“In addition to the ad fraud itself, bad guys make money by selling the “picks and shovels” too – e.g. bots, traffic, clicks, malware, fake apps, etc. They have an entire ecosystem to extract value. What follows are just a few examples, scratching the surface.”
In 2021 some marketers are still asking whether ad fraud is real and whether it is pervasive. This serves as a simple reminder of some of the evidence collected over the years.
How many of these hidden costs were you aware of?
Without even talking about digital ad fraud, there are other costs in the digital ad supply path that eat up most of every dollar that advertisers spend in digital. There are known costs of 60 - 70% extracted by adtech middlemen.
DIGITAL MARKETING
With the rapid rise of consumers using the Internet for work, communication, shopping and
recreation, virtually every organisation should have an online presence and be effectively
leveraging digital marketing opportunities. This means keeping up-to-date with online tools
and knowing how to use them to achieve overall business and marketing goals. This course
will guide you through the key skills you need to achieve your digital marketing goals.
The course sets out essential concepts and skills relating to the fundamentals of digital
marketing, including creating a web presence, optimising content for search engines, using
social media platforms, carrying out online marketing across a range of services, as well as
monitoring and improving campaigns using analytics.
Driven by some of the results seen across client accounts during world events like the conflict in Ukraine, Angelo and
Rob embarked on a mission to build a quick and reliable method to compare the impact of specific events on Google’s
algorithm to organic performance. In this talk, Angelo presents a methodology that is highly valuable to understand
the impact world events have on users’ search behaviour. It works retrospectively to understand how and why an event
has influenced organic traffic. But it also works proactively to allow SEOs to accurately assess and project uplift and
opportunities associated with upcoming world and national events.
In 2021 some marketers are still asking whether ad fraud is real and whether it is pervasive. This serves as a simple reminder of some of the evidence collected over the years.
How many of these hidden costs were you aware of?
Without even talking about digital ad fraud, there are other costs in the digital ad supply path that eat up most of every dollar that advertisers spend in digital. There are known costs of 60 - 70% extracted by adtech middlemen.
DIGITAL MARKETING
With the rapid rise of consumers using the Internet for work, communication, shopping and
recreation, virtually every organisation should have an online presence and be effectively
leveraging digital marketing opportunities. This means keeping up-to-date with online tools
and knowing how to use them to achieve overall business and marketing goals. This course
will guide you through the key skills you need to achieve your digital marketing goals.
The course sets out essential concepts and skills relating to the fundamentals of digital
marketing, including creating a web presence, optimising content for search engines, using
social media platforms, carrying out online marketing across a range of services, as well as
monitoring and improving campaigns using analytics.
Driven by some of the results seen across client accounts during world events like the conflict in Ukraine, Angelo and
Rob embarked on a mission to build a quick and reliable method to compare the impact of specific events on Google’s
algorithm to organic performance. In this talk, Angelo presents a methodology that is highly valuable to understand
the impact world events have on users’ search behaviour. It works retrospectively to understand how and why an event
has influenced organic traffic. But it also works proactively to allow SEOs to accurately assess and project uplift and
opportunities associated with upcoming world and national events.
There is more value to links that simple SEO. This is why, between 2000 and 2002, there was a huge patent case in the US over who owned the hyperlink! Find out, 20 years later, what all the fuss was about.
Digital Marketing Strategy & Plan TemplateBidur Acharya
The template of this digital marketing is provided by NSW IT Support. NSW IT Support, is a reputed and well known IT consultant in Australia. For more detail about digital marketing strategy, please visit: http://nswits.com.au/digital-marketing-company-strategy/
FouAnalytics - site analytics and media analytics for practitioners to detect fraud and take action themselves - on-site tags and in-ad tags measure sites and ad impressions, respectively
An Introduction to Marketing Automation & MauticMautic
This is the slide deck associated with the Webinar. You can watch the video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT6169rdMdk
Mautic is your open source marketing automation solution. Download from https://www.mautic.org or get your own hosted solution at https://mautic.com (both options are free).
YouTube Ads | YouTube Advertising | How To Run YouTube Ads 2019 | YouTube Ads...Simplilearn
This presentation about YouTube Ads explains why YouTube is considered as one of the best places to advertise, what are the different ad formats available for the users, some of the essential metrics you need to know, how you can create your own YouTube advertisement, how you can optimize your ads to make sure they are able to satisfy your marketing goals. This tutorial expands into how users can use Google Ads to create advertisements for YouTube with a practical example. It also talks about the success story of the clothing brand, Superdry, that took advantage of YouTube advertising to create an ad that brought remarkable success to their brand.
Below topics are explained in this YouTube Ads presentation:
1. Why is advertising on YouTube a good idea.
2. What are the types of YouTube Ads.
3. Importance metrics on YouTube.
4. How to create a YouTube Ad.
5. How can you optimize YouTube Ads.
6. Superdry: A YouTube success story.
Why learn Digital Marketing?
Businesses and recruiters prefer marketing professionals with genuine knowledge, skills and experience verified by a certification that is accepted across industries. Continuous learning for any working professional is not only important for keeping themselves up to date with the current market trends, but it also helps them expand their array of skill set and become more flexible in the workplace.
What skills will you learn from this Digital Marketing course?
This course will enable you to:
1. Gain an in-depth understanding of the various digital marketing disciplines: search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, pay-per-click (PPC), website conversion rate optimization, web analytics, content marketing, mobile marketing, email marketing, programmatic buying, marketing automation and digital marketing strategy
2. Master digital marketing execution tools: Google Analytics, Google Ads, Facebook Marketing, Twitter Advertising, and YouTube Marketing
3. Become a virtual digital marketing manager for an e-commerce company with Mimic Pro simulations included in our course. Practice SEO, SEM, Website Conversion Rate Optimization, email marketing and more.
