Industry Average Click Fraud Rate Down Slightly
Click Fraud Rate Hits 13.8 Percent as Online Advertising Growth Slows | Source
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – October 18, 2006 – Click Forensics™, LLC today released the latest industry Pay Per Click (PPC) fraud figures for the third quarter 2006 from the search advertising industry’s leading independent click fraud reporting service – the Click Fraud Index™ (www.ClickFraudIndex.com). The Click Fraud Index monitors and reports on data gathered from the Click Fraud Network™, which more than 2,500 online advertisers and their agencies have joined. Network members can track their online campaigns for click fraud free of charge. Key findings from data reported for Q3 2006 include:
* The overall industry average click fraud rate was 13.8 percent versus the average of 14.1 percent for Q2 and 13.7 percent for Q1
* The industry average click fraud rate for high-priced search terms was 20.9 percent in Q3 versus 20.2 percent in Q2. High-priced terms are defined as terms that cost over $2.00. These high-priced terms often make up the majority of an advertiser’s total spend.
* The industry average click fraud rate for companies running online advertising campaigns through:
o Tier 1 search providers, such as Yahoo! and Google, was 11.9 percent in Q3 versus 12.8 percent in Q2 and 12.1 percent in Q1
o Tier 2 search providers was 23.2 percent in Q3 versus 20.3 percent in Q2 and 21.3 percent in Q1
o Tier 3 search providers was 25.6 percent in Q3 versus 27.1 percent in Q2 and 29.8 percent in Q1
* The average PPC term cost for the top key terms across the five biggest search advertising industries – Retail, Financial Services, Health & Fitness, Technology, and Entertainment – for Q3 was $3.92. This compares to $4.51 in Q2 and $4.75 in Q1.
“The industry average click fraud rate continues to hover between 13 to 14 percent,” said Tom Cuthbert, president and CEO of Click Forensics, LLC.” As the Q4 holiday season approaches, companies are expecting to spend more on PPC advertising than any other time of the year. It will be important for advertisers to watch their campaigns closely for potential click fraud. This is especially true for the traffic they receive from affiliate sites, which are showing indications of higher levels of potential click fraud.”
The Click Fraud Index publishes data collected from the Click Fraud Network (www.ClickFraudNetwork.com), the industry’s first independent third-party click fraud detection service dedicated to helping companies more accurately monitor their online advertising campaigns for PPC fraud. Click fraud data is tracked and published on a monthly and quarterly basis for specific search providers, industries and trends. Using CF Analytics™, a patent-pending click fraud detection technology, the Click Fraud Network allows advertisers to track their online campaigns for potential click fraud. The service is unique in that it monitors online campaigns for click fraud by correlating data collected from search provider campaigns and the advertisers own web sites – providing the industry’s most accurate view of click fraud to date.
About Click Forensics, LLC
Click Forensics, LLC is the leading provider of third-party technology and services that help online advertisers, agencies and search providers to better identify pay per click fraud. The company runs the top independent click fraud detection service in the industry, the Click Fraud Network (www.ClickFraudNetwork.com), which monitors online advertising campaigns for click fraud free of charge. Click Forensics also provides an enterprise-class solution to help advertisers with campaigns of 100,000 clicks or more per month to track click fraud. More information on Click Forensics and its offerings are available at www.ClickForensics.com.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – October 18, 2006 – Click Forensics™, LLC today released the latest industry Pay Per Click (PPC) fraud figures for the third quarter 2006 from the search advertising industry’s leading independent click fraud reporting service – the Click Fraud Index™ (www.ClickFraudIndex.com). The Click Fraud Index monitors and reports on data gathered from the Click Fraud Network™, which more than 2,500 online advertisers and their agencies have joined. Network members can track their online campaigns for click fraud free of charge. Key findings from data reported for Q3 2006 include:
* The overall industry average click fraud rate was 13.8 percent versus the average of 14.1 percent for Q2 and 13.7 percent for Q1
* The industry average click fraud rate for high-priced search terms was 20.9 percent in Q3 versus 20.2 percent in Q2. High-priced terms are defined as terms that cost over $2.00. These high-priced terms often make up the majority of an advertiser’s total spend.
* The industry average click fraud rate for companies running online advertising campaigns through:
o Tier 1 search providers, such as Yahoo! and Google, was 11.9 percent in Q3 versus 12.8 percent in Q2 and 12.1 percent in Q1
o Tier 2 search providers was 23.2 percent in Q3 versus 20.3 percent in Q2 and 21.3 percent in Q1
o Tier 3 search providers was 25.6 percent in Q3 versus 27.1 percent in Q2 and 29.8 percent in Q1
* The average PPC term cost for the top key terms across the five biggest search advertising industries – Retail, Financial Services, Health & Fitness, Technology, and Entertainment – for Q3 was $3.92. This compares to $4.51 in Q2 and $4.75 in Q1.
“The industry average click fraud rate continues to hover between 13 to 14 percent,” said Tom Cuthbert, president and CEO of Click Forensics, LLC.” As the Q4 holiday season approaches, companies are expecting to spend more on PPC advertising than any other time of the year. It will be important for advertisers to watch their campaigns closely for potential click fraud. This is especially true for the traffic they receive from affiliate sites, which are showing indications of higher levels of potential click fraud.”
The Click Fraud Index publishes data collected from the Click Fraud Network (www.ClickFraudNetwork.com), the industry’s first independent third-party click fraud detection service dedicated to helping companies more accurately monitor their online advertising campaigns for PPC fraud. Click fraud data is tracked and published on a monthly and quarterly basis for specific search providers, industries and trends. Using CF Analytics™, a patent-pending click fraud detection technology, the Click Fraud Network allows advertisers to track their online campaigns for potential click fraud. The service is unique in that it monitors online campaigns for click fraud by correlating data collected from search provider campaigns and the advertisers own web sites – providing the industry’s most accurate view of click fraud to date.
About Click Forensics, LLC
Click Forensics, LLC is the leading provider of third-party technology and services that help online advertisers, agencies and search providers to better identify pay per click fraud. The company runs the top independent click fraud detection service in the industry, the Click Fraud Network (www.ClickFraudNetwork.com), which monitors online advertising campaigns for click fraud free of charge. Click Forensics also provides an enterprise-class solution to help advertisers with campaigns of 100,000 clicks or more per month to track click fraud. More information on Click Forensics and its offerings are available at www.ClickForensics.com.
