Marketing and Advertising 101: Tackling the Proliferation of Digital Ad Fraud

Should businesses be worrying about digital ad fraud? What are the preventive measures of fraud and how can businesses approach the mitigation of it?

According to data from Integral Ad Science, digital ad fraud is one of the biggest challenges that U.S. media professionals are facing. The report noted that 38% of respondents have trouble with the increasing level of this type of digital ad fraud. 

To put this into perspective, the challenge of targeting the right audience is in the lead at 52%. This is followed by the inability to reach performance targets at 45%, as well as the lack of premium inventory at 41%. It should also be noted that surveyed individuals selected up to three responses. 

In terms of the attitudes toward digital ad fraud, businesses working with influencers are becoming more careful in their vetting processes. In fact, according to Activate’s findings, 66.4% of U.S. marketers believe that social platforms need to step up their game when it comes to halting fraudulent activity. Although 51.8% of these professionals already have a vetting process, 35.5% of them also believe that the influencers they are working with have bought fake followers. 

In addition to this, there are several other forms of digital ad fraud that businesses should take into account when working on new advertising campaigns.  

Digital ad fraud through bots

This type of digital ad fraud pertains to the artificial increase of website visits and engagement in order to gain revenue. Typically, bots are used for web traffic fraud in order to generate an influx of visitors and actions. Although a lot of likes and shares, for instance, may appear great at the surface, the disingenuous inflation of them can hurt businesses in the long run due to the lack of value. 

Digital ad fraud through click farms

Other times, actual employees can be found engaging with posts and websites at a superficial level. For instance, low-wage workers in underdeveloped countries can get paid to engage in this type of activity. Although the impressions and visits are real, the value of them is non-existent. Businesses that are subjected to this type of digital ad fraud will find it difficult to gain a real customer base full of individuals who are genuinely excited about products and services.

 

Digital ad fraud through ad stacking

Businesses should also be careful when it comes to how their advertisements are being published on websites. This is because fraudulent activity can be in the form of stacking advertisements on top of each other. It can then be claimed that those messages were indeed posted despite not being seen by the intended audience. This is especially an issue for businesses that want to raise brand awareness through online campaigns. Hidden advertisements not only negatively impact the spread of brand awareness information, but also the bottom line. 

Digital ad fraud through background activity

Similar to ad stacking, digital fraud through the use of hidden background activity within websites can hurt businesses and their campaigns in the long run. An example of this would be a website charging advertisers whenever a video gets watched or seen, however, such a video remains hidden to visitors. Potential business leads and customers will then be lost due to such fraudulent activity. 

Working with a team of marketing experts and industry professionals is a step in the right direction when it comes to protecting your business from digital ad fraud. The Find Your Audience team is ready to work with you to not only meet your business goals, but to also deliver genuine, performance-based results. Find Your Audience accomplishes this via thorough market research, in-depth consultations and customized long-term business strategies.

To take your business to the next level, give Find Your Audience a call 647-953-5042. You may also send an email to hi@findyouraudience.online.

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