StopScum

Please join the real world!

The ClickZ article says:

"Overture defines click fraud as, "clicks arising for reasons other than the good-faith intention of an Internet user to visit a Web site to purchase goods or services or to obtain information," according to spokesperson Dina Freeman."

"Google is a bit more specific, defining click fraud, "or invalid clicks, as any method used to artificially and/or maliciously generate clicks or page impressions," according to Salar Kamangar, director of product management. Examples of invalid clicks, according to Kamangar, include: manual clicks on an ad to purposefully increase the ad spend; deliberate clicks on an ad to increase profits by site owners hosting the ads; and automated clicking tools, 'bots, or other deceptive software."

Do any of these firms frequent Forums? The PPC industry is over 5 years old, why are these major players still trying to define click fraud at a major industry event? Neither definition provides enough real world examples to actually help honest publishers understand what actions will result in the termination of their affiliate account. Both definitions convey a lack of real world knowledge on how cheaters actually work. This lapse will encourage more cheaters to join. Finally, if you can't document violations of your TOS, how can you enforce them?

A real world solution which helps all parties

Please read these carefully Dr. Google and Professor Overture. Amend your poorly written TOS and include our text. We suggest that these Rules/TOS are the very first thing a prospective Affiliate sees when they sign up. Require a check box/link which says:, "I have read, understand, and agree to comply with your TOS." If a prospective Publisher does not enable this check box they can't join either affiliate program. The Google AdSence program and the Overture Affiliate Program do not do this.

Our copy which includes a little humor for your reading pleasure:

Any of the following actions will results in the termination of your affiliate account and forfeiture of all moneys due. Including but not limited to the following real world examples:

1. DO NOT click on your own adverts. One click or 10. We don't care.

2. DO NOT click on your competitors advert. One click or 10. We don't care. Try and think like the real world and strive for a working relationship with your competitors. Some will become helpful friends and others may not but at a minimum try and maintain a working relationship. DO NOT attack, denigrate, slander, or fight with your competition. If you can't deal with competition in a fair and ethical manner, unplug your machine and site, then contact McDonalds for the next available job opening.

3. DO NOT encourage, ask, and or hint with other parties to click on your adverts.

4. DO NOT "beg for clicks" using the following terms and or any terms which a reasonable person would construe as "begging for clicks"

"Please click our advertisement to help us"

5. DO NOT use and or encourage others to use "bots" and or any automated procedure which generates clicks on your adverts or anyone else's adverts.

6. YOU are responsible for the all the actions of the users on your affiliate site. If they engage in click fraud your affiliate account will be terminated and all moneys do will be forfeited. Don't create enemies. Treat your guests with respect. Moderate your Forum in a professional manner so it doesn't become a hot bed of folks who want to damage your site with click fraud.

7. If a "click club", which are widely used in India and China, commits click fraud on your site, your affiliate account will be terminated and all moneys do will be forfeited.

8. DO NOT "game" our systems with a page loaded with high paying keywords which are not directly related to the content of your site. One keyword or 100. We don't care.

9. Your site may have to pass the "smell test" when a human reviews it. Sites which appear to be built for our affiliate program and NOT for the benefit of surfers, have a significantly higher incidence of being terminated from our affiliate program. Build your site for your visitors FIRST, then include our adverts.

10. If your affiliate account is terminated, the burden of proof with respect to weather you violated either the letter and or spirit of these TOS lies with you and not us. We suggest you take some perceptions:

a. Maintain monthly local back up of your log files. This permits you to search for repeate IPs and Open Proxy servers.

b. Consider using a service like asRep or WhosClickingWho

11. If you see another site cheating our system, please report them to us via this link.

12. If you frequent Forums, please DO NOT post ANY specifics about your AdSense account. Please DO NOT help and or encourage Publishers who are trying to either "game" our program and or cheat. Here a few posts which are always a red flags:

What are the highest paying keywords?

What kind of CTR is acceptable?

How does Google catch cheaters?

How can I join under a new name?

13. We DON"T care what your intentions are or were. We've heard the excuses a zillons times and they don't work. Some of (but not all) of the excuses we have heard:

I accidentally clicked on my advert 12 times. I suffer from a disease known as "click_dimensia_cheater"

I clicked on my adverts because it interested me

I didn't do it

I needed money to send my dying father to the hospital.

Prove it DUDE!

14. If you violate either the letter and or spirit of these TOS, which we may revise at any time, we may elect to sue you.

What have these examples and rules accomplished?

They help honest Publishers understand the numerous aspects of the PPC space and help them take precautions. They also help them avoid honest mistakes and misunderstandings. We can tell you with absolute assurance that these detailed examples and TOS, send a very loud message to some cheaters that we already know exactly what you plan to do, so don't bother joining. It conveys to these cheaters that we have "street knowledge" and actively and aggressively pursue cheaters. Will it stop all the cheating? No. BUT, it will significantly lower the incidence of cheating when combined with an aggressive legal procedure.

One would argue that these new rules may dissuade some honest folks from joining who are scared. To an extent this is true but that's the price you pay for effectively helping Publishers and fighting cheating. For the legal bagels in the crowd, these rules also provide enough "wiggle room" to insure that you can effectively fight fraud which uses techniques which are not documented on your TOS page.

Just Sue!

The ClickZ article says: "Any advertiser or publisher participating in invalid click activity or other related offense is subject to being banned from our system and subject to prosecution," Kamangar (from Google) warns.

Is that so! The AdSense affiliate program was launched over one year ago. During this time you have sued exactly one affiliate. I'm not aware of any law suits by Overture's 4 year old affiliate program. You can't fight fraud without law suits. You can't expect your advertisers to carry the load for the false clicks which they pay for. We understand you are a "broker" but let's try and think long term. We are aware of much smaller affiliate programs who regularly sue six to twelve affiliates every year. Sometimes the potential recovery makes economic sense but in other cases they are willing to invest the capital expenditure to send a loud and clear signal that they mean business. This procedure definitely works and it doesn't take long for the word to spread that "FunkyDuckAffiliateProgram" sued me and my father so don't try any funny stuff with these guys!