4. Gain real-life experience by completing projects using Google Analytics, Google Ads, Facebook Marketing, and YouTube Marketing
5 Create the right marketing messages tailored for the right audiences
Who should take this Digital Marketing course?
Anyone who is looking to further his or her career in digital marketing should take this course, especially those seeking leadership positions. Any of these roles can benefit from DM Specialist training:
1. Marketing Managers
2. Digital Marketing Specialists
3. Marketing or Sales Professionals
4. Management, Engineering, Business, or Communication Graduates
5. Entrepreneurs or Business Owners
6. Marketing Consultant
Learn more at https://www.simplilearn.com/digital-marketing/digital-marketing-certified-associate-training
Google Ads Tutorial for Beginners video by Simplilearn aims to educate one on How to Use Google Ads 2023 to boost your marketing campaigns and brand traffic. We will go in-depth about what google ads are. This Video on Google Ads Explains the different types of google ads google offers, like image ads, text ads, video ads, Product shopping ads, shop showcase ads, responsive display ads, app promotion ads, and call-only ads. Then we will wrap up this tutorial with how to create a google ads campaign on google ads.
During this Video, we will Cover the Following:
👉 00:00 Introduction to Google ads tutorial for Beginners
This segment of the Google ads tutorial for Beginners will brief us on the fundamentals of Google Ads.
👉 01:40 What is Google Adwords?
This segment of the Google ads tutorial for Beginners will give us a brief origin and technical definition of google ads.
👉 07:26 Why are Google Ads important?
This segment of the Google ads tutorial for Beginners will give us an idea about the importance of google ads.
👉 15:36 Google Ads Formats
This segment of the Google ads tutorial for Beginners will briefly explain the different formats of google ads campaigns.
👉 24:14 How to create a Google Ad?
This segment of the Google ads tutorial for Beginners will give us a practical demonstration of how to create a google ads campaign.
👉 42:56 Important metric to track Google ads
This segment of the Google ads tutorial for Beginners will give us a brief idea of how to track our google ads performance.
👉 49:32 Google Ads Optimization
This segment of the Google ads tutorial for Beginners will give us tips to increase the quality score of your Google ads.
❓ What is Google Ads?
Google's online advertising platform, through which advertisers can pay to display advertisements, service offerings, video content, and generate mobile app installs. Google ads were launched on October 23rd, 2000, and have grown rapidly and become one of Google's main sources of revenue. Google Ads provides services that fall under PPC (Pay-Per-Click).
❓ Why are Google Ads important?
Google Ads promotes your product or service to the appropriate audience, ensuring users complete the required action. Google Ads is an efficient way to spread the word about your company. According to Google research, there is an increase in top-of-mind awareness. You can target website visitors rather than people who have already converted by using display network ads and RLSA. You can use Google Ads to see who clicked on your ads, how much traffic came to your website, how many leads were generated, and much more.
🔥Enroll for Free Digital Marketing Course & Get Your Completion Certificate: https://www.simplilearn.com/learn-dig...
✅Subscribe to our Channel to learn more about the top Technologies: https://bit.ly/2VT4WtH
⏩ Check out the Digital Marketing training videos: https://bit.ly/36d97Fs
#GoogleAdsTutorial #HowToUseGoogleAds #GoogleAds #AdsCampaign #GoogleAdsCampaign
Everyone is paying for fraud detection, but without enough technical knowledge, they don't realize the fraud detection doesn't work or is easily tricked by the bad guys. So what's worse is that the people paying for fraud detection have a false sense of security and take their eyes off of the obvious fraud that is still getting through.
With AI taking the content marketing world by storm, many are wondering about the big questions: can you use AI to create high-ranking, effective content? And what’s the right way to do it?
Check out this webinar and hear the key concepts behind successful AI usage, along with real-life case studies from marketers using AI for their SEO and content.
You’ll learn:
- How to combine SEO data with AI technology
- Examples of unconventional uses of AI for content
- Case studies of how AI has enhanced SEO and content strategies
With Margarita Loktionova, Content Marketing Lead at Semrush, and Andy Crestodina, founder of Orbit Media, we’ll dive into the practical ways you can leverage AI tools for more efficient and effective campaigns that rank higher.
Social Media overview
Role in marketing strategy
Technical aspects explained
Facebook Social Ad campaign
Facebook Social Media metrics
Design Best Practices
Trends in Facebook advertising
Other Social Media platforms
Do you think fraud detection tech works? Consider this. Bad guys are hackers. They have better tech and are always 1 step ahead of good guys trying to detect and catch them.
Here are some questions to ask of fraud detection vendors so you can tell if you are getting ripped off and if they can actually do what they claim to be doing.
There is more value to links that simple SEO. This is why, between 2000 and 2002, there was a huge patent case in the US over who owned the hyperlink! Find out, 20 years later, what all the fuss was about.
Digital Marketing Strategy & Plan TemplateBidur Acharya
The template of this digital marketing is provided by NSW IT Support. NSW IT Support, is a reputed and well known IT consultant in Australia. For more detail about digital marketing strategy, please visit: http://nswits.com.au/digital-marketing-company-strategy/
FouAnalytics - site analytics and media analytics for practitioners to detect fraud and take action themselves - on-site tags and in-ad tags measure sites and ad impressions, respectively
An Introduction to Marketing Automation & MauticMautic
This is the slide deck associated with the Webinar. You can watch the video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT6169rdMdk
Mautic is your open source marketing automation solution. Download from https://www.mautic.org or get your own hosted solution at https://mautic.com (both options are free).
