The Google and the 'Click Fraud' Menace

Internet search giants like Google and Yahoo! knew that click fraud posed a threat to their business. In December 2004, at an investor conference, Google's Chief Financial Officer George Reyes (Reyes) admitted the threat of click fraud to Google's business. He said, "I think something has to be done about this (click fraud) really, really quickly, because I think, potentially, it threatens our business model." Analysts and search engine marketing experts found it difficult to get the actual figures or quantify the number of click frauds that were taking place...

Advertisers began to closely monitor their customer conversion ratio with corresponding changes in the pay per click ratio. They also monitored their site logs regularly and reported any suspected case of click fraud to the respective search engine for further action. Installing fraud tracking tools on their website to curb this menace was also considered. Helping online advertisers counter the threat of click fraud became a hot business opportunity. Many Internet marketing and search engine optimization firms offered consulting services and software products that helped detect and prevent click fraud...