Opinions on click fraud are a dime a dozen. While many advertisers still seem ambiguous or unaware of the problem, erroneous clicks in the search engine marketing world have become the seat of controversy.
Last week's feature on the Lane's Gifts and Collectibles, et al. v. Google settlement struck a nerve with many iMedia readers. "Google's Click Fraud Settlement and You" sparked heated comments from advertisers, search engine advertising providers and a few upstarts with proposed solutions to the problem.
Regardless of your approach to the click-fraud problem, the dynamics of paid search have provided many with a seat at the online marketing table. Once a world that included only techno-gurus and search-centric optimization junkies, search is now a mainstream marketing concern and it seems another segment has popped up around fraud that is showing promise.
Email advice
A good portion of responses to last week's feature came in the form of advertiser comments, many of whom didn't know they had to "opt-out" of the Lane's Gifts settlement.
"I find it interesting that I got my 'Important Legal Notice' on May 20," says Mark Hagar of Berkeley, California-based SaviorPrint.Com. "The first line in bold type in the click settlement website says 'Please come back to this website between June 19, 2006 and August 4, 2006 to file a claim form.' This is conveniently 30 days after the email message was received, in other words too late to opt-out."
Several others found the settlement notice a bit, well, unsettling.
"Overall, it's bizarre how Google went about notifying people about this," says Mikhail Ledvich, chief strategy officer of the technology firm Click Facts, Inc. who also noted that a client's Google mail account rejected the notice as spam. "It seems they really do not want people to opt out of the settlement. A one-time email notice is fairly easy to miss."
With many advertisers up in arms about the settlement notice, drilling down to the details is presenting something of a problem in and of itself.
Credit THIS
The terms of the settlement (credit toward future advertising) aren't sitting well with advertisers and a few have initiated additional legal action.
John N. Horton, vice president of marketing at the web hosting company Advanced Internet Technologies, Inc., another advertiser suing over click fraud losses, had this to say: "We are not going to let this issue rest, as we've lost millions of dollars to click fraud-- and can prove it."
The law firm Kabateck Brown Kellner LLP is representing Advanced Internet Technologies in a suit against Google. Brian Kabateck noted in a recent statement that the settlement is almost financially meaningless to Google and doesn't require Google to change its business. Google, Kabateck's firm said, can continue to bill its customers for invalid or fraudulent clicks, and it is not required to improve or change its click fraud prevention efforts.
A spokesperson for Kabateck summed up the comments well. "Obviously he thinks the settlement is a joke."
Although it has become an accepted practice to receive credits (in lieu of a cash refund) for fraudulent clicks, the existing settlement provides nothing for advertisers that no longer advertise with Google.
A whole new world
Sue if you like, blame the lawyers for a bad settlement if you must, but there is a whole new industry popping up around click fraud. There are many technologies in place that help report against erroneous clicks. Many search engine marketing firms offer bundled technologies that aid in click fraud prevention, but there are plenty of others stepping up to help out.
Jim Trego, executive vice president of Click Defense, Inc., represents one such specialized firm that is in the business of click fraud awareness and reporting. "It's a pity that a large percentage of the advertisers don't really have a clear picture of what's happening here. We have a large number of clients that have elected to opt-out. One has entered a claim for over one million dollars in refunds for fraudulent clicks."
Click Defense is just one of the firms that have built a business model around click fraud. Click Forensics' launched Click Fraud Network and the Click Fraud Index-- designed to help advertisers validate their PPC campaigns.
Last week, Jay Stockwell launched his attempt to answer the call for an industry group with an anti-click fraud community destination, Click Sentinel. Click Sentinel offers free click fraud tracking software, click reconciliation software and community support.
The list of click fraud reporting and crediting firms is long and growing fast.
Credits are not enough
Large advertisers might be happy with a credit toward an inevitable spend with a ubiquitous search site but the little guy, waiting for a refund to his credit card, clearly isn't represented in the current fraud acknowledgement to credit system.
A cottage industry has popped up to provide fee-based services to help advertisers seek refunds. The problem is so bad that advertisers are willing to pay a third party to help them collect money in which they are already entitled.
So many advertisers are clearly outraged by the most recent click fraud settlement that it would seem the "do no evil" motto is more meaningless than ever.
Spare us the didactic melodrama
A good deal of responses to last week's column expressed anger and frustration about the 90 million dollar settlement and proposed 30 million or so that is potentially earmarked for plaintiff's counsel. One included a suggestion as to how to rectify the situation.
SaviorPrint.com's Hagar offered the following advice:
- Pay counsel 33 and a third percent of the amount of the claims that are awarded by Google (offer less than 30 days to submit a claim form!)
- Pay counsel in advertising credits applied to 50 percent of the cost of future advertising with Google.
In the end, a solution may be at the tip of our brains, at the heart of our desires and closest to our pocketbooks. Until search providers are required to disclose the amount of revenues lost to click fraud activity and are held accountable to advertisers, we can expect more unsettling settlements and a growing industry, built around foiled efforts to deceive.
Additional resources:
Download the settlement notice and FAQ
Click Fraud Back in the News
Click Fraud On the Rise
Kevin Ryan is iMedia's search editor and the CEO of Kinetic Results, a search agency. Read his full bio.