YouTube Ads | YouTube Advertising | How To Run YouTube Ads 2019 | YouTube Ads...Simplilearn
This presentation about YouTube Ads explains why YouTube is considered as one of the best places to advertise, what are the different ad formats available for the users, some of the essential metrics you need to know, how you can create your own YouTube advertisement, how you can optimize your ads to make sure they are able to satisfy your marketing goals. This tutorial expands into how users can use Google Ads to create advertisements for YouTube with a practical example. It also talks about the success story of the clothing brand, Superdry, that took advantage of YouTube advertising to create an ad that brought remarkable success to their brand.
Below topics are explained in this YouTube Ads presentation:
1. Why is advertising on YouTube a good idea.
2. What are the types of YouTube Ads.
3. Importance metrics on YouTube.
4. How to create a YouTube Ad.
5. How can you optimize YouTube Ads.
6. Superdry: A YouTube success story.
Why learn Digital Marketing?
Businesses and recruiters prefer marketing professionals with genuine knowledge, skills and experience verified by a certification that is accepted across industries. Continuous learning for any working professional is not only important for keeping themselves up to date with the current market trends, but it also helps them expand their array of skill set and become more flexible in the workplace.
What skills will you learn from this Digital Marketing course?
This course will enable you to:
1. Gain an in-depth understanding of the various digital marketing disciplines: search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, pay-per-click (PPC), website conversion rate optimization, web analytics, content marketing, mobile marketing, email marketing, programmatic buying, marketing automation and digital marketing strategy
2. Master digital marketing execution tools: Google Analytics, Google Ads, Facebook Marketing, Twitter Advertising, and YouTube Marketing
3. Become a virtual digital marketing manager for an e-commerce company with Mimic Pro simulations included in our course. Practice SEO, SEM, Website Conversion Rate Optimization, email marketing and more.
4. Gain real-life experience by completing projects using Google Analytics, Google Ads, Facebook Marketing, and YouTube Marketing
5 Create the right marketing messages tailored for the right audiences
Who should take this Digital Marketing course?
Anyone who is looking to further his or her career in digital marketing should take this course, especially those seeking leadership positions. Any of these roles can benefit from DM Specialist training:
1. Marketing Managers
2. Digital Marketing Specialists
3. Marketing or Sales Professionals
4. Management, Engineering, Business, or Communication Graduates
5. Entrepreneurs or Business Owners
6. Marketing Consultant
Learn more at https://www.simplilearn.com/digital-marketing/digital-marketing-certified-associate-training
Google Ads Tutorial for Beginners video by Simplilearn aims to educate one on How to Use Google Ads 2023 to boost your marketing campaigns and brand traffic. We will go in-depth about what google ads are. This Video on Google Ads Explains the different types of google ads google offers, like image ads, text ads, video ads, Product shopping ads, shop showcase ads, responsive display ads, app promotion ads, and call-only ads. Then we will wrap up this tutorial with how to create a google ads campaign on google ads.
During this Video, we will Cover the Following:
👉 00:00 Introduction to Google ads tutorial for Beginners
This segment of the Google ads tutorial for Beginners will brief us on the fundamentals of Google Ads.
👉 01:40 What is Google Adwords?
This segment of the Google ads tutorial for Beginners will give us a brief origin and technical definition of google ads.
👉 07:26 Why are Google Ads important?
This segment of the Google ads tutorial for Beginners will give us an idea about the importance of google ads.
👉 15:36 Google Ads Formats
This segment of the Google ads tutorial for Beginners will briefly explain the different formats of google ads campaigns.
👉 24:14 How to create a Google Ad?
This segment of the Google ads tutorial for Beginners will give us a practical demonstration of how to create a google ads campaign.
👉 42:56 Important metric to track Google ads
This segment of the Google ads tutorial for Beginners will give us a brief idea of how to track our google ads performance.
👉 49:32 Google Ads Optimization
This segment of the Google ads tutorial for Beginners will give us tips to increase the quality score of your Google ads.
❓ What is Google Ads?
Google's online advertising platform, through which advertisers can pay to display advertisements, service offerings, video content, and generate mobile app installs. Google ads were launched on October 23rd, 2000, and have grown rapidly and become one of Google's main sources of revenue. Google Ads provides services that fall under PPC (Pay-Per-Click).
❓ Why are Google Ads important?
Google Ads promotes your product or service to the appropriate audience, ensuring users complete the required action. Google Ads is an efficient way to spread the word about your company. According to Google research, there is an increase in top-of-mind awareness. You can target website visitors rather than people who have already converted by using display network ads and RLSA. You can use Google Ads to see who clicked on your ads, how much traffic came to your website, how many leads were generated, and much more.
🔥Enroll for Free Digital Marketing Course & Get Your Completion Certificate: https://www.simplilearn.com/learn-dig...
✅Subscribe to our Channel to learn more about the top Technologies: https://bit.ly/2VT4WtH
⏩ Check out the Digital Marketing training videos: https://bit.ly/36d97Fs
#GoogleAdsTutorial #HowToUseGoogleAds #GoogleAds #AdsCampaign #GoogleAdsCampaign
Everyone is paying for fraud detection, but without enough technical knowledge, they don't realize the fraud detection doesn't work or is easily tricked by the bad guys. So what's worse is that the people paying for fraud detection have a false sense of security and take their eyes off of the obvious fraud that is still getting through.
With AI taking the content marketing world by storm, many are wondering about the big questions: can you use AI to create high-ranking, effective content? And what’s the right way to do it?
Check out this webinar and hear the key concepts behind successful AI usage, along with real-life case studies from marketers using AI for their SEO and content.
You’ll learn:
- How to combine SEO data with AI technology
- Examples of unconventional uses of AI for content
- Case studies of how AI has enhanced SEO and content strategies
With Margarita Loktionova, Content Marketing Lead at Semrush, and Andy Crestodina, founder of Orbit Media, we’ll dive into the practical ways you can leverage AI tools for more efficient and effective campaigns that rank higher.
