Click Fraud in 2024: A Growing Threat to Digital Advertising

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The advertising world in 2024 has been plagued by a few bad apples, one of them being click fraud. This is a persistent issue that drains marketing budgets and skews some campaign data. 

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To track the success of marketing campaigns, companies aim to maximize their Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). Understanding click fraud on all ad platforms will help you create a better and more complete digital strategy.

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The Prevalence of Click Fraud

Recent studies show some alarming rates of click fraud across some of the most popular ad networks:

• TikTok Ads: 74% fraud rate
• Twitter/X Ads: 61% fraud rate
• Facebook Ads: 57% fraud rate
• LinkedIn Ads: 48% fraud rate
• Reddit Ads: 33% fraud rate
• Microsoft Ads: 14% fraud rate
• Google Ads: 11% fraud rate
• Instagram Ads: Less than 1% fraud rate

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These numbers show the varying levels of fraud on some platforms people swear by, with some social media networks experiencing higher rates of fraud click when compared to others. 

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The Impact on Fraudulent Clicks

When it comes to the consequences businesses are facing, specifically small businesses, 30% of their ad spend is wasted on fraudulent clicks. In 2018, it was noted that the cost of ad fraud was $19Bn and by this year, we should see numbers which reach $100Bn. 14% to 22% of clicks on any paid search campaign are estimated to be invalid – or, fraudulent. 

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Types of Click Fraud and How to Prevent It

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There are many forms of click fraud. Some of the most common types include: 

• Bot networks: Responsible for nearly 40% of click fraud
• Click farms: A significant contributor to invalid traffic
• Competitor clicks: Malicious attempts to deplete rivals' ad budgets
• Accidental clicks: Unintentional interactions that don't represent genuine interest

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While you can be on the lookout for all of these types of click fraud, there are some universal laws of protecting your ad spend and improving campaign performance. For example, prioritize networks with lower fraud rates such as Instagram or Google Ads. When or if you do choose Google Ads, try to disable audience networks such as Google Display Network and Google Search Network. 

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Another route to better your ad performance is by actually focusing on the ad itself. Refine your targeting by using precise location and audience settings. Also, look through the keyword strategy you have in place. Make sure the keywords have exact match or phrase match keywords in order to minimize bot engagement. Alongside these two fixes, do manual campaign management, not that auto-apply recommendations garbage. 

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The Future of Click Fraud Protection 

Just like any form of digital issues, there happens to be things that used to work that don’t work in the present. There will have to be measures that take place that help us now into the future. Some of these measures can be: 

• Advanced AI and machine learning algorithms are being developed to detect sophisticated bot behaviors.
• Blockchain technology is emerging as a potential solution for ad verification and transparency.
• Increased collaboration between ad networks and third-party fraud detection services is improving overall security measures.

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Takeaways

Ads themselves are difficult to run, manage, and scale. Imagine how much more difficult it is when you have issues such as click fraud – which remains to be a significant challenge. By staying informed about fraud rate and the different types across different platforms and then implementing robust prevention strategies, advertisers can better protect their investment into an advertising campaign. As the battle against click fraud continues, ongoing vigilance and adaptation will be key to maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of digital advertising efforts.

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