MARKETING
Click & Bot Fraud: The Spookiest Specters of PPC
I was working in the office late one night when my eyes beheld an eerie sight. For a monster from my account began to rise and suddenly, to my surprise…
He did not do any kind of monster-themed dance, because he was a bot spending my ad budget on fraudulent clicks. If click fraud has happened to you, you know it can be pretty scary. But have no fear, I’m here to let you know how to identify click fraud in your account and what you can do to combat it.
What is Click Fraud?
Click fraud, also known as ad fraud, is the fraudulent clicking or viewing of pay-per-click ads. This invalid activity can drive up the perceived number of clicks on an ad and along with, the cost. According to the Association of National Advertisers, the impact of ad fraud is estimated to be $5.8 billion this year. Ad fraud can happen anywhere and isn’t just limited to search. Display, video, and even social ads can be subject to fraudulent clicks. Just this August, Facebook sued two developers for creating apps infected with malware that falsified clicks. The bottom line is that click fraud messes with your data and your money, and as a PPC nerd (and a cheapskate), nobody messes with my data or my money. Let’s explore who these click fraud creeps are and how they highjack your ads.
The Creeps of Click Fraud
1.Web Publishers
Web publishers make 68% of the amount paid to Google for that ad, so the more clicks, the more money. Many publishers rely solely on the revenue they make from advertising and so may be tempted to click on an ad on their website to increase revenue. However, publishers who do this risk losing their partnership status with Google. Google also monitors 3rd party affiliates’ web traffic to make sure their ad clicks and impressions are valid.
2. Click Farms
Click farm sounds idyllic, doesn’t it? Like maybe it’s the place your ad goes to rest when it’s past its prime. Unfortunately, the reality of click farms is much sadder. Click farms are sort of like the sweatshops of pay-per-click. Companies can buy likes or followers for their social media pages to boost their presence in hopes of encouraging real consumers to buy. Sometimes companies even buy clicks for their competitor’s ads to exhaust their ad budget. Unfortunately, the companies and orchestrators of click farms profit while those working in them are paid very little and usually operate in pretty poor working conditions.
3. Bots
Bots are the most common perpetrator of ad and click fraud. Bots are sophisticated malware that act like human traffic on a site and can simulate clicks, impressions, and site visits. The creators of the bots then create fraudulent websites to host ads where the bots will simulate traffic. Methbot, one of the largest bot fraud operations to date, was discovered in 2016 by White Ops cybersecurity. Using over 500,000 IPs and 6,000 domains to cover its tracks, Methbot was making its creators as much as $5 million a day.
How Do You Know If You’re Experiencing Click Fraud?
Okay, now that I’ve scared you a little bit, let me tell you how to determine if you’re the target of click fraud and what to do about it. Here are some key indicators that something suspicious is going on:
1. Click-Through Rates Have Gone Through the Roof
If you’re seeing your click-through rate spike out of nowhere, you might want to take a peek in Google Analytics and see where that traffic is coming from. It’s possible that you just launched a great ad, and if that’s the case, congrats! However, if your traffic is coming from countries that you don’t serve or you have an unusually high bounce rate, you may be the target of click fraud. Not sure what a reasonable click-through rate is? Check our Associate Director of Search Matt Umbro’s article.
2. Weird Referral Traffic
While you’re in Google Analytics, take a look at your referral traffic. If it seems like there are some odd or irrelevant traffic referring users to your site, it could be a bot. Bryan Gaynor, Senior Digital Marketing Account Manager at Hanapin Marketing, has a great article on what to do when you see this kind of traffic.
3. Take a Look at Incoming IP Addresses
If you’re particularly worried about click fraud or you’re experiencing the symptoms listed above, take a look at the IP addresses of the users visiting your site. PPC Protect explains exactly how to do that. If you keep seeing the same IP addresses over and over again, especially within a short time frame, this could mean click fraud.
4. If You’re In the Finance, Family, or Food Industry
No, fraudsters aren’t just targeting industries that start with ‘F’. What these industries have in common is a high average cost per click and lot’s of traffic, which means click criminals can make a lot of money and go relatively unnoticed. It’s estimated that between 16-22% of the traffic to these industries’ sites are bots. Luckily for most other industries, bot traffic makes up less than 10% of their traffic.
Combatting Click Fraud
Click fraud is scary, that’s why we waited until October to write this article. Even though it’s frightening to think about what creeps could be stealing your advertising dollars, it’s not a reason to stop PPC completely. With 3 billion people spending an average of 23 hours a week surfing the internet, you miss risking out on lots of revenue and new customers if you’re not showing up online. Just like you wouldn’t close down your brick and mortar store for fear of shoplifting, you wouldn’t stop doing digital advertising.
