Going Broke on Google Adwords?

You've heard the stories. Click fraud has run rampant on
Google, Yahoo, and MSN. This is evidenced by the numerous
law suits that have been filed.

One of the most notable cases occurred this year when Google
settled their own click fraud case to the tune of 90 million
dollars (http://www.bigmouthmedia.com/live/articles/
google-vs-lanes-gifts--settling-for-better-or-f.asp/3201/).
In fact, Google and Yahoo have each settled a class action
lawsuit filed by marketers.

Click Fraud - What It Is

So, what is click fraud and how does it occur? Wikipedia
provides us with a definition:

"Click fraud occurs in pay per click online advertising when a
person, automated script, or computer program imitates a
legitimate user of a web browser clicking on an ad, for the
purpose of generating an improper charge per click. Click fraud
is the subject of some controversy and increasing litigation due
to the advertising networks being a key beneficiary of the fraud
whether they like it or not."

However, I would like to simplify this definition. Click fraud
is a crime, plain and simple. Cybercrime, however, is hard to
track. Law enforcement has only just recently started focusing
on the threat of click fraud.

Click fraud is now being targeted by some of the industry's
biggest names. This movement has both the American court and
government system involved. Business Week recently announced
(http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_40/
b4003001.htm?chan=innovation_branding_top+stories)
that major brands including Expedia.com and mortgage broker
LendingTree.com planned to go public with their disputes
over click fraud in late September.

Who can blame them? When it's your money that's going out the
door, you need to be asking questions. Unfortunately, Google
and Yahoo haven't come up with many answers.

They have certainly paid lip service, indicating that they have
systems in place to deter it, but the click fraud numbers
continue to rise.

The Threat to a Popular Advertising Model

The Interactive Advertising Bureau estimates that 20 to 35
percent of ad clicks are fraudulent. The multi-billion dollar
search industry is under attack and the problem is not going
away anytime soon.

Advertisers are being cheated and the search engines appear to
be sitting on the sidelines, leaving much of the responsibility
for detecting click fraud with advertisers, the majority of whom
lack the tools and knowledge to detect it.

The high level of click fraud has undermined advertisers'
confidence and some have even pulled their entire ad campaigns.
For small to medium-sized businesses click fraud effectively
erodes ROI, impacting the bottom line and future marketing
initiatives.

Click fraud is also the single biggest threat to companies like
Google and Yahoo, whose digital empires are largely dependent
on their advertising revenues. Google's $6 billion-a-year
advertising business is especially at risk. Despite the threat,
or maybe because of it, Google is saying little about click
fraud and the pay-per-click concept as a whole.

While Google maintains its silence, many advertisers and savvy
online entrepreneurs wonder where pay-per-click is headed. Click
fraud threatens to destroy the very business that Google thrives
on. In fact, click fraud losses have surpassed the total loss
attributed to credit card fraud in the U.S.

Do the current click fraud problems have the power to slow the
growth of pay-per-click search advertising or even bring it to
a screeching halt?

Well, that's hard to say, but the industry as a whole is
certainly being crippled by this problem. Pay-per-click may
not be the future. Many advertisers are now starting to look
at advertising options that offer an uncorrupted alternative.
Flat-fee advertising, pay-per-percentage, and pay-per-action
are all possibilities, but there is one alternative in
particular that deserves attention.

This search engine advertising model was first put forward by
ExactSeek.com (http://www.exactseek.com/featured_listings.html)
and then promoted through the ISEDN (Independent Search Engine &
Directory Network) which ExactSeek founded in June, 2005. The
model promulgated by ExactSeek and the ISEDN does not eliminate
click fraud but does eliminate the cost associated with it.

How the ISEDN Model Works

The ISEDN charges a flat fee for advertising, making click fraud
a pointless endeavor for scam artists, "paid to read" rings and
cutthroat competitors. Your competition could click on your ISEDN
listings all day long and it wouldn't cost you a single penny
more than what you originally paid.

$3-$4 provides you with an entire month's worth of advertising
across a network of 235+ search engines and web directories. If
you choose to buy in volume, you can even expect some significant
discounts.

Let's face it, pay-per-click advertising is expensive. There are
a number of companies who spend $5,000 to $10,000 per month on
paid search marketing. Competition is fierce with many keywords
costing $5 per click or more.

The problem is then compounded when you consider that 20 to 35
percent of those advertising dollars are wasted on fraudulent
clicks. Just imagine. If you are paying $1,000 dollars per
month to advertise on Google, $200 - $350 of those dollars are
wasted on click fraud.

If you want to lower your click fraud costs, you need to buy
click fraud monitoring software, which is quite pricey.
Unfortunately, few click fraud monitoring companies target
small to medium sized businesses.

The ISEDN offers an affordable alternative that charges a
one-time, flat fee. The initial cost is the only cost.

Within this unique advertising model, the sale of any keyword or
phrase is limited to 30 advertisers. Regardless of whether a
keyword term is sold 5 or 30 times, ads rotate within the SERPs
and throughout the ISEDN. The rotation ensures that every ad
appears in the top 10 search results. In the worst case scenario,
a listing would appear on the first page of results approximately
once out of every 3 searches.

Of course, you can't expect the same exposure provided by Google
or Overture. Google alone receives millions of searches per day.
However, if you are looking for a consistent return on your
investment without wasting a penny on click fraud, then the
ISEDN provides an affordable and lucrative solution.

Not to mention, the ISEDN is growing every day. An average of
3- 5 search engines are added every week. As the network
continues to grow, your ad automatically receives more exposure.

This program gives advertisers the benefit of advertising with
smaller search engines on a massive scale without the fear of
click fraud and without the hassle of managing multiple
advertising accounts. For more information on the ISEDN, visit
http://www.exactseek.com/featured_listings.html.

Summing It Up

The rules in search engine advertising are shifting and the
winners are adapting.

As for Google, Yahoo, and MSN, you can definitely expect to see
some changes being made with their paid search programs in the
near future. Cybercrime is still a crime and law enforcers are
finally starting to take these problems seriously.

The pay-per-click model is inherently flawed and must be altered
to survive. Google and the other major search engines know that
their business will be crippled if they do not adapt. The
challenge for them is how to adapt and still maintain those
multi-billion dollar bottom lines.

Fortunately, there are individuals, groups, companies and
organizations more interested in finding and providing
solutions to the problem of click fraud than in propping up
a flawed concept. Those leading the fight against click-fraud,
like the ISEDN, may never see 10 figure bottom lines like Yahoo
or Google, but the revenue they do make won't be based on
fraudulent clicks and at your expense.

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Kim Roach is a staff writer and editor for the SiteProNews
(http://www.sitepronews.com) & SEO-News (http://www.seo-news.com)
newsletters. You can also find additional tips and news on
webmaster and SEO topics by Kim at the SiteProNews blog
(http://blog.sitepronews.com/). Kim's email is:
kim @ seo-news.com