What is click fraud?
Click fraud is a deceptive practice where an advertiser pays for fake clicks on online advertisements. This can be done by automated programs or human workers. Click fraud can significantly impact businesses since it can lead to wasted digital advertising costs and lower website traffic.
Click fraud applies to a situation in which fake clicks are fired to claim credit for mobile app downloads and installs from organic channels. Click flooding and fraudulent click traffic generated by fake devices in click farms are the two of the most common techniques behind click fraud.
According to Webopedia, click fraud occurs when individuals click on advertising links with the malicious intention to increase the payable number of clicks. Clicks could be made by individuals manually clicking the link or by automated bots and software. This technique significantly impacts pay-per-click advertisements. Click fraud could be performed by publishers or ad networks to increase revenue or by competitors to deplete advertising budget.