Here Comes The Click Fraud Underground Network

Click fraud is getting worse--and advertiser confidence in providers of search-engine advertising, namely Google and Yahoo, might be slipping. The widespread problem, like so many instances of fraud on the Web, is becoming more sophisticated. There's actually a thriving click-fraud underground teeming with small-time players operating large "paid to read" rings that have hundreds of thousands of members each.

Apparently, most click-fraud academics and consultants estimate that 10 percent to 15 percent of clicks are fake, or roughly $1 billion in annual billings. Search engines, of course, then divide these proceeds with any players involved--meaning that some $300 million to $500 million could be headed directly to the click-fraud industry, which would make it about as big as the online video advertising market.
Now customers - large and small are begginning to wise up, labelling click fraud The dark side of online advertising .

Google and Yahoo say they filter out most questionable clicks and either don't charge for them or reimburse advertisers that have been wrongly billed. Determined to prevent a backlash, the Internet ad titans say the extent of click chicanery has been exaggerated, and they stress that they combat the problem vigorously. I think they face a key challenge because they rely on revenue from contextual search features - which is the vehicle through which most click fraud is initiated.

Google and Yahoo are grabbing billions of dollars once collected by traditional print and broadcast outlets, based partly on the assumption that clicks are a reliable, quantifiable measure of consumer interest that the older media simply can't match. But the huge influx of cash for online ads has attracted armies of con artists whose activities are eroding that crucial assumption and could eat into the optimistic expectations for online advertising. (Advertisers generally don't grumble about fraudulent clicks coming from the Web sites of traditional media outlets. But there are growing concerns about these media sites exaggerating how many visitors they have -- the online version of inflating circulation.

I've heard estimates that 10% to 15% of ad clicks are fake, representing roughly $1 billion in annual billings. Usually the search engines divide these proceeds with several players: First, there are intermediaries known as "domain parking" companies, to which the search engines redistribute their ads. Domain parkers host "parked" Web sites, many of which are those dummy sites containing only ads. Cheats who own parked sites obtain search-engine ads from the domain parkers and arrange for the ads to be clicked on, triggering bills to advertisers. In all, $300 million to $500 million a year could be flowing to the click-fraud industry.

Personally, I don't think the numbers are that high, but this is becoming a serious problem and Search Engines need to come together and develop a decisive strategy for dealing with it. Perhaps more stringent conditions have to be put in place to make sure that only legitimate sites are allowed to participate in adSense and other contextual search programs. Of course, this could severely impact overall Search Revenue - but them if even 10% of that revenue is fraudulent, then perhaps such moves are justifiable.

Search Engine Commentary

Clearly - the key Search Engines are locked in a very competitive battle to acquire new users whilst remaining top of mind to their loyal "searcher" base. That said, Google, Yahoo and MSN (with it's Live Search offering) are adopting very similar approaches as they attempt to differentiate their offerings.
So, every major search engine is working hard to deliver intuitive features and complimentary applications to help improve your Search Experience. It's not just the 3 key players who are creating waves. Have you tried ask.com lately? Perhaps, as some in the blogosphere have said, it's time to reconsider Google.

Certainly, ask has brought more skin to the game - in recent months. When I heard that they were working hard to create their own search engine monetization platform, I wondered if that strategy was a wise one. IAC afterall is hardly a technology company and Barry Diller is no tech guru. Lately though, I'm hearing that Barry is having second thoughts, which is probably a good thing.

A Little Chaos Is Not A Bad Thing - is it?

Alright - so my late summer break is over and the WorldChanger is back. There's been much to talk about lately - however, today I'm going to focus on commentary from our friends at Google. In a recent Fortune Article - Google Management seemed to indicate that Chaos in the workplace can be a good thing. It's been obvious for some time now -- ever since the company went public two years ago, in fact -- that Google is trying very hard not to become a giant, slow-moving, bureaucratic organization, even as it hires hundreds of people every month and adds millions of square feet worth of office buildings at various locations around the world.

One of the most obvious attempts to retain the energy of a small startup (apart from the free snacks and scooter races in the hallways, of course) is the 20-per-cent rule, which allows Google employees to spend a day each week working on a personal project. According to co-founder Larry Page, those projects have produced some of the company's most successful new ventures, including Google News.

