In the expansive world of online ads, a silent predator prowls: ad fraud. It's a sneaky scheme that quietly chips away at the integrity of digital advertising. As of 2022, the total cost of ad fraud was estimated to be $81 billion, predicted to increase to $100 billion by the end of 2023. With the programmatic advertising market growing beyond leaps and bounds, the vulnerabilities of the system to ad fraud are also widening.
From stacking multiple ads behind a single ad or stuffing the same in a 1x1 pixel, fraudsters have dipped their hands in violating technology in the most rugged form. Amid this digital crisis, the need for ad fraud mitigation solutions among the programmatic players is instrumental.
Recently, our CEO had an eye-opening chat with Safety Detectives, diving deep into the murky waters of ad fraud mitigation. This conversation highlighted crucial points that underline the pressing need for awareness and proactive measures.
But before understanding this, let’s dive deep into this problem
What is ad fraud and why are people talking about it?
Ad fraud encompasses deceptive techniques aiming to exploit digital advertising systems, manipulate metrics, and siphon advertising budgets. Its methods range from sophisticated bots generating fake impressions and clicks to elaborate schemes tricking ad networks into placing ads on fraudulent websites. Advertisers pay for these false engagements, believing they reach genuine audiences when, in reality, these actions lack human interaction or occur in non-viewable placements.
Some major trends to watch out for in this arena include the following:
- Click fraud- From click spam to click injections, fraudsters increasingly use techniques that inflate ad impressions and deceive advertisers and publishers alike. By painting a seemingly positive picture of a high-performing campaign, the bad actors attempt to skip detection by constantly using bots and click farms to carry out these techniques and paint a human-like impression.
- CTV fraud- Connected TV advertising has achieved massive momentum with the rise of Android TVs and complimentary services. As such, its vulnerability to ad fraud is also a hot topic of discussion. From cross-device frauds to Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI), there are no stones left unturned by the malicious actors, allowing them to seamlessly carry out fraudulent activities and skip detection.
- AI in ad fraud- The rise of generative AI and similar technology has enabled fraudsters to create highly sophisticated bots with complex programming making them harder to detect. By leveraging AI to the optimum extent, ad fraud activities are rising creating additional pressure on marketers to fight a mighty enemy.
With the existence of a problem of this magnitude, what’s the immediate solution?
Mitigating ad fraud has been the talk of the town for a very long time. However, the active awareness about its implementation must be prioritised as the problem is huge and is spreading like wildfire with technological advancements. Ad fraud mitigation solutions are instrumental due to the following reasons
- Protecting Investments- Shielding ad budgets from fraud ensures money is spent where it counts, improving campaign effectiveness.
- Preserving Reputation- Falling victim to ad fraud damages a brand's credibility. Mitigation protects against associated negative impacts.
- Safeguarding Inventory- Maintaining quality ad spaces protects a publisher's reputation, ensuring trust with advertisers and users.
- Ensuring Revenue- Effective solutions help prevent revenue loss caused by fraudulent activities, bolstering earnings.
- Building consumer trust- Ad fraud erodes consumer trust as users might encounter misleading or irrelevant ads due to fraudulent traffic. Moreover, compromised consumer privacy is an alarming issue which is required to be dealt with stringent regulations. To ensure quality adherence to standards and retain more consumers, ad fraud mitigation solutions are the new normal for long-term sustainability.
What makes ClearTrust stand out in this battle against ad fraud?
Highlighting the magic of our customized filters in conversation with Safety Detectives, our CEO spoke about the success stories of our clients and how our solutions have proved to be instrumental in redefining their marketing activities.
Check out the full interview at here.
