SEJ Today: Click Bots and Fake Traffic Cost Online Advertisers $35 Billion

Get the latest SEO, PPC, content marketing, and social media news delivered daily. [Read More]( [Read More]( [SEJTODAY]( Brought to you by: [Read More]( Tuesday, October 4, 2022 [Read the Article]( Digital Advertising, News, PPC [Click Bots and Fake Traffic Cost Online Advertisers $35 Billion]( By Brian Frederick The world of pay-per-click advertising depends on traffic to keep it running. But almost as long as there have been PPC ads, there have been bots to “click” them and game the system. An open secret, this problem is much more widespread than many digital marketers might assume, with some estimates claiming fake users make up almost 40% of all web traffic. A study by the University of Baltimore estimated ad fraud costs businesses $35 billion globally in 2020 alone. One of the most common ways it is perpetrated is via PPC fraud, in which website owners use an automated clicker, or click bot, to focus on Google Display, YouTube, or responsive text ads on their own site. If these clicks are not identified as fraudulent, and they often are not, the fraudster collects the payout for each click from the advertiser. This not only falsely inflates ad performance, but it siphons off money from advertisers’ digital ad budgets for nonexistent traffic. [Keep Reading...]( Sponsored [Boost Your Content with Keyword Intent Analysis]( By SEMRUSH With Semrush’s keyword intent metric, it's never been easier to quickly align your keywords with the right audience and the right content. [Try It Free]( Content Marketing, Content Strategy [7 Best Content Marketing Platforms For An Effective Strategy]( By Darrell Williams Organizations must invest in effective content marketing by leveraging various content marketing platforms as competition becomes more fierce. How fierce? 47% of companies plan to grow their content teams this year. Here are seven tools to consider to take your content to new heights. There is no right on wrong options to get started with content marketing. You have to jump in and get your feet wet. Beginning with one of the content marketing platforms mentioned is a good move in the right decision. [Read Now...]( SEO [Craig Campbell Talks SEO Trends, Organic Growth & Personal Branding]( By Bea Canuel While it has changed a lot in some ways, we still have the core fundamentals of content and links being massively important, the same way they were at the very start of my journey in this industry. Sure, things have evolved a great deal, and the quality of content, the relevance of links, and a lot of other nuances are in place. But the basics are still very similar. One tool, for local, is really hard. I use a number of tools for different elements of local, like Local Falcon, for checking out my Google Business Profile's ranking positions. I really do think even now, many small businesses don't realize how much traffic comes from those map positions. [Read Now...]( Sponsored [[SEO Audit] After the September Google Updates]( By WebCEO Start fixing your SEO issues from Google’s recent update with this in-depth audit. [Run Your SEO Audit]( PPC [Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): How To Get Started]( By Jessica Foster Conversion rate optimization is the systematic process of increasing the percentage of users and visitors who take a specific action on your website, social channels, or other online marketing campaigns. To successfully improve your conversion rate, you need to have a deep understanding of your users. You need to understand how they navigate your website, interact with your content, and ultimately take action. [Read Now...]( News, TikTok [TikTok Moves Forward With Live Shopping In US]( By Matt G. Southern TikTok is moving forward with plans to launch live shopping in the United States, despite an unsuccessful launch in the UK this summer. [Read Now...]( Sponsored [4 SEO Experts Share Key Actions To Raise Client Satisfaction]( By SEOmonitor Learn how to show that SEO is a necessary investment with the best strategic actions to keep clients and stakeholders happy and prove SEO ROI. [Read More]( Facebook, News [Facebook Launching New In-App Browser For Android]( By Matt G. Southern Facebook is preparing to launch a new in-app browser on Android, replacing the standard Android System WebView with a more stable solution. [Read Now...]( SEO, SEO Strategy [How to Use Reverse Video Search (& Why It’s Useful)]( By Alex Valencia Most often, reverse video search is used to find the source of a video. Say you find a funny or valuable video online, you might want to know who published the video, whether there is other content (like a blog article) connected to the video, or whether the owner produces similar content. Reverse video search in this instance may be able to find the original source of the content. Google, Bing, TinEye, and other tools offer reverse video search features that make finding the origins of a video simple. Remember, reverse video search can help you find duplicate content, which could help you protect your digital assets. Or, it can help you find the original publisher of a video so you can give credit where it’s due. Video is a great addition to many marketing campaigns, web content, social media strategy, and more. [Read Now...]( News, YouTube [YouTube Shorts Adds Another TikTok Feature – Voice Narration]( By Matt G. Southern YouTube Shorts adopts another popular TikTok feature that allows creators to narrate videos. Learn how to add voiceovers after recording a piece of content. 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