Google’s Battle Against Fraudalent Clicks – Inexpensive Outsourced Indian Clicking Labor and Clickbots

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This is a pretty good article about the problems of clickfraud. I use PPC as an advertiser and have been quite happy with it on many occassions. This is obviously an issue that will only gain momentum, but is trying to be kept somewhat quiet by most all the parties involved because exposure of this problem hurts those buying (often Internet marketing media buyers) and sellers (G and O). I guess if the exposure continues to escalate, the SE’s will start to lose out, but SEO’s will be in even hotter demand. Maybe I should be studying algorithms.

Joe, the chief executive of an Internet marketing company, enjoys clicking on his rivals’ text ads on Google and Yahoo because his competitor must pay as much as $15 each time he does it. Eventually, such phantom clicks can add up and drain a rival’s budget.

Google’s fraud squad battles phantom clicks: ZDNet Australia: Insight: Security