Social Media overview
Role in marketing strategy
Technical aspects explained
Facebook Social Ad campaign
Facebook Social Media metrics
Design Best Practices
Trends in Facebook advertising
Other Social Media platforms
Do you think fraud detection tech works? Consider this. Bad guys are hackers. They have better tech and are always 1 step ahead of good guys trying to detect and catch them.
Here are some questions to ask of fraud detection vendors so you can tell if you are getting ripped off and if they can actually do what they claim to be doing.
Ad fraud steals ad budgets and negatively impacts the class action notice industry - ads are not put in front of humans, but instead are shown to bots (software programs that load webpages). Bot don't complete claim forms; humans do.
Despite the use of fraud detection technologies, notice providers should use "best practicable" actions to verify the campaign analytics to see if ad fraud still gets through.
Ad fraud is very bad. But no matter how big the number reported, brands often don't think it affects them -- i.e. it's someone elses' problem. Here are 3 case studies of marketers taking a look for themselves and solving ad fraud by putting in place best practices and processes to continuously monitor and reduce fraud, without using fraud detection tech.
Publishers applied all sorts of ad tech to their sites and experimented with everything in an attempt to increase ad revenue. But some things didn't turn out the way they expected. In fact, some of these actions led to counterintuitive results - loss of revenue, loss of audience, lower CPMs, ad fraud, and other ills. Have you experienced any of these?
presentation on ad fraud and ad blocking, and the intersection with bots -- bots dont use ad blocking and their fraudulent activities mess up measurement and ROI
Digital ad fraud has not only NOT gone down; it has actually gone up in certain cases. There are some improvements when companies make special efforts. Ad blocking is also emerging as a threat.
Procurement can play a crucial role in fighting ad fraud; by helping marketers to move away from easily faked quantity metrics, to real business outcome metrics. And also removing misaligned incentives - like buying ultra low cost CPM inventory.
The "Badtech Industrial Complex" was built on "surveillance marketing" which comes from the misguided notions of the long tail, hypertargeting, and behavioral targeting. Ad tech and supporting services were designed with a singular goal - to extract as much value as possible from the digital marketing supply chain.
A new balance is required for the future of the Internet.
So much misinformation out there about digital ad fraud. Most numbers come without context. And that is a problem. Here are some charts updated with the latest data; internally consistent.
Advertisers have deployed technology and relied on new industry standards to reduce wasted ad spend due to fraud and low viewability. But have those actually worked to drive up RoAS (return on ad spend)? Research data suggests that there are still high amounts of ad fraud that remains to be cleaned up and that the fake traffic, impressions, and clicks further corrupt the analytics that advertisers use to measure the success of their campaigns. Hear practical recommendations from Dr. Augustine Fou, independent cybersecurity and ad fraud researcher, on how to measure and mitigate ad fraud using high tech tools and low tech techniques.
Ad Fraud is at its highest point ever. Yet detection of fraud is at its lowest point ever. Hmmm. It's probably because the bots are better at hiding so the detection is catching less and less of it.
Much more data and case studies included. Good advertisers and good publishers are making significant headway against fraud that impacts their own businesses. This cannot be said more generally of the broader digital advertising ecosystem where fraud remains rampant, because it is allowed to be.
Similar to Entire ecosystem supporting ad fraud 2018 (20)
how the money flows from the advertisers through the ad tech intermediaries to longtail, fraud, and fake sites, with the help of botnets and traffic sellers
bad guys started with fake websites, then moved to loading ads only to save time and bandwidth; now they are simply faking bid requests and flooding exchanges
Previous studies that addressed the impact of losing third party (“3P”) cookies on ad revenue did not clearly differentiate between the impact on ad tech intermediaries versus on publishers. Instead of “advertiser CPMs” (what advertisers pay) this study uses “media CPMs” (what the publishers get) to better isolate the impact of tracking vs no tracking on publishers.
The original idea of the digital media trust collaborative is was sharing threat intelligence to more quickly remove fraudulent domains and apps from media buys.
most buyers who buy in programmatic channels think they are getting enormous "reach" -- i.e. their ads are shown on many sites; but this data shows the exact opposite is true. Their ads are being shown on a small number of sites (less than 1,000); the buyers might as well have bought more direct from good publishers.
digital ad fraud is as rampant as ever; new ripples caused by privacy regulations are starting to affect the market. and more BS from trade associations pretending to be doing something
Using Google Analytics to find abnormal traffic and fraud; this is a how-to, to get hourly charts instead of daily rolled-up or averaged data, which hides the fraud.
from the IAB FY 2019 advertising revenue report, we show that CPM and CPC ads represent 92% of all digital spend; these are the favorite targets of fraudters
FouAnalytics is an alternative to Google Analytics, but with fraud and bot detection baked in. Marketers can use FouAnalytics to look at their own campaigns, find the domains and apps that are eating up their budgets fraudulently, and turn them off, while the campaign is still running. How does that compare to your blackbox fraud detection that just gives you a percent IVT number?
When marketers buy from good publishers and pay HIGHER CPMs, they get better outcomes and marketing efficiency, despite the higher CPM. This is because there are human audiences that visit those good publishers' sites.
why do hackers hack? of course, it's fun for them. But they hack to make tons of money with their unique skillset. How does hacking connect to ad fraud? Here are a few examples.
More from Dr. Augustine Fou - Independent Ad Fraud Researcher (20)
The digital marketing industry is changing faster than ever and those who don’t adapt with the times are losing market share. Where should marketers be focusing their efforts? What strategies are the experts seeing get the best results? Get up-to-speed with the latest industry insights, trends and predictions for the future in this panel discussion with some leading digital marketing experts.
