The business of click fraud prevention is growing almost as fast as the search engine advertising industry itself.
The search engines themselves deal with a lot of the automated and other types of click fraud before advertisers are ever invoiced. However, this does not mean that identifying click fraud should be left solely in the hands of a search provider.
As an advertiser, you have quite a few options in taking action against click fraud.
Do it yourself, but be warned that manually checking IP addresses and reviewing log files for thousands of terms is arduous and impractical.
Outsourcing click fraud prevention: There are literally hundreds of options in selecting a click fraud prevention vendor. Your search engine marketing firm or agency probably offers an automated tool, or you can go with one of the many third parties that have entered the space.
What to look for: If you outsource, make sure that the solution you choose offers tools that provide a high frequency of tracking reports. Look also for a solution that search providers acknowledge.
If you find click fraud, what then? Most often advertisers receive compensation in the form of future advertising credits, but if you are bent on a cash refund be prepared to take an aggressive posture.