(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Swindlers have stepped up their effort to fleece millions of dollars from online advertisers who use lucrative marketing networks run by Google and Yahoo, according to a quarterly report.
The sales referrals generated by clicks on the brief advertising links popularized by the two Internet powerhouses are a sham 14.1% of the time, based on information collected from 1,300 online marketers.
That's up from a click fraud rate of 13.7% three months ago, according to Click Forensics, a San Antonio-based consulting service that compiles the index.
The statistics agree with other data asserting advertisers are paying a significant sum to Google, Yahoo and their partner Web sites for phantom shoppers even as more resources are devoted to thwarting scammers.
A recently released survey of 407 online advertisers by market research firm Outsell estimated click fraud cost advertisers $800 million last year.
Click fraud is a highly sensitive subject for Google and Yahoo because it raises doubts about the trustworthiness of the advertising model that drives their profits and stock prices.
Google, Yahoo and partner Web sites get paid each time someone clicks on advertising links usually displayed at the top and on the side of Web pages.
Advertisers pay the commission even when the click doesn't produce a sale, a system that has inspired bilking schemes.
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