A.I. (artificial intelligence) platforms are popping up all the time, and many of them can and should be used to help grow your brand, increase your sales and decrease your marketing costs.In this presentation:We will review some of the best AI platforms that are available for you to use.We will interact with some of the platforms in real-time, so attendees can see how they work.We will also look at some current brands that are using AI to help them create marketing messages, saving them time and money in the process. Lastly, we will discuss the pros and cons of using AI in marketing & branding and have a lively conversation that includes comments from the audience.
Key Takeaways:
Attendees will learn about LLM platforms, like ChatGPT, and how they work, with preset examples and real time interactions with the platform. Attendees will learn about other AI platforms that are creating graphic design elements at the push of a button...pre-set examples and real-time interactions.Attendees will discuss the pros & cons of AI in marketing + branding and share their perspectives with one another. Attendees will learn about the cost savings and the time savings associated with using AI, should they choose to.
The session includes a brief history of the evolution of search before diving into the roles technology, content, and links play in developing a powerful SEO strategy in a world of Generative AI and social search. Discover how to optimize for TikTok searches, Google's Gemini, and Search Generative Experience while developing a powerful arsenal of tools and templates to help maximize the effectiveness of your SEO initiatives.
Key Takeaways:
Understand how search engines work
Be able to find out where your users search
Know what is required for each discipline of SEO
Feel confident creating an SEO Plan
Confidently measure SEO performance
The What, Why & How of 3D and AR in Digital CommercePushON Ltd
Vladimir Mulhem has over 20 years of experience in commercialising cutting edge creative technology across construction, marketing and retail.
Previously the founder and Tech and Innovation Director of Creative Content Works working with the likes of Next, John Lewis and JD Sport, he now helps retailers, brands and agencies solve challenges of applying the emerging technologies 3D, AR, VR and Gen AI to real-world problems.
In this webinar, Vladimir will be covering the following topics:
Applications of 3D and AR in Digital Commerce,
Benefits of 3D and AR,
Tools to create, manage and publish 3D and AR in Digital Commerce.
Come learn how YOU can Animate and Illuminate the World with Generative AI's Explosive Power. Come sit in the driver's seat and learn to harness this great technology.
When most people in the industry talk about online or digital reputation management, what they're really saying is Google search and PPC. And it's usually reactive, left dealing with the aftermath of negative information published somewhere online. That's outdated. It leaves executives, organizations and other high-profile individuals at a high risk of a digital reputation attack that spans channels and tactics. But the tools needed to safeguard against an attack are more cybersecurity-oriented than most marketing and communications professionals can manage. Business leaders Leaders grasp the importance; 83% of executives place reputation in their top five areas of risk, yet only 23% are confident in their ability to address it. To succeed in 2024 and beyond, you need to turn online reputation on its axis and think like an attacker.
Key Takeaways:
- New framework for examining and safeguarding an online reputation
- Tools and techniques to keep you a step ahead
- Practical examples that demonstrate when to act, how to act and how to recover
Most small businesses struggle to see marketing results. In this session, we will eliminate any confusion about what to do next, solving your marketing problems so your business can thrive. You’ll learn how to create a foundational marketing OS (operating system) based on neuroscience and backed by real-world results. You’ll be taught how to develop deep customer connections, and how to have your CRM dynamically segment and sell at any stage in the customer’s journey. By the end of the session, you’ll remove confusion and chaos and replace it with clarity and confidence for long-term marketing success.
Key Takeaways:
• Uncover the power of a foundational marketing system that dynamically communicates with prospects and customers on autopilot.
• Harness neuroscience and Tribal Alignment to transform your communication strategies, turning potential clients into fans and those fans into loyal customers.
• Discover the art of automated segmentation, pinpointing your most lucrative customers and identifying the optimal moments for successful conversions.
• Streamline your business with a content production plan that eliminates guesswork, wasted time, and money.
As the call for for skilled experts continues to develop, investing in quality education and education from a reputable https://www.safalta.com/online-digital-marketing/best-digital-marketing-institute-in-noida Digital advertising institute in Noida can lead to a a success career on this eve
5 big bets to drive growth in 2024 without one additional marketing dollar AND how to adapt to the biggest shifting eCommerce trend- AI.
1) Romance Your Customers - Retention
2) ‘Alternative’ Lead Gen - Advocacy
3) The Beautiful Basics - Conversion Rate Optimization
4) Land that Bottom Line - Profitability
5) Roll the Dice - New Business Models
When most people in the industry talk about online or digital reputation management, what they're really saying is Google search and PPC. And it's usually reactive, left dealing with the aftermath of negative information published somewhere online. That's outdated. It leaves executives, organizations and other high-profile individuals at a high risk of a digital reputation attack that spans channels and tactics. But the tools needed to safeguard against an attack are more cybersecurity-oriented than most marketing and communications professionals can manage. Business leaders Leaders grasp the importance; 83% of executives place reputation in their top five areas of risk, yet only 23% are confident in their ability to address it. To succeed in 2024 and beyond, you need to turn online reputation on its axis and think like an attacker.\
Key Takeaways:
- New framework for examining and safeguarding an online reputation
- Tools and techniques to keep you a step ahead
- Practical examples that demonstrate when to act, how to act and how to recover
The Secret to Engaging Modern Consumers: Journey Mapping and Personalization
In today's digital landscape, understanding the customer's journey and delivering personalized experiences are paramount. This masterclass delves into the art of consumer journey mapping, a powerful technique that visualizes the entire customer experience across touchpoints. Attendees will learn how to create detailed journey maps, identify pain points, and uncover opportunities for optimization. The presentation also explores personalization strategies that leverage data and technology to tailor content, products, and experiences to individual customers. From real-time personalization to predictive analytics, attendees will gain insights into cutting-edge approaches that drive engagement and loyalty.
