Decline in Click Fraud Rate in Q1-2009

The statistics from Click Forensic reports reveal some key finding for quarter-1 in 2009. We see an overall drop in the keyword Cost Per Clicks (CPCs) as both Yahoo and Google made tremendous progress by blocking click fraud from botnet sources. It contributed to the decline in the overall click fraud rate in this years first quarter.

The reports on the other hand also show an increase in scripted attacks aimed at ad networks, which means that the advertisers should pay close attention to traffic from these sources over the next year.

Click Forensics provides a reporting and monitoring service via the Click Fraud Network. Advertisers, publishers, search engines, and the media have come to rely on Click Forensics’ data and expertise in the fight against click fraud.

The Click Fraud Network provides statistically significant industry PPC data collected from online advertising campaigns for both large and small companies across all the leading search engines.

Key Findings:

Key findings from data reported for Q1 2009 include:

• The overall industry average click fraud rate was 13.8% for Q1 2009. That’s down from 17.1% reported for Q4 2008 and from the 16.3% rate reported for Q1 2008.
• Click fraud traffic from malicious scripted programs increased in Q1 2009. Unlike botnets or malware, these new threats exist as simple Javascript programs that execute upon a page view or site visit. Ad networks were found to be especially vulnerable to these attacks during the quarter.
• In Q1 2009, the greatest percentage of click fraud originating from countries outside the U.S. came from Canada, United Kingdom and Germany.

The results for Q2 remain to be seen. Let’s wait and watch.

(Image credits & Source: Click Forensic report)