It’s reasonable to fight ad fraud by whatever means necessary. However, are all the available means equally efficient? Spoiler: not really.
Knowing that your business is attacked by ad fraud is the same as knowing that you have toothache – this realization doesn’t take the pain away. There is something to be done about the problem, right?
Today, we will discuss two options of scam detection and fighting: using in-built and stand-alone fraud trackers, like ADEX. The difference between them is the same as the one between knowing that you have a toothache and actually healing your teeth.
Willing to learn more? Then read on.
Flexibility
Most in-built trackers are pretty standard. They have a number of algorithms efficient for a surface level of fraud detection only. What does it mean? For instance, you want to see if you have any suspicious traffic sources. You go to your in-built tracker and open the statistics block. The likeliest scenario is that your tool will confirm that assumption and show that you do have suspicious traffic. As a matter of fact.
You will see the percentage of potentially fraudulent clicks or impressions as well as problematic zones. Say, you have 50% of low-quality traffic around five zones. You cannot do much with this data – only switching all the zones off and this is exactly what most marketers do.
The problem is that switching a zone off is not always optimal. Let’s come back to our metaphor with teeth. You don’t always have an aching tooth pulled out. Sometimes, it’s much better to have it attended.
To make the right decision, you need specific and targeted actions. Anti-fraud tools like ADEX help you analyze traffic by slices, like GEO+device or GEO+browser.
As such, you can get rid of harmful slices instead of switching the entire zones off. There is no sense in throwing the baby out with the bathwater, right?
Reasons
Most in-built trackers don’t display the reasons why they mark certain traffic sources as fraudulent. Usually, they simply redden the problematic zones – you know that they are suspicious, but have no idea which type of attack you experience.
For instance, if you have to deal with bots, the best way to fight them is redirecting to the blank page or another URL. This is when our Fraudulent Traffic Redirect feature becomes especially useful.
However, when it comes to search bots, no actions are necessary. The problem is that in-built trackers frequently mark search bots as fraud, which motivates marketers to ban potentially profitable sources able to bring conversions. In-built trackers cannot distinguish between them.
In addition, in-built tools see no difference between harmful bots and suspicious clicks done by real users – say, one of them opened the page from the same IP a couple of times. That’s why each case and event needs special attention.
ADEX distinguishes various behavioral patterns of bots and shows you whether you have non-unique website visitors, fake clicks, tricks with VPNs or Proxy, etc. Our tool helps you discover the fraud sources and find out the reasons for marking them as suspicious. Claim Reports feature shows each event along with explanations, so that you know what you are up against. Transparency and reasoning are everything.
Customization
ADEX provides an optimal anti-fraud decision for your particular business. We believe that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all strategy. Fraud is equally harmful for small and large businesses. While the main difference is volumes, the price model also needs consideration. If you use a CPM or CPC model, fighting fraud targetedly is a must – each fake click and impression will bite off a piece of your budget.
If you prefer a CPA model, there is another danger waiting for you. Fake conversions bring numerous troubles instead of revenue. Not only do they toss away your money, but also require time-consuming manual check and tedious stats analysis.
Unlike in-built tools, our service strives to meet your particular needs instead of offering general solutions. The algorithm is advanced enough to analyze and evaluate each suspicious click and impression separately.
One by one, all of the fraudulent actions will be discovered and identified. It’s crucial to go really deep with fraud detection and be alert to the smallest link in the fraud chain.
Prevention
Cautiousness can prevent issues with fraud and its consequences. Preventing fraud ensures your brand safety and eliminates unfortunate situations with partners. Whether you are a publisher or advertiser, you may refuse cooperation with suspicious partners and sources before you start working.
In-built trackers hardly provide such services, but anti-fraud tools do. If you are not sure which traffic you sell or buy, stick to a third-party tracker.
Refund reports
Sometimes, preventing and even fighting fraudsters is too late – you have already paid for low-quality traffic and bots have gulped your budget. In such a case, the only option you have is to ask for a refund. Indeed, most traffic providers rarely agree to return money. How in-built trackers can help you convince them? Well, they actually cannot, since such tools never include detailed stats and strong proof. Here is when the ADEX platform comes to the rescue.
With our help, you can compose a detailed report fully packed with solid evidence and send it to the scammer. With in-depth analytics and focus on specifics, you have more chances to get your cash back. And, what is more, our service managers will eagerly help you hold a discussion with traffic providers. We prefer taking action and not just talking about it.
Conclusion
To make your battle against ad fraudsters efficient, you should arm yourself with precise knowledge and take thoughtful actions. This will make each of your shots maximally accurate. Anti-fraud tools like ADEX exist to help you do that with no hussle. Unlike in-built trackers, we provide:
- Detailed information about the fraud source: we focus on slices and unique events rather than percentage of suspicious traffic;
- Explanation of the fraud type: we can say what exactly makes particular slices and zones problematic;
- Individual approach: we work on a case-by-case basis and provide customized solutions regarding your situation and needs;
- Brand safety through fraud prevention: ADEX can help you evaluate the traffic source before you even start working with it;
- Help with refunds: customized and highly-specific reports backed up with managers help increase your chances of getting your cash back.
While in-built trackers cannot provide a high level of flexibility, customization, and preciseness, stand-alone anti-fraud tools deliver individual solutions and support. Rely on ADEX and don’t give bots a chance!
