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Search Marketing Click Fraud!!! Has it happend to you?

By
Real Estate Agent

For the last 15 months I have been running a highly successful Search Marketing Campaign on Google.  I started out with Google, Yahoo, & MSN, but due to not being able to completely opt out of there "partner scam" programs, I now just use Google.  What I mean by a "scam parnership", is when these website designers create these bogus websites just to have Yahoo or Google ads on them.  Well what happends is the owners, with the help of many different IP adresses, click your ad and get paid.  No thanks.  With my StatCounter program, month after month, I would see this happening.  I finally had enough. 

Yahoo, unike Google, will not let you totally opt-out of there partnersip sites.  So I decided to "opt-out" of Yahoo! LOL!  Google has a far superior "Click Fraud Filter" in place. 

Back to the Click Fraud Point.  I send Google a click Fraud Report monthly and usaully credited $50-$200 dollars a month.  I know that is not a lot, but trust me over 15 months it ads up.

The best thing about Statcounter is I can tell exactly who and when is clicking my site.  When I see the local Remax office is clicking my ads about 50 times in a day, I add it to my report.  I once had a Remax office in my local area of Canton click my site about 30 times a day for two weeks.  LOL.  At least Google will reimburse me for that garbage!

Fast Forward to today.  Now Pay-Per-Click accounts for less than 30% of my hits per day.  With great SEO techiniques and spending your money in the right areas, Organic Rankings are the way to go.  And your hits are MUCH cheaper that way!

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Jennifer K Giraldi, REALTOR®    Solid Source Realty Atlanta     678-469-9519    Atlanta Real Estate & Atlanta Homes 

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Scott Daniels Florida Real Estate 2.0. Agents Earn 100% Commission.
Florida List For Less Realty, Inc. Broker/Owner. - Cooper City, FL
I stopped Google a year ago over their PPc tactics....Yahoo is slightly better..There is always a class action suit springing up daily. Which goes to show you how the stock reacts. It`s over $400 again!
Dec 22, 2006 08:50 AM
S. Leanne Paynter ☼ Broward County, FL
United Realty Group, Inc. - Davie, FL
Davie, Plantation, Cooper City & Weston Specialist
Jennifer, I couldn't agree with you more!  A few years ago I used Google AdSense for PPC marketing (before most online agents had even heard of it) and very quickly found that at least some of the clicks were fraud.  I wasn't willing to BOTH pay for the ads AND have to spend time playing cop for Google since they aren't willing to do it themselves, so I stopped the ads.  You say $50-$200/mo. - that's $600-$2,400 per year... money you can put towards other advertising or SEO.
Dec 26, 2006 11:43 AM
Christopher Walker
Mission Grove Realty Inc. - Hemet, CA
Local Broker and Realtor - Hemet & San Jacinto, CA

Organic is not just for the Green Party anymore!

Organic or natural placement should be everyones goal. Pay per click is too expensive and, in our business, is not very effective. (there is a time and place for it: HOLIDAY MARKETING)

Keep up the good work!

Dec 28, 2006 08:53 AM