20% of ad clicks on average are frauds

We have discussed the topic of fraud in online marketing many times. Everyone who uses it should be aware that there are many ways to fool an advertiser on the Internet. Regardless of the strategy or communication channel you choose, using the network as a source of customer acquisition comes with the risk of being deceived. How to use online marketing and avoid falling victim to fraud?

Contrary to appearances, not only large companies are exposed to online fraud - this problem applies to virtually all industries and companies of all sizes. Ideally, marketing budgets would also contain significant resources for preventive measures to protect the campaign against fraud attempts. However, not every company can afford it. Let's check how companies of all sizes can defend themselves in online marketing.

Small, local companies.

Smaller companies usually only use a few forms of online marketing like Google Ads, social media advertising, local services and more. If a company uses only a few channels, it can try to defend itself against fraud, but it will be a very time-consuming process. The most important advice we can give in this regard is constant monitoring of traffic obtained from the Internet. You should constantly check how many sales are generated by individual sources at given financial outlays, but that's not all. Google, Facebook and other online services used for promotion offer their users detailed statistics that can be used to detect fraud. For example, in Google Ads we have the ability to check the number of clicks that the Google algorithm has recognized as invalid. We can also track where people clicking our ads come from thanks to the location of IP addresses. Both of these statistics can be very helpful when monitoring the quality of traffic - especially if the company is local or operates on a small scale. Campaigns created in social media should be planned in great detail - defining the target group is crucial here, otherwise our ads will be shown to the wrong people and our budgets will be wasted. During online campaigns, all available data should be taken into account. If an enterprise notices irregularities in its statistics, it should report it to the administrator of a given website as soon as possible, this gives a good chance to solve the problem and return the invested funds. It is also a very good idea to use expert advice - companies specializing in monitoring online traffic sometimes offer their potential clients the opportunity to test their solution. Small businesses can use them to see what forms of fraud they are exposed to. After the test, the company can decide whether it is more profitable to buy a subscription or take time-consuming activities on its own. Contrary to appearances, it may turn out that using the services of an external company will be cheaper and more effective.

Medium-sized enterprises.

Online fraud is particularly dangerous for medium-sized enterprises. In the case of fraud, there may be a waste of funds allocated to a given campaign - large companies with significant financial resources are likely to manage with this, small firms have small budgets, so the loss will not be so severe for them. While, a medium-sized enterprises devote a significant part of their resources to advertising, so if a company falls victim to fraud, the loss can be very hard for them. In addition, medium-sized companies often use the services of publishers and affiliate partners, and pay them for acquiring traffic. So there is a greater chance that they will be cheated. Therefore, they have to control significant amounts of statistics and monitor more marketing channels than small companies, and often cannot afford to create a separate department for this purpose in their structures (as in the case of large enterprises). If the company does not want to employ experts, it may try to protect against cheaters by itself. In this case, it is worth using the help of business partners (such as affiliate networks) in this area - by asking for statistics, reports and conclusions resulting therefrom. Of course, the partner may also turn out to be a cheater - the submitted reports must be carefully verified and checked if they are reflected in reality. Another way is to try the services of a company specializing in similar solutions - for example, on a fixed subscription basis. Thanks to this, the company simultaneously controls various traffic channels and sources used. Prices of similar packages vary widely, however, most companies (like TrafficWatchdog) have special offers for medium-sized enterprises and offers them subscriptions at reasonable prices.

Big companies operating on a large scale.

If a company uses many online marketing channels and invests a lot of money in it, protecting against cheaters should be very important to them. First of all, it should be taken into account already at the stage of creating a marketing budget - it should include funds for preventive measures. Thanks to this, the company can protect itself against significant losses, and the campaign will be more effective. Of course, for large enterprises, you can set up a separate company department that will constantly monitor the traffic obtained online. However, please note that it must consider all channels used. Most often, large companies decide to outsource similar solutions. As a result, they work with experts at significantly lower financial outlays. For example, TrafficWatchdog has already cooperated with such companies as answear., Ole ole !, Netia, Peuget, Provident and RTVeuroAGD.

Frauds in online marketing should not be underestimated, because they can cause that a carefully planned campaign will be completely ineffective. This leads not only to the loss of significant material resources that were allocated to the project, but also the loss of time and sometimes even the good name of the brand. It doesn't matter if the company is small, medium or large - no company can afford to waste its marketing budget. Therefore, protection against online marketing fraud is important and should be considered at the marketing planning stage.