Luckily, there are many ways that click and bot fraud is being combatted. Platforms like Google and Facebook are increasing their vigilance and have become more litigious in recent years when it comes to combating click farms. Google has also launched it’s Ad Traffic Quality Center to help inform digital advertisers and provide options for requesting invalid traffic investigations. One of the best ways to be vigilant in detecting click fraud or unusual traffic is to segment your ad campaigns and be intentional in your targeting. If you know what kind of traffic is normal and what your users should look like, you’ll be able to detect click and bot fraud much faster.
If you’re still worried or belong to one of the industries at risk listed above, you might consider looking into vendors like ClickCease and PPCProtect to help keep an eye on your traffic. Armed with this knowledge about click fraud, you’re safer already.
MARKETING
Quiet Quitting vs. Setting Healthy Boundaries: Where’s The Line?
MARKETING
Microsoft unveils a new small language model
Phi-3-Mini is the first in a family of small language models Microsoft plans to release over the coming weeks. Phi-3-Small and Phi-3-Medium are in the works. In contrast to large language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, small language models are trained on much smaller datasets and are said to be much more affordable for users.
We are excited to introduce Phi-3, a family of open AI models developed by Microsoft. Phi-3 models are the most capable and cost-effective small language models (SLMs) available, outperforming models of the same size and next size up across a variety of language, reasoning, coding and math benchmarks.
What are they for? For one thing, the reduced size of this language model may make it suitable to run locally, for example as an app on a smartphone. Something the size of ChatGPT lives in the cloud and requires an internet connection for access.
While ChatGPT is said to have over a trillion parameters, Phi-3-Mini has only 3.8 billion. Sanjeev Bora, who works with genAI in the healthcare space, writes: “The number of parameters in a model usually dictates its size and complexity. Larger models with more parameters are generally more capable but come at the cost of increased computational requirements. The choice of size often depends on the specific problem being addressed.”
Phi-3-Mini was trained on a relatively small dataset of 3.3 trillion tokens — instances of human language expressed numerically. But that’s still a lot of tokens.
Why we care. While it is generally reported, and confirmed by Microsoft, that these SLMs will be much more affordable than the big LLMs, it’s hard to find exact details on the pricing. Nevertheless, taking the promise at face-value, one can imagine a democratization of genAI, making it available to very small businesses and sole proprietors.
We need to see what these models can do in practice, but it’s plausible that use cases like writing a marketing newsletter, coming up with email subject lines or drafting social media posts just don’t require the gigantic power of a LLM.
Dig deeper: How a non-profit farmers market is leveraging AI
MARKETING
Navigating the Video Marketing Maze: Short-Form vs. Long-Form
Are you torn between using long-form or short-form videos for your small business marketing campaign? Well, you are not alone. Despite 89% of consumers wanting to see more brand videos, there is no one-size-fits-all answer about the ideal video length.
However, this should not deter you from creating an effective video strategy. In 2023, people watched an average of 17 videos per day, highlighting the influence of video content in today’s digital landscape.
Both short-form and long-form videos offer unique advantages and come with their set of challenges. Join me as I uncover the benefits and limitations of each video format to help you make informed marketing decisions.
What are Short-Form Videos?
Short videos typically range from 30 seconds to less than 10 minutes long. They are popular on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube.
Short-form videos deliver brief yet engaging messages that quickly capture the viewer’s attention. Here are some popular types of short-form video content.
- TikTok Challenges
- Instagram Reels
- Snapchat Stories
- YouTube Shorts
- Twitter Video Ads
Benefits of Short-Form Videos
A previously cited report shows that 39% of marketers find short-form videos, ranging from 30-60 seconds long, more successful. The same study reports that 44% of customers prefer watching a short video to learn about a brand’s offerings.
So, it is evident that short-form videos have their benefits. Let’s take a closer look at some of them.
Attention-Grabbing
Short-form videos capture attention quickly, making them ideal for the fast-scrolling nature of social media platforms. Your audience is more likely to watch them in their entirety compared to longer content.
Cost-Effective Production
Creating short-form videos requires less time and resources compared to longer videos. As a small business owner with a limited budget, using short-form videos can be cost-effective.
Increased Engagement
Short-form videos engage viewers due to their crisp and concise nature. This results in more likes, comments, and shares that boost your content’s visibility and increase brand awareness.
Integrating short-form videos into your influencer marketing campaigns can further amplify your reach to new and diverse audiences.
Highly Shareable
Short videos are highly shareable. This makes it more likely for your viewers to share them, increasing their virality.
