Click Fraud: Yahoo Catching Google
Today, Yahoo made an announcement that caught the attention of online marketers for two reasons. One of the reasons that it caught people's attention was some the information that was released along with it. Basically, Yahoo quoted higher clickfraud numbers than Google has. Because many are suspicious of Google's initial click fraud quotes, however, Yahoo just might have gained some extra trust by admitting higher rates of click fraud.
For starters, CNet reported:
Davis said the [...] percentage of clicks that for some reason or another were problematic and thus the advertiser is not billed, averaged between 12 percent and 15 percent at Yahoo.
This, in turn, led Andy Beal to speculate
Assuming we're comparing apples to apples, this puts Yahoo above Google "less than 10%" invalid click rate. If Yahoo wants to have any chance in catching Google, it needs a competitive platform - check - and it can't afford to let Google convince the world they have click fraud under control, while Yahoo doesn't.
As Andy himself goes on to note, this public announcement is the first sign that Yahoo has given that they have the phenomenon under control. But the 12-15% number is what's really going to win advertisers over.
After all, those who are most concerned about click fraud are those who have experience numbers on their PPC campaigns that make Google's 10% seem dubious at best. By admitting that their own numbers of click fraud are actually higher (albeit only marginally so), Yahoo is simply confirming a suspicion that's already rampant.
The end result is going to be that Yahoo will start securing the faith and trust of PPC advertisers that are already skeptical of Google's transparency. Basically, they've admitted that it's more of a problem than their competitor has let on, but not so much of one that you'll have to worry about it if you advertise with them.
This is basic PR-marketing (if that's already a term), and I think that Yahoo should see some considerable account gains in the near future from it. What remains to be seen is whether Yahoo will be able to retain those gains. I have a suspicion, however, that they won't need to actually bring that 12-15% down to do so. All they'll have to is be willing to sacrifice a marginal amount of click-revenue to keep advertisers appeased, and I imagine that they'll start enjoying the patronage of many of Google's disenchanted advertisers.