Key Takeaways:
Current consumer landscape; Steps to mapping an effective consumer journey; Understanding the value of personalization; Integrating mapping and personalization for success; Brands that are getting It right!; Best Practices; Future Trends
It's another new era of digital and marketers are faced with making big bets on their digital strategy. If you are looking at modernizing your tech stack to support your digital evolution, there are a few can't miss (often overlooked) areas that should be part of every conversation. We'll cover setting your vision, avoiding siloes, adding a democratized approach to data strategy, localization, creating critical governance requirements and more. Attendees will walk away with actions they can take into initiatives they are running today and consider for the future.
Most small businesses struggle to see marketing results. In this session, we will eliminate any confusion about what to do next, solving your marketing problems so your business can thrive. You’ll learn how to create a foundational marketing OS (operating system) based on neuroscience and backed by real-world results. You’ll be taught how to develop deep customer connections, and how to have your CRM dynamically segment and sell at any stage in the customer’s journey. By the end of the session, you’ll remove confusion and chaos and replace it with clarity and confidence for long-term marketing success.
Key Takeaways:
• Uncover the power of a foundational marketing system that dynamically communicates with prospects and customers on autopilot.
• Harness neuroscience and Tribal Alignment to transform your communication strategies, turning potential clients into fans and those fans into loyal customers.
• Discover the art of automated segmentation, pinpointing your most lucrative customers and identifying the optimal moments for successful conversions.
• Streamline your business with a content production plan that eliminates guesswork, wasted time, and money.
The digital marketing industry is changing faster than ever and those who don’t adapt with the times are losing market share. Where should marketers be focusing their efforts? What strategies are the experts seeing get the best results? Get up-to-speed with the latest industry insights, trends and predictions for the future in this panel discussion with some leading digital marketing experts.
The Forgotten Secret Weapon of Digital Marketing: Email
Digital marketing is a rapidly changing, ever evolving industry--Influencers, Threads, X, AI, etc. But one of the most effective digital marketing tools is also one of the oldest: Email. Find out from two Houston-based digital experts how to maximize your results from email.
Key Takeaways:
Email has the best ROI of any digital tactic
It can be used at any stage of the customer journey
It is increasingly important as the cookie-less future gets closer and closer
2. “In addition to the ad fraud itself, bad
guys make money by selling the
“picks and shovels” too
– e.g. bots, traffic, clicks, malware,
fake apps, etc.
They have an entire ecosystem to
extract value. What follows are just a
few examples, scratching the surface.”
3. June 2018 / Page 2
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
From 2015 - Fraud Ecosystem Overview
Source: https://www.slideshare.net/augustinefou/digital-ad-fraud-ecosystem
4. June 2018 / Page 3
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Ad fraud is simple, scalable
1. set up
FAKE SITES
2. buy
FAKE TRAFFIC
3. sell
FAKE ADS
6. June 2018 / Page 5
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake Websites - random
• No content or content
that is assembled (i.e.
plagiarized)
• Content not human
readable
• Stuffed with large
numbers of ads
• Page auto-reloads
• Large abrupt traffic
changes
Get paid to make fake websites for ad fraud
7. June 2018 / Page 6
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake Websites - template
• Identical wordpress
templates; no content
or customization
8. June 2018 / Page 7
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Sites with Only Ads
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
• Pages are auto generated by script to
optimize for high value search
keywords and content
• 10 – 15 display ads per page plus text
ads and videos ads, in rotation
• Advertisers should minimize ad dollars
spent on impression (CPM) basis and
focus on paying only when they get
the click (CPC)
• They also auto-refresh pages to load
another 10 – 15 ads
• Many other examples of display ads
shown next to unsavory content
Source: http://www.satelliteguys.us/archive/t-232266.html
10. June 2018 / Page 9
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Network of “arcade” sites
Same traffic, same shape, same pages/visit, same bounce
arcadesilver.com
arcadewow.com
remotearcade.com yourchoicegames.com titaniumplay.com
arcadetsunami.com
antarcade.com
airarcade.com
arcadeearth.com
arcadefancy.com
arcadebreak.com
arcadeamazing.com
arcadecore.com
arcadeturbo.com arcadepatriot.com
arcadepatriot.com
Source: SimilarWeb
11. June 2018 / Page 10
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Network of “highlight” sites
Same traffic, same shape, same pages/visit, same bounce
dotahighlight.org cshighlights.org clubesport.com sc2highlight.com
hearthstonehighlight.org leagueoflegendshighlight.info dota2highlight.org hshighlight.com
heroeshighlights.org hearthstonehighlight.com
Source: SimilarWeb
12. June 2018 / Page 11
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Sites are auto-generated
Source: SimilarWeb
13. June 2018 / Page 12
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake Content – made by bot
Augustine Fou
- 12 -
Characteristics
• Auto-generated by
bots, stuffed with
search keywords
• Attract organic
search traffic
• Not human
readable
• Stuffed with
affiliate links and
ads
14. June 2018 / Page 13
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Plagiarized content, fact-checks
Google search on entire phrase in
quotes: http://bit.ly/16H9Gk5
Source: Buzzfeed, June 2018
15. June 2018 / Page 14
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
$23
(outside Google/Facebook)
There’s 160X more “sites with ads”
Good Publishers “sites with ads”
Source: Verisign, Q4 2016
329M
domains
est. 164 million
“sites that carry ads”
“sites you’ve heard of”
WSJ
ESPN
NYTimes
Economist
Reuters
Elle
0.3%
no ads
carry ads
160X more
78%
programmatic
est. 1 million
17. June 2018 / Page 16
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake users (headless browsers)
Headless Browsers
Selenium
PhantomJS
Zombie.js
SlimerJS
Mobile Simulators
35 listed
Bots are made from
malware compromised
PCs or headless browsers
(no screen) in datacenters.
