Why would someone click spam your ads and what does this mean for your business?
source: own elaboration
Why would someone click spam my ads? - many entrepreneurs asked themselves this question when they heard about click spamming for the first time. The benefits of committing this kind of fraud may not be obvious, but it doesn’t change the fact that they are very real. Depending on who commits such an action, they may be direct or indirect. We will discuss them in the text below.
Direct reasons of click spamming.
The most important direct reason for someone to click spam our ads is of course material benefit. In this case, the perpetrators will probably be your partners and although we do not say that someone you work with can commit such a scam - you must believe that unfortunately such situations happen. We mainly mean the partners you pay for traffic, especially clicks. If you outsource specialists who run your Google Ads campaigns, or if you work with affiliate networks or media agencies that receive from you a commission for clicks (CPC model), you may be exposed to this type of fraud. Why? Because by click spamming your ads your partner will earn more, and this is unfortunately a good motivator for dishonest actions.
The second direct reason for click spamming may be the desire to improve the position of cheater on Google search engine. If your competitors appear in the first organic search results, but the ads you buy make your business appear before them, this may lead your competition to click spam your ads just to exhaust the daily limit. As a result, your ad will disappear and they will appear higher in search results. The reason will not be their profit or your loss, but a better position on Google, which is often more valuable than a sack of money. A competitor may also expect you to be disappointed with this type of advertising and that you won’t try it in the future.
Indirect reasons of click spamming.
The second group of reasons for someone to click spam your ads is the indirect benefits that can be achieved by using such unfair practices. The first reason for such actions may be the cost or loss of your company. Maybe you do not realize it, but clicks are your marketing cost. For all undetected unfair clicks, someone will issue an invoice - regardless of whether it’s Google or your other partner. Even if such invalid clicks are later interpreted as incorrect, you will have to wait for a refund and it will most likely be paid in the form of a credit for future services. This indirect reason for click spamming can motivate your competitors, but also dissatisfied employees and customers
Material costs are not the only effect of such unfair practices. If your ad stops showing as a result of unfair click spamming, you may lose potential customers. And that's why you pay for online advertising in the first place - to get new customers.
For those who are employed by you, another indirect reason for click spamming may be increase of statistics and thereby demonstration of the effectiveness of their work.
We shouldn’t also forget about one of the most common reasons - malice. Regardless of other benefits that a cheater can achieve by click spamming your ads, we must remember that human nature isn’t free of envy, and this type of fraud is called malicious clutter" for a reason.
As you can see, there are many reasons why someone might want to click spam your ads. You should therefore consider how much benefit can arise for you from protection against this type of fraud. No matter if it concerns your competitor, dissatisfied customer, employee or partner - you must defend your business and know exactly what is happening in it. How to protect yourself against these types of frauds? We discussed this topic here - https://trafficwatchdog.pl/en/articles/12/incorrect-clicks-on-google-ads-how-to-recognize-them-and-what-you-can-do-to-eliminate-them.
