Click Spam and its Consequences on Publishers

In the world of programmatic advertising, digital ad fraud, including click spamming, affects everyone, be it advertisers or publishers. Click spamming, whether done manually or through automation, is a significant issue that can impact a publisher’s reputation in the programmatic ad market. It arises when numerous clicks on an ad stem from a single user within a brief period or when an excessive number of clicks originate from a shared IP address. In case if the click spam get identified, the advertisers question the integrity of the received traffic. 

Let’s break down the consequences of click spamming for publishers:

1. Temporary Suspension or Permanent Ban of AdX Account:

When Google detects irregularities in a publisher’s website traffic due to click spam, it may temporarily suspend or permanently ban the publisher’s AdX Account. This means losing access to high-value Google advertisers, and reinstating the account can be a lengthy process involving an investigation and appeal.

2. Revenue Loss:

Click spamming depletes a publisher’s ad inventory, leading to high engagement but low conversions. Advertisers rely most of the time on the publisher for the delivery of Genuine engagement and conversions but click spam eats away the trust which forces advertisers to pull off the budget of advertising. The algorithm may place low-bidding advertisers against the ad inventory, reducing the opportunity for the best CPM rates. This constant loss of revenue is exacerbated if there’s a temporary suspension of AdSense accounts.

3. Low-Quality Inventories:

Google’s algorithm reduces reliance on publishers with click spam issues, pushing low-bidding advertisers to such publishers. This diminishes the chances of securing high-ticket advertisers and damages the reputation of the publisher.

4. Low Quality Traffic:

Illegitimate traffic sources are of low quality therefore click spam results in failing to deliver it to the audience for the ads. Publishers require traffic from the click farm or the bot network that generates click and impression from the sources that are non-human. The ad also does not attract the traffic that is relevant which prompt the advertiser to either withdraw their ad or negotiate the lower payment. 

5. Reduced Bids from Advertisers:

If in case the advertiser has identified The Click span it can impose a penalty and charge back on the publisher. Fraudulent clicks from click spam exhaust advertiser budgets and increase costs. Low conversion rates make advertisers hesitant to bid on a publisher’s ad inventory. Reputed brands may avoid bidding, further damaging the publisher’s reputation.

Solution: MagicShield

MagicBid offers a solution named Magic Shield that is an end-to-end click spam detection software that can monitor and block click spam effectively. Here’s what it provides:

• Identifies invalid traffic.
• Detects click spam, including clicks generated by click farms or competition.
• Identifies sophisticated traffic generator clicks.
• Recognizes accidental clicks.
• Identifies duplicate clicks.

MagicShield is an asynchronous solution, meaning it doesn’t add latency or cause issues with page loads. It comes in two variants: AdUnit Monitoring and AdUnit Monitoring & Ad Blocking. Starting with monitoring and then enabling blocking is recommended.

Worried about click spam? MagicBid’s MagicShield might just be the solution you need.

Conclusion

Click spam brings out many serious consequences for the publishers that includes the loss in reputation, ad network, credibility and other financial loss. It is very much essential for the publisher to implement the vigorous measure that detects and prevents the click spamming which maintains trust along with the advertisers preserving the unification of the advertising system. With click spam publishers get many challenges beforehand that include account blockage,  invalid click, chargebacks, account blockage and low quality traffic. Enduring the same the Magic Shield, Magic Tag comes as a powerful solution that combats the click spam improving the overall appearance and the user experience of your website.