Click Fraud a 1 3 Billion Problem

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Click Fraud A $1.3 Billion Problem

By: Andy Beal
2006-07-06

Verne Kopytoff reports on a new click-fraud study released by Outsell, Inc. The study interviewed 407 online advertisers and led to an estimation that more than $800 million of clicks in 2005 were fraudulent and estimates $1.3 billion of fraud this year.

Links: reports, Outsell, Inc.

What else did the study discover?

Clicks believed by advertisers to be fraudulent: 14.6 percent

Money paid by advertisers for bogus clicks: $800 million (2005)

Advertisers who said they were victims of click fraud: 75 percent

Advertisers who said they reduced click-based advertising or plan to: 37 percent

Revenue lost by Google, Yahoo and other Web sites, as a result: $500 million

Advertisers who request refunds because of fraud: 7 percent

Average refund: $9,507

Outsell appears to be a legit market research firm with no hidden agendas on click-fraud (unlike many report publishers) other than to sell you their report.

Hat-tip to Barry.

View All Articles by Andy Beal

About the Author:
Andy Beal is an internet marketing consultant and considered one of the world's most respected and interactive search engine marketing experts. Andy has worked with many Fortune 1000 companies such as Motorola, CitiFinancial, Lowes, Alaska Air, DeWALT, NBC and Experian.

You can read his internet marketing blog at Marketing Pilgrim and reach him at [email protected].


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