Google risks possible litigation over click fraudJune 30, 2005 Google could face litigation over some allegations that it neglected to protect AdSense customers from click fraud. Click Defense, a retailer of online marketing tools, claims that it has lost at least $5mn to click fraud, an industry term for the practice of deliberately clicking on Web advertisements to artificially inflate the figure for the number of times an ad is clicked. Because Google charges advertisers on a per-click basis, the practice can prove very costly. In some cases companies have even employed people or computers to click on rivals' ads. Advertisers pay a set amount, which can in extreme cases be as high as $95 per click. Their ads are run alongside standard Google search results, when the search keywords match those that the advertiser has allocated to their ad. Google relies almost exclusively on ad revenue and rejected Click Defense's claim. 'We believe the suit is without merit and we will defend ourselves against it vigorously,' a spokesman said.
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It said that click fraud is not a factor in its financial performance - the company made $1.3bn in the last quarter - adding that it has both sophisticated filters to distinguish between clicks generated through normal use by users and clicks generated by unethical users and automated robots, and has a dedicated team working on methods of prevention. In addition, should any fraudulent clicks get through, it says that it does not charge advertisers. Neither Google nor its main competitor Yahoo! will disclose the extent of click fraud, though independent observers estimate it to be around 20 per cent of total ad clicks. However, Click Defense, which is one of a number of businesses that sells software to detect and protect against click fraud, reckons that it is as high as 38 per cent. Last year, Google CFO George Reyes told an investor conference of the risk posed by click fraud. 'I think something has to be done about this really, really quickly,' he said, 'because I think, potentially, it threatens our business model.' Google also sued a Texas-based company, Auctions Expert International, claiming that it had defrauded both Google and its customers by automatically and repetitively clicking on ads. Google's share price recently peaked at $300, having been floated last August for $85. Source: PC Pro Read Serge Thibodeau's daily blogs on search engines at Serge Thibodeau Live. We strongly suggest you bookmark our web site by clicking here. Tired of receiving unwanted spam in your in box? Get SpamArrest™ and put a stop to all that SPAM. Click here and get rid of SPAM forever! Get your business or company listed in the Global Business Listing directory and increase your business. It takes less then 24 hours to get a premium listing in the most powerful business search engine there is. Click here to find out all about it. Rank for $ales strongly recommends the use of WordTracker to effectively identify all your right industry keywords. Accurate identification of the right keywords and key phrases used in your industry is the first basic step in any serious search engine optimization program. Click here to start your keyword and key phrase research. You can link to the Rank for Sales web site as much as you like. Read our section on how your company can participate in our reciprocal link exchange program and increase your rankings in all the major search engines such as Google, AltaVista, Yahoo and all the others. Powered by Sun Hosting Sponsored by Avantex Traffic stats by Site Clicks™Site design by Mtl. Web D. Sponsored by Press Broadcast Sponsored by Blog Hosting.ca Call Rank for Sales toll free from anywhere in the US or Canada: 1-800-631-3221
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