18. June 2018 / Page 17
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Any device with chip/connectivity
Traffic cameras
turned into
botnet (Engadget,
Oct 2015)
mobile devices
webcams
connected
traffic lights
connected cars
thermostat
connected fridge
Security cams
used as 400
Gbps DDoS
botnet (Engadget,
Jun 2016)
…can be used as a bot
19. June 2018 / Page 18
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Tricking measurement beacons
Source: AdWeek, 2013
Measurement beacons were routinely tricked to count higher traffic
Phantom Sites multiply traffic
20. June 2018 / Page 19
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Infinite page auto-redirects
How much does it cost?
How much is available?
a.k.a. “zero-click” “pop-under” “forced-view” “auto-nav”
21. June 2018 / Page 20
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Feed traffic to other sites
% traffic share from 15+ referring
sites is TOO SIMILAR (~ 2% )
Advertisers
impacted
22. June 2018 / Page 21
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fraud apps loading webpages
“fraud sites’ traffic comes from apps that load hidden webpages”
24. June 2018 / Page 23
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
“Naked Ad Calls” (load ad, not page)
Why load entire webpage when you can just load
the ad (save bandwidth) and still get paid?
Pass fake data
via query strings
25. June 2018 / Page 24
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
“Naked Ad Calls” are rampant
“just call the ad, and not the webpage, to save bandwidth”
Good Publishers
Exchange Media
Bottom of Barrel
47% avg
77% avg
11% avg
26. June 2018 / Page 25
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Oooh baby, that’s a lot …
Highlighted
domains are
interspersed with
large sites that
you know many
humans go to.
These are DAILY
quantities of
impressions.
Notice the large
quantities; some
are larger than
mainstream sites.
27. June 2018 / Page 26
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Video Ads in Display Slots
Source: Mediapost, March 2018
“arbitrage cheap low
demand 300×250 ad units
with high-demand expensive
video ads.
buys a static 300×250
banner ad for $2 CPM adds a
video player and then resells
it as a $9 CPM video ad
unit.”
30. June 2018 / Page 29
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake audiences for retargeting
“cookie matching”
Bots pretend to be oncologists
by visiting sites, collecting cookie
Attract ad dollars to fake
sites when retargeted
31. June 2018 / Page 30
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake segments for targeting
Bots browse different items by season to attract higher retargeting CPMs
Source: DataXu/DoubleVerify Webinar, April 2015
“look at backpacks in back-to-school season – to get retargeted”
32. June 2018 / Page 31
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Segment: purchasers - no difference
“Frequent Buyers” “Heavy Buyers”
“Recent Purchaser - Books”
Control: No Targeting
+$1.00 data CPM
+$1.00 data CPM
+$1.75 data CPM
33. June 2018 / Page 32
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
(2018) Lotame purges 400M
“[LOTAME] purged 400
million of its over 4
billion profiles after
identifying them as
bots or otherwise
fraudulent accounts.
Lotame CEO Andy
Monfried estimated
that 40 percent of all
web traffic is fictional.”
Adweek, Feb 2018
35. June 2018 / Page 34
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake Facebook profiles
Sell “likes”; now used to simulate user engagement/audiences
36. June 2018 / Page 35
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
(2018) Facebook purges 1.3 billion
“It was barely a year ago that
Facebook proudly declared it had
more than 2.2 billion monthly
users. But on Tuesday, the social
media giant revealed
some stunning data, including
that during the six months ending
in March, Facebook disabled a
total of almost 1.3 billion fake
accounts.
During the first quarter of 2018,
Facebook says it deleted 865
million posts, the vast majority of
it for being spammy, and the
remainder for containing graphic
violence, sexual activity or nudity,
terrorism or hate speech.
Source: Inc. May 2018
37. June 2018 / Page 36
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake LinkedIn Profiles
bot generated content
stock photo
Used to simulate “user engagement” (ad clicks), audiences
38. June 2018 / Page 37
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake Twitter Accounts
Used for “follower” fraud when marketers paid for more followers
39. June 2018 / Page 38
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake influencers - uncovered
Source: Adweek, Jun 2018
Fake influencers bought followers to appear to be influential
“an array of entertainers, entrepreneurs,
athletes and media figures, … bought Twitter
followers or artificial engagement. A New
York Times article on Saturday describing a
vast trade in fake followers and fraudulent
engagement on Twitter and other social
media sites, often using personal
information taken from real users.
