March 1, 2007 Comments
|
|
Elinor Mills over at CNET is reporting that Google will be announcing plans to allow AdWords advertisers to block certain IP addresses from clicking on their ads as part of their ongoing battle against click fraud. That's good news to companies that have been frustrated with suspect clicks in their paid search advertising accounts. Google also plans to introduce a new standardized interface for click fraud reporting and investigations by mid-summer.
From the story:
Google, king of pay-per-click advertising, will allow advertisers to specify which Internet Protocol addresses--numerical addresses assigned to individual computers--will be blocked from receiving the ads. The move is designed to stop rivals from using click fraud to eat through a competitor's advertising budget and to prevent them from bidding on the ad's keyword for the purpose of using it in their own ads. Fraudulent clicks can be generated by people paid to click ads over and over, and also through automated software programs.
Also beginning in March, Google plans to give advertisers more information on how much money they are saving by filtering out fraudulent clicks, a Google spokesman said. Before July, Google will provide a standardized interface for advertisers to report click fraud and request investigations.
While it remains to be seen whether the new interface will help advertisers in the fight against click fraud (or simply serve as a nice little placebo to keep them happy), the move to allow advertisers to block IP addresses is a good one. Anyone with good analytics software should be able to note patterns in terms of bad clicks from specific IP addresses, be they fraudulent or not. The ability to block those clicks will help advertisers increase the ROI of their AdWords campaigns and THAT will allow them to spend more funds.
However, while Ms. Mills states that Google was to be announcing the plan today on the AdWords blog, I've yet to see it posted there.
Jennifer Laycock is the Editor of Search Engine Guide, an educational web site aimed at translating the search marketing world into something that small business owners can understand. Jennifer specializes in common sense search engine marketing, viral marketing and customer outreach via social media and blogs. A former search marketing consultant and in-house trainer, Jennifer’s clients have included companies like Verizon, American Greetings and Highlights for Children. Her primary clients now are a little girl named Elnora and a little boy named Emmitt.
|
|
|
Search marketing information for small business owners.
Fetching the best small business news.
A friendly place to share small business ideas and knowledge.
A different kind of small business marketing conference.
The directory of the best small business sites and tools.
Home of our network.
Copyright © 1998 - 2009 K. Clough, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy
FreeFind Site Search Engine - FreeFind adds a "search this site" feature to your website, making your site easier to use. FreeFind also gives you reports showing what your visitors are searching for, enabling you to improve your site. FreeFind's advanced site search engine and automatic site map technology can be added to your website for free.
(Unpaid placement - FreeFind is a Search Engine Guide partner.)