Ad budgets make up a significant portion of a business’s spend, yet not all of a business’s spending on ads may make it to customers, sometimes as a result of fraudulent cyber actions that can bite off a significant chunk of a company’s ad revenue.
The last thing a company needs in these tough economic times is to fall victim to ad fraud. Luckily, with a little bit of insight, a business can spot when the returns on their ad spend just aren’t adding up to what they should be.
Below, 10 experts from Forbes Agency Council share their best tips on how a business can spot and combat ad fraud before draining the business’s advertising budget with nothing to show for the spend.
Members explain how to recognize and combat ad fraud.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Embrace The Defensive Buying Mindset
Embrace the defensive buying mindset. When I say defensive, I don’t mean not trusting open or unmonitored inventory. It essentially means being a little paranoid. Leverage contextual brand safety segments — it is the easiest way to protect yourself during ad buys. These contextual targeting (really, exclusion) segments should be available through your DSP. The great part, they are pre-bids. – Jonathan Forrester, emmersion
2. Never ‘Set It And Forget It’
One rule we keep across all of our ad operations team is to never “set it and forget it.” We leverage key insights from our custom dashboards, but we make sure each campaign has human-powered monitoring on a daily basis. It’s important for our team to look into any anomalies over historic and projected performance. We encourage a thorough investigation into any unusual spikes in activity. – Michael Kalman, MediaCrossing Inc.
3. Keep Your Legal Team In The Loop
One of the most important ways to avoid fraud is to make sure the legal team is aware of every ad that is going out. The main reason this is so important is that there are many ads out there all the time that are not being regulated. If not regulated, there are many opportunities for things to run poorly and not be handled properly. – Jon James, Ignited Results
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4. Look At Discrepancies Between Clicks And Visits
One very simple and cost-effective way to manage ad fraud is looking at the discrepancy between clicks and site visits. I’m not saying ad fraud is the only culprit here, but if the placement is generating a high volume of clicks which aren’t translating to site traffic, this is, in and of itself, a red flag. – Stephen Kleiner, Bloom Ads Global Media Group
5. Keep An Eye Out For Suspicious Actions
Make sure to keep an eye out for suspicious actions that feel unnatural. If you are unsure, compare your patterns with the activity being monitored to decide whether it requires more investigation. The best way to fight ad fraud is by preventing the possibility for it to happen — for example, by using ad verification tools. – Maddie Raedts, IMA – Influencer Marketing Agency
6. Implement IP Blacklists On Google Ads
Unfortunately, all digital advertisers and platforms are exposed to click fraud. Being a digital marketer, you must always play defense against click fraud as part of your campaign strategy. One method to control click fraud is to implement IP blacklists on Google Ads. When suspicious clicks come in, you can blacklist those IP addresses from seeing your ads in the future. – T. Maxwell, eMaximize
7. Pay Attention To Traffic Spikes Or ‘Clusters’
Pay serious attention to spikes or “clusters” in click traffic. It is not at all uncommon for a new Google Ads user to launch a campaign and forget to select specific geographies, then get excited by a flood of ad clicks. Looking into your click data in Google Ads may reveal that 99% of these clicks were coming from another country or a single, specific area you weren’t looking to target. – Bernard May, National Positions
8. Set Up Real-Time Reporting
Set up real-time reporting to monitor impressions and any unusual spikes day-to-day. Along with impressions, monitor click-through rates to see if any spikes or dips occur. Ad fraud usually results in a click so the ad network seems reputable, and a high click-through rate is not always indicative of a high-performing campaign, but possible ad fraud. – Russ Williams, Archer Malmo
9. Switch Your Bidding Proposition To Conversions
Where possible, switch your bidding proposition to conversions rather than clicks. The unfortunate truth is that no matter what precautions you take, click-based objectives are easy to manipulate with bot traffic. Tangible results like conversions relate directly to the value you are receiving from ads. – Scott Baradell, Idea Grove
10. Be Conscious Of Budget Allocations
Be incredibly conscious of where you allocate your budget. Ad fraud often happens with more awareness-type tactics. If you are strapped for cash, focus on direct response investments and be hyper-driven to generate a positive ROI. – Corbett Drummey, Popular Pays
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Author: Expert Panel®, Forbes Councils Member
