click fraud Last modified: Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Click fraud is an illegal practice that occurs when individuals click on Web site click through advertisements (either banner ads or paid text links) to increase the payable number of click throughs to the advertiser. The illegal clicks could either be performed by having a person manually click the advertising hyperlinks or by using automated software or Online bots that are programmed to click these banner ads and pay per click text ad links. Research has indicated that click fraud is perpetrated by individuals who use click fraud to increase their own personal banner ad revenues and also by companies who use click fraud as a way to deplete a competitor's advertising budget. See "How Affiliate Marketing Works" in the "Did You Know..." section of Webopedia. Also see Refer-It.com, a directory of referral & affiliate programs for e-commerce, featuring information on over 6,500 affiliate programs.
•E-mail this definition to a colleague• For internet.com pages about click fraud . Also check out the following links! ClickZ News: Google Sues AdSense Publisher for Click Fraud  Google has filed its first click fraud lawsuit, charging a Texas-based Web site and its owners generated fraudulent clicks on ads in its AdSense program, causing Google to pay them for useless traffic to its advertisers. ECommerce-Guide  ECommerce-Guide is the source for e-commerce news, trends, product reviews, and how-tos for businesses running online or e-commerce sites and selling and marketing products and services. ECommerce-Guide Affiliate Week Profile: Amazon Associates  Launched in 1996, the Amazon Associates affiliate program is the granddaddy of all e-commerce affiliate programs. Amazon Associates has evolved over the years and currently offers a number of different opportunities for affiliates to profit from. ECommerce-Guide Affiliate Week Profile: eBay Affiliates  If you're looking for a way to earn income from eBay without having to actually sell anything yourself, the eBay affiliate program is something to consider. ECommerce-Guide Affiliate Week Profile: Google AdSense  Making money with Google is easily done. With a few basic guidelines, it's almost a sure bet your site can generate incremental revenue. Refer-It.com  The Refer-It database lists thousands of programs offered by e-commerce vendors that share revenue with Website owners. Webopedia's 'Did You Know... How Affiliate Marketing Works?'  Affiliate marketing is the term used to describe a revenue-sharing plan where an online automated marketing program lets Webmasters place an advertiser's banner ads or buttons on their own Web site. Webmasters will receive a referral fee or commission from conversions when a customer has clicked the affiliate link and performs the desired action, such as make a purchase or opt-in for downloads or newsletters on the advertiser's site.	Online Advertising World Wide Web affiliate agreement affiliate link affiliate program banner ad banner ad rotater click click-through click-through rate e-commerce hyperlink Give Us Your Feedback Shopping click fraud Products Compare Products,Prices and Stores Shop by Category: Books 2 Model Matches Toys 0 Store Offers Sport and Outdoor 1 Store Offers Office Supplies 0 Store Offers