03 August 2006 | Author: Alastair Wright

Click measurement working group formed to tackle PPC fraud

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Media Rating Council (MRC) announced on Wednesday the 2nd of August that they are forming a Click Measurement Working Group to help tackle the growing problem of PPC fraud. We at bigmouthmedia have been keeping a close eye on this issue of late and are pleased that such measures are being taken.

The IAB, founded in 1996, represents member companies who are responsible for selling over 86% of online advertising in the United States. The MRC is a non-profit industry association established in 1964 at the behest of the US Congress to ensure advertising audience measurement services are valid, reliable and effective. They are jointly forming the Click Measurement Working Group with the objective of creating a set of Click Measurement Guidelines which will form part of the broader Global Ad Impression Guidelines, as launched in 2004. Greg Stuart, CEO of the IAB, stated that:

"Click Measurement is the next phase of the interactive industry's groundbreaking Global Measurement Guidelines initiative. These guidelines demonstrate our continued commitment to being the most accountable advertising medium and providing marketers with the highest possible level of transparency."

Advertisers will be reassured by this announcement as recent click fraud headlines have raised serious doubts about the Web's trustworthiness as a marketing vehicle despite it being promoted as the definitive way for companies to gauge their exposure to potential customers. Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, defines the problem well:

"Click fraud occurs in pay per click online advertising when a person, automated script, or computer program imitates a legitimate user of a web browser clicking on an ad, for the purpose of generating an improper charge per click."

Estimates put such fraud at $1 billion over the past four years, though the search engines dismiss these figures as gross exaggerations. There's no doubting, however, the seriousness of the problem with PPC commissions ranging from a few cents to more than $20 per click, depending on the key words used in the search. One of the most obvious online fraud opportunities is where web publishers, affiliated with the search engines, gain from an increased number of clicks through their own sites. Advertisers in sectors such as travel, law, and gaming are those most exposed at the more competitive end of the commission range.

A Google statement on the subject confirmed that they have been:

"...the target of individuals and entities using some of the most advanced spam techniques for years. We have applied what we have learned with search to the click fraud problem and employ a dedicated team and proprietary technology to analyze clicks."

These fraud-detection technologies are helping advertisers analyse their traffic on sites that generate a high number of clicks with very few sales.

The establishment of 'Click Measurement Guidelines' will provide marketers with a standard for the consistent and reliable measurement of their performance-based-marketing and allow for independent auditing against the complete guidelines. In all, this should provide advertisers with added security for their internet advertising investment.

"I applaud the IAB for continuing to take a leadership role in the creation of Measurement Guidelines across all platforms of the Interactive medium," said George Ivie, Executive Director and CEO of Media Rating Council. "Agencies and marketers should feel assured that the Interactive industry is striving for increased reliability and consistency through the guideline-setting process and through their support for audits."

The Click Measurement Working Group is open to all IAB Members. Companies who have confirmed their participation so far include Ask.com, Google, LookSmart, Microsoft, and Yahoo! The fact that these rivals are teaming up to fight click fraud shows how potentially damaging they believe it could be to the billion dollar search industry.

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