Even though PPC marketing is one of the most finely targeted advertising strategies when handled properly, advertisers should be aware of ways fraud can occur.

Before understanding how fraud is committed in pay per click advertising, it is important to understand how it works and where it is used. This type of advertising is built on business/website related keywords, phrases and advertisements.

These keywords and ads are set up with ad vendors such as Google AdWords, Yahoo! Ads and the like, then the owner of the ad pays the vendors each time an Internet searcher finds the ad through a search (by typing in the related keywords or phrases) and clicks on it.

Technology is now keeping up with the fraudsters and is able to combat many of the schemes that have in the past been used to rip off advertisers, but it is prudent to be aware of the techniques used. There are a few ways that fraud can be committed in pay per click marketing. It can be as simple as someone (usually a competitor) clicking on your ad numerous times in order to increase your advertising costs or it can be as complex as having a sophisticated robot go through the internet and click on the ads that would bring revenue to the creator of the robot.

You can choose to have your ad displayed on pages that have content relevant to your keyword. When someone clicks on your ad from that page, the page owner gets a portion of the revenue generated from those clicks.

It has happened that page owners have generated schemes that click on those ads from their websites multiple times without having the ad vendor recognize the fraud. Most people using pay per click advertising ask one particular question: should they be worried about PPC fraud.

Well, most doomsayers claim that a huge percent of costs for pay per click advertisements are caused by fraud. Most respected sources claim that only about 20% could be fraud. Even if the 20% claim is accurate, you should remember that Google and Yahoo are well established ad vendors, and it would take extremely sophisticated schemes in order to fool them for an extended period of time. If you are still concerned about frauds in pay per click marketing, there are mechanisms and software that you can use in order to catch fraudulent activities.

You can check the IP addresses to see multiple clicks (sometimes even up to hundreds of times a day) from one IP addresses. If you are able to prove your claim, you can apply for a refund of the money you paid for these fraudulent clicks. As well, there are third party solutions which let you set up an account online to track the clicks on your ads. These accounts then enable you to catch potentially fraudulent ad clicks. These solutions come with a nominal sum that has to be paid on a monthly basis.

About the Author:

Seize this sensational opportunity to get inside information on how to maximize your PPC advertising profits.