Sports site sues Facebook for click fraud
Sports website RootZoo has accused Facebook of manipulating the scale of its pay-per-click (PPC) advertiser program. Facebook's PCC scheme charges advertisers a fixed amount each time a user clicks on their ad. However, RootZoo claims there has been a big discrepancy between the number of clicks it was charged for, and clicks that its own internal tracking software detected.
The filing alleges that Facebook billed the website with 804 clicks on June 2, 2008, while RootZoo recorded only 300 clicks that day. RootZoo's figures are claimed to have come from "Two industry leading software programs that track the number of clicks to its website and where the clicks originated."
In the course of investigating the clicks, RootZoo further claims that it found that hundreds of clicks were coming from small towns in the U.S. on a daily basis between April and May 2008, a rate that "would be almost statistically impossible given the distribution of the American population" and RootZoo's history of traffic from Facebook ads.
The complaint suggests the click fraud is perpetrated by rival sites that want to increase the fees that their competitor is paying and to use up their budget of clicks for the day. Beyond the discrepancy, RootZoo says Facebook doesn't do enough to prevent click fraud shenanigans and doesn't warn advertisers of the potential flaw in its program. It alleges that when advertisers suspect they've become victims of click fraud, Facebook gives them the cold shoulder.
"Facebook refused to take any action in response to these complaints nor has Facebook made available any of its internal data that would allow advertisers to understand the basis for the clicks on the advertisers' advertisements which Facebook claims to have occurred," says RootZoo. Facebook denies the charges against them, claiming it already has measures in place to prevent the ad scamming.
Source: siliconindia.com
The filing alleges that Facebook billed the website with 804 clicks on June 2, 2008, while RootZoo recorded only 300 clicks that day. RootZoo's figures are claimed to have come from "Two industry leading software programs that track the number of clicks to its website and where the clicks originated."
In the course of investigating the clicks, RootZoo further claims that it found that hundreds of clicks were coming from small towns in the U.S. on a daily basis between April and May 2008, a rate that "would be almost statistically impossible given the distribution of the American population" and RootZoo's history of traffic from Facebook ads.
The complaint suggests the click fraud is perpetrated by rival sites that want to increase the fees that their competitor is paying and to use up their budget of clicks for the day. Beyond the discrepancy, RootZoo says Facebook doesn't do enough to prevent click fraud shenanigans and doesn't warn advertisers of the potential flaw in its program. It alleges that when advertisers suspect they've become victims of click fraud, Facebook gives them the cold shoulder.
"Facebook refused to take any action in response to these complaints nor has Facebook made available any of its internal data that would allow advertisers to understand the basis for the clicks on the advertisers' advertisements which Facebook claims to have occurred," says RootZoo. Facebook denies the charges against them, claiming it already has measures in place to prevent the ad scamming.
Source: siliconindia.com
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