Glossary | A | Ad Fraud
What is ad fraud?
Ad fraud is the disruption of the proper delivery of ads to real users and the intended audience. Ad fraud is an attempt to deceive advertisers into thinking that fake activity is real user behavior for the purpose of financial gain. It involves various fraudulent techniques that artificially inflate ad impressions, clicks, conversions, or other key performance indicators in online advertising campaigns.
Ad fraud encompasses practices such as bot traffic, click farms, cookie stuffing, ad stacking, and domain spoofing, among others. These activities deceive advertisers by creating a false perception of engagement and effectiveness, leading to wasted ad budgets and misleading analytics. Ad fraud poses significant challenges for digital performance measurement and affects overall campaign efficiency and return on investment.
Ad fraud is a significant concern for advertisers, ad networks, and publishers, as it undermines the integrity and effectiveness of digital advertising campaigns. Efforts are continuously made by industry stakeholders to detect and mitigate ad fraud through advanced technology, verification systems, and industry standards.