Running ads online has changed the world of business in so many ways. Making high-profile advertising available to everyone has produced a (relatively) level playing field where any business, large or small, can get traffic fast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But if you run online ads, you\u2019ve probably also heard of ad fraud or click fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, if you\u2019ve seen any news or data on the subject of click fraud, you\u2019ll know that it cost the digital marketing industry $188 billion in 2023 alone<\/a>. This number is expected to keep growing by about 14% annually until 2028. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In short, a lot of money goes missing from the marketing ecosystem thanks to ad fraud and click fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But what is ad fraud, and what is click fraud? Before we go on, let\u2019s define what these two forms of marketing fraud mean and what\u2019s the difference between them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ad fraud is any form of fraudulent activity that increases engagement numbers on pay-per-click (PPC) ads online. Fraudsters usually aim to artificially inflate the number of impressions, clicks, or conversions to deceive advertisers into paying for non-existent interactions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A simple example explanation for ad fraud is when a publisher hosts ads on their website or app and then uses fake traffic to inflate the number of impressions or clicks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They may also use other sneaky methods, such as layering multiple ads on top of each other, to collect a payout on multiple ad impressions instead of one. Or, worse still, hiding multiple ads in tiny unviewable iframes, often 1\u00d71 pixels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re also hearing more about apps that host malware and inflate the ad payout for the developer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another more insidious form of ad fraud is when the publisher falsifies a bid request, collecting a payout for ads that never appear anywhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We also have a <\/em><\/strong>complete guide to ad fraud<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The main difference between click fraud and ad fraud lies in their respective targets. Ad fraud exclusively targets paid online ads, whereas click fraud extends its reach to include organic content, such as links on social media platforms or within apps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fake traffic, such as bots and click farms, can often be used to click your links, apps, buttons, or ads. The reasons can be varied, like compromising your marketing efforts, gaining a competitive advantage, or making money from your promoted links or ads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A common example of click fraud is where an affiliate marketing partner will use click bots to boost the clicks on your product link they place throughout their content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read our <\/em><\/strong>guide to click fraud<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nAd fraud \u2013 a definition<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Click fraud \u2013 a definition<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n