Google Ads PPC Freelancer in Melbourne that can help your business fight Google AdWords fraud head-on, SKCreative is here to help. Get in touch today for a free consultation.