But then when you dine with the devil........ Financial Markets are not inclined to remain patient with Google if they can't maintain their impressive revenue numbers. During the next 3 quarters, I expect to face more pressure from Financial Markets to either start making money from some of their more "chaotic" initiatives - or scrap them and use the funds to improve Search Revenue.

Is Google A Friend or Foe?? - Perhaps Both......

What would life be like without Google. Many Small Business owners are still trying to figure out how to leverage online ad units - and along comes this Search Engine Juggernaut.

To many small businesses, Google is both friend and foe. Thousands of entrepreneurs now find most of their customers via search-based marketing. Other businesses-niche software and book publishers, for example risk imminent extinction thanks to Google's free software releases and an interestingly innovative approach to copyright law.

For many entrepreneurs here in the U.S., Google has helped make the Internet a viable place to do business. Roughly 500,000 U.S. small businesses rely on unpaid or "natural" search for the bulk of their revenues, according to John Battelle -(Author of "The Search").

Another half-million firms participate in Google's paid-search advertising program. Two-thirds of those are small businesses that collectively contributed $2 billion to Google's total revenues of $6 billion last year.

Google generates nearly all its revenues by selling ads. But businesses may soon balk at seeing Google leech away an ever-increasing share of their revenues. Yes, paying Google only if someone actually clicks on an ad is more efficient than a traditional TV or magazine ad, where you pay for eyeballs. Studies show that 1% or 2% of clicks generate paying customers. While more than double the typical conversion rates for print and TV ads, that's still a low percentage game. That said, thanks to Google, many startups have reached profitable niche markets at little cost.

As the blogosphere expands and matures, more entrepreneurs could discover that blogging is an efficient way to attract customers. Other small businesses may find that it pays to purchase ads directly from website owners rather than through Google. Say you run a home-building company. Placing an ad on a popular real estate industry site might be cheaper than paid search - and might prove a more direct route to your target audience.

Slowing The Juggernaut
Travel agencies. Newspapers. Realtors. Advertising firms. Software makers. What do these industries have in common? All face a serious competitive threat from Google.
Google is not yet a mature business," says CEO Schmidt. "Our pace of innovation is not slowing down, I assure you. If anything, it's accelerating."


Google's Rivals
Search under 'Google, competitor.' The list of prospective rivals grows longer every day. How these various clashes play out will have major consequences for small businesses

Microsoft: Google's free productivity applications (Gmail, Writely, and Google Spreadsheets) will offer ad-supported alternatives to Outlook, Word, and Excel. Can a free Google version of PowerPoint be far behind? Compelling scenario: Small businesses get free software. Google gets a fresh source of revenues. Microsoft's Live programs are reduced to also-rans in the brave new world of software as a service

Yahoo: This is a Coke-Pepsi rivalry. Google currently dominates the $9.5 billion search-term ad market, with a 60% share to Yahoo's 30%. But the two giants are duking it out in the ad-supported free software market, with competing e-mail, instant-messaging, blogging, and mapping services. Good news for small business: The rivalry should keep service quality up and prices down.

Craigslist & eBay: Many small Internet vendors would welcome a viable alternative to eBay. Hence the buzz over Google's new online payment program called Checkout. Meanwhile, Google's new Base service is user friendly and appears well suited for posting classified ads. Look out, Craigslist!

AOL's Top Techie, Maureen Govern - Resigns

So, Maureen Govern paid the ultimate price for the recent debacle at AOL. A division under her was responsible for accidentally releasing search data for more than a half a million Internet users.

It all went down last month. Some person(s) within AOL's technology research department sparked a crisis for the company by posting 20 million search queries made from March through May by 658,000 members. The queries were on a publicly accessible Web site for about two weeks before bloggers noticed them and began commenting during the weekend of Aug. 6-7. AOL apologized and removed the data, but it had already been copied and circulated online.

I feel for AOL - this is a company which is trying to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving Internet landscape. Let's hope Ms Govern finds her feet elsewhere.

Tips On Delivering Fantastic Presenations

Not all of us enjoy public speaking - or delivering presentations to large groups of people. I guess we could all use some tips on how to deliver an exciting, compelling presentation. So here is the World Changers Guide to delivering a powerful presentation.

Take Time To Think About it!
Who is your audience? What's the key message you want to deliver?. You need to spend a little time thinking about what exactly you want to accomplish. Are you trying to sell something, deliver information or propose a new initiative?

Once you understand exactly what you want to accomplish, think about the easiest way to convey your value proposition or value innovation - to your audience. You need to sell your audience - without selling to them!