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There are multiple benefits of adding video to your website including increased engagement, improved SEO, and enhanced user experience.
Limitations of Short-Form Videos
While short-form videos offer many advantages in content marketing, they also present some challenges.
Limited Message Depth
Due to their brief duration, short-form videos may struggle to convey complex or detailed messages. Longer videos might be more suitable if you need to communicate intricate information.
Competition for Attention
Standing out on platforms flooded with short-form video content can be challenging. You must create content that stands out to avoid becoming lost in the sea of other videos.
Shorter Lifespan
Short videos may lose their relevance with time. They can quickly get buried in users’ feeds, leading to a shorter visibility and engagement period than longer, evergreen content.
This means you must consistently create short-form videos to maintain audience interest over time.
Limited SEO Impact
Short-form videos may be more challenging to optimize for search engines than longer, more keyword-rich content. This can affect the discoverability of your content outside the social media scene.
What are Long-Form Videos?
Long-form videos are typically longer, ranging from a few minutes to several hours. They extend beyond a few minutes to several hours, providing ample time for in-depth topic exploration and detailed content.
These videos are particularly suitable for educational content, product demonstrations, and narrative-driven storytelling. Long-form videos are common on platforms like YouTube and Vimeo. Common types of long-form video content include:
- YouTube Series
- Webinars
- Educational Tutorials and Courses:
- Behind-the-Scenes Content
- Interviews and Conversations
Advantages of Long-Form Videos
Long-form video content is the fastest-growing segment, with videos above 30 minutes experiencing tremendous growth over the years. Let’s explore some of the benefits behind this growth.
Establishes Expertise and Credibility
Long-form videos allow you to provide in-depth information about various subjects, establishing your brand as an authority. Potential customers will likely trust and rely on your insights when you consistently deliver valuable content.
Builds Strong Audience Connections
The more your audience watches your videos, the more they become familiar with your content and brand. This consistent engagement promotes trust and loyalty, helping you create deeper connections with your audience.
Provide SEO Optimization Opportunities
Long-form videos keep your audience engaged for a longer duration than short ones. This signals search engines that your content provides value, resulting in higher rankings and increased visibility.
Besides, these videos provide opportunities to optimize for relevant keywords. This Attrock guide offers more insights into the value of SEO for your small business.
They Are Sustainable
Unlike short videos, well-produced and valuable long-form videos have an extended shelf life. They can continue to attract views and engagement over an extended period, contributing to a sustainable content strategy.
Instagram reels are also a part of short videos and you can get benefits from this platform by integrating it with your website. You can learn how to embed Instagram Reels on websites and get extra benefits from your Reels.
Drawbacks of Long-Form Videos
Despite their benefits, long-form videos also have certain limitations, including:
Attention Span Challenges
Between distractions, juggling tasks, and information overload, user attention span quickly diminishes. Viewers may lose interest and disengage from your long video before its conclusion.
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Complex Production Process
Creating high-quality long-form videos requires more resources, including time, equipment, and skilled personnel. This can be disadvantageous, especially for small businesses with limited budgets.
Platform Limitations
Some social media platforms and video hosting sites may limit video length, making it challenging to distribute long-form video content. You may then be forced to repurpose your content to suit various platforms.
Short-Form or Long-Form Videos: Which Are Better?
Now that you know the benefits and limitations of each format, which one should you choose? Short-form or long-form videos?
Well, it all boils down to considering several factors, such as:
Content Objectives
What do you want to achieve from your video marketing campaign? Short-form videos are highly effective for quick brand exposure and generating buzz. Long-form videos, on the other hand, contribute to a more in-depth understanding of the brand.
Target Audience Preferences
Audiences with short attention spans likely prefer short-form videos, while long-form videos appeal to those seeking a more immersive experience.
Similarly, short-form videos may appeal more to younger audiences, while older demographics may prefer the depth of long-form content.
Platform Dynamics
Various platforms support different content formats. Short-form videos are well-suited for platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. On the other hand, platforms like YouTube and Vimeo are better for hosting longer videos.
Industry Type
Short-form videos would be ideal if your industry thrives on trends, entertainment, and quick messages. However, long-form videos are effective for industries requiring in-depth explanations or educational content.
Bottom Line
Ultimately, choosing short-form or long-form videos depends on your business’s specific needs and goals. Since both formats have advantages and limitations, making a choice may prove difficult.
However, it doesn’t have to be an uphill task. The key lies in recognizing when to incorporate each video format into your marketing strategy. Understanding your audience and its needs allows you to combine both formats strategically, maximizing the benefits of each.
Continuously analyze performance metrics and adapt your video marketing strategy accordingly to ensure optimal engagement and conversion rates.
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