Prepare, Practice - > Prepare & Practice Some More
As you prepare your material - start to see yourself in mind of your harshest critics. Imagine every negative argument which you may face and prepare a response. Review your entire presentation at least 10 times - extracting key facts. What's the story in each slide? Make sure you have one - and back it p (verbally) with facts and figures. That's where the preparation comes in. The bulk of the information you deliver must come from you directly - your slides or illustrations should serve to create context - and carry your audience along while you Sell your key points.

I Love Cartoons
Why do you think Children Love Cartoons? I think it's because of the colorful characters, interactive themes and visual effects. We all have a little child in us.
Make sure your presentations are colorful, interactive & feature some interesting visual effects. The idea is to keep your audience engaged - whilst delivering your key message.

Remember - the spreadsheets, statistics and background data, can be packaged separately and delivered after the fact. You need to mine your numbers and extract interesting data points which help reinforce your key message


Fire & Desire INXS
You've got to come with it - and I mean no holds barred. You don't have to shout, jump on a table or gesticulate wildly - but let your audience know that this stuff means a lot to you and you're totally sold on its value - to them, to your company, to everyone. Your sheer enthusiasm, must never wane - even in the face of criticism, interruptions or seeming disinterest from your audience. Psyche yourself up to do a great job of presenting your information - and execute your goal.


The Next Level
Nothing impresses people more than a non-confrontational person who can comment intelligently on a wide range of subjects and deliver compelling perspectives in simple terms. When you can cover all the angles - then you're ready for the next level and you're fully equipped to deliver a powerful presentation.

One last thing - if you think this write-up is only useful when you have an important presentation with your superiors, then you've missed the key message here. We all make presentations - every day of our lives.

Peace

Today I heard yet another interesting new idea from our friends at Google. Say what you will about the Googlers but one thing is for sure. They are creating "Blue Oceans" all over the place. Take yesterday's annoncement about Local Coupons. I love the idea - not because they could make loads of incremental $$'s from it - but because it's a creative way to further promote the whole concept of "Local Search". Think about it for a moment - most small business spend so much time just trying to stay afloat that they hardly have the bandwidth to develop, monitor and maintain a Search Campaign. It's hard enough to keep their websites up to date.

As Google draws in Companies which already use Paper Coupons - and persuades them to adopt this new model - other smaller companies will take note - their interest will be peaked and next thing you know - they're launching small keyword campaigns, or creating a handful of coupons.

Everyone knows that the LOCAL market is one key segment which could drive significant growth. Now Google will capture even more mind share because consumers will see them as trail blazers and solution providers. As always - value innovation is the key to creating sustainable growth in any Industry. You can be sure that Yahoo and other Search Engines will launch their own Coupon Offers very soon - and a Blue Ocean will become a Red One within a year. By the time it's key competitors are ready to respond, Google may have created yet another thougtht provoking offer or even spurned an entire new industry.

In their words - > "Google’s objective was to encourage local entrepreneurs to start using the Internet to promote their businesses"

I'd say they're on to something with this idea.........

Indra Nooyi - New Pepsi CEO

Okay - time to deviate a little from the Status Quo. Today I read that Indra Nooyi - currently the CFO of Pepsico, will take over from Chairman and CEO Steve Reinemund this October. She becomes the first woman to hold the post and enters the list of leading women in corporate America. "Nooyi was the primary architect of PepsiCo's restructuring, including the divestiture of its restaurants into YUM! Brands (Charts), the spin off and IPO of company-owned bottling operations into Pepsi Bottling Group (Charts), the acquisition of Tropicana and Pepsi's merger with Quaker Oats. Prior to joining Pepsi, Nooyi's other corporate jobs included vice president and director of corporate strategy and planning at Motorola and consultant with Boston Consulting Group.

I'm often drawn into discussions with friends and colleagues - about what it takes to succeed in corporate America and how the odds are often stacked against visible minorities and women. Well, I don't know much about Ms Nooyi, but I dare say - she has shattered some myths today. Clearly she's been doing something right - for a very long time - note the comments of outgoing CEO Steve Reinemund " whilst commenting on the announcement and the fact that Ms Nooyi's current responsibilities will be split once she becomes CEO. He mentioned that - "It has taken two great men to replace one great woman,". I'm very happy about this announcement - and it should give ALL of us food for thought.

Take a bow - Ms Nooyi, you're truly a World Changer

Peace...