40. June 2018 / Page 39
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
(2018) Twitter purges fake accounts
Source: Engadget Mar 2018 Source: NYTimes Jan 2018
41. June 2018 / Page 40
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake YouTube Videos
http://www.youtube.com /watch?v=xnkM9RrDzhM
Banned Celebrity Sex Tapes
bannedsextapes .com
For driving fake referral traffic to sites, attribution fraud
42. June 2018 / Page 41
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake video views - purchased
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP6XpLQM2Cs
Actual interest
Straight line
– purchased views
43. June 2018 / Page 42
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Youtube views on blank page
44. June 2018 / Page 43
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake YouTube Videos for SEO
http://www.youtube.com /watch?v=upSOCzlSoHk
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=lhbDGpqCmZQ
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=UcdiM4uD6fM
http://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=an6xRpQ5Wh8
Duplicated videos
Keyword-stuffed for video SEO for fake sites (free traffic)
Some carry ads to
generate ad revenue
45. June 2018 / Page 44
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake Sweepstakes
To steal users’ email addresses and other personal information
46. June 2018 / Page 45
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake Personality Quizzes
Used to harvest personal info, meta data for later use in hacking
Source: The Atlantic, Jul 2017
Harvesting self-selected face photos
(can be used to unlock FaceID)
48. June 2018 / Page 47
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
You can’t scale physical devices
May 26 Forbes “Judy Malware”
• 36 million fake devices to
load bad apps
• e.g. 30 ads per device /minute
• 30 ads per minute = 1 billion
fraud impressions per minute
Source: June 2017 “Chinese click
fraud gang in Thailand arrested”
300 real devices
used for click fraud
millions of mobile
simulators for ad fraud
49. June 2018 / Page 48
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake devices (mobile simulators)
Download and Install Apps
Launch and Interact
50. June 2018 / Page 49
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake Installs / Attribution
Install Fraud
“fake devices installing legit
apps, get paid on CPI”
App install spend $6B (2017E)
Source: BusinessInsider, June 2016
Source: AdAge, Sept 2017
51. June 2018 / Page 50
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake downloads, boost rank
Download/purchase own apps with bots to get to top 25 list
52. June 2018 / Page 51
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake devices, loading pages
Repeated hits by same device/browser, same ip address
53. June 2018 / Page 52
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake IDFAs on real devices
Source: Cinarra Systems
Rotating faked IDFAs allow mobile devices to defeat frequency caps
54. June 2018 / Page 53
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake apps compromise humans
Source: The Inquirer Oct 2017
Source: Daily Mail May 2015
https://www.inc.com/minda-
zetlin/fake-whatsapp-app-on-
google-play-store-fooled-1-
million-into-downloading-it-
did-you.html
55. June 2018 / Page 54
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake apps absorb all budget
com.jiubang com.flashlight com.latininput
com.dxnxbgj.mkridqxviiqaogw
com.obugniljhe.fptvznqwhmcjm
com.bpo.ksuhpsdkgvbtlsw
com.rlcznwgouw.vvtexstbfttngc
com.kasbgf.sbzwtgpcbjexi
com.bprlgbl.vbze
com.zka.lzhsoueilo
com.alxsavx.mizzucnlb
com.jxknvk.lrwfdfirdzpsw
com.tvwvqbt.wbshaguqy
com.iwnxtpahcu.leyuehdwdbb
Fake apps
Top 5 apps = 100% of imps
56. June 2018 / Page 55
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Faked geolocation, higher CPM
Not Normal – in both campaigns
1. 100% mobile apps; 100% Android; same top 15 apps in both markets
2. 100% of impressions generated between 4a – 5a local time
3. 100% fake devices; 15 unique devices generated top 95% impressions
57. June 2018 / Page 56
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
App cloning, free adware SDKs
Apps are cloned
thousands of times;
some didn’t even
bother to change the
colors or cover
graphics.
Bad guys accidentally
cloned apps that
already had detection
SDK in it – from 312, to
750, to 1,330 copies.
Source: CNBC, Aug 2017
58. June 2018 / Page 57
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Apps’ primary revenue is ads
In-App
Advertising
App Store
Source: SensorTower
59. June 2018 / Page 58
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Top mobile apps by ad revenue
Top mobile apps
by ad revenue
Are entirely
different than
ones humans
spend the most
time with
60. June 2018 / Page 59
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake apps compromise devices
Source: Independent, Jun 2018
Source: Fortune, July 2016
61. June 2018 / Page 60
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
$23
(outside Google/Facebook)
700X more
There’s 700X more fake apps
7M
apps
Source: Statista, March 2017
6.99 million
96% “apps that carry ads”
10,000
“apps you’ve heard of”
Facebook
Spotify
Pandora
Zynga
Pokemon
YouTube
Facebook, 2015
Users use 8 – 15 apps on
their phones.
Spotify, 2016
People have 25 apps on their
phones, use 5-8 regularly
Forrester Research, May 2017
Humans “use 9 apps per day,
30 per month”
78%
programmatic
62. June 2018 / Page 61
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
(2015) Going on for long time
Source: BusinessInsider, July 2015
“A user downloads an app
from the official app store
— which may look
legitimate and have
hundreds of positive reviews
— which then runs in the
background, serving
hundreds of ads at a rate as
high as 20 ads per minute”
Known and documented
for years – now mobile is
majority of digital spend
63. June 2018 / Page 62
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Got 100M credit card numbers?
Amateur Criminals
Buy HDTV at Walmart
with stolen credit card;
get caught, card is
deactivated.
Pro Criminals
Automate millions of $0.99 in-
game purchases of “power-
ups, shields, virtual goods” to
fully launder the plunder.
65. June 2018 / Page 64
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Luminati
Geosurf
Residential ips
Proxy services, free VPNs
Rent out residential IPs for disguising bots
66. June 2018 / Page 65
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Methbot, Hyphbot (video fraud)
Source: Dec 2016 WhiteOps
Discloses Methbot Research
“Methbot, steals $2 billion
annualized; and it avoided
detection for years.”
• Targeted video ad inventory
$13 average CPM, 10X higher
than display ads
• Disguised as residential
bots pretended to be from
residential IP addresses
2016
Source: Adform, Nov 2017
“Hyphbot, targeted video
ad inventory avoided
detection.”
2017
• active through at least 14
different exchanges and SSPs
• generating up to 1.5 billion
requests per day
• generated fake traffic on
more than 34,000 different
domains, 600k IP addresses
67. June 2018 / Page 66
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Tech tools to randomize data
Source: Ratko Vidakovic
68. June 2018 / Page 67
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Faked Google Analytics
Source: https://youtu.be/6_F-NAvr39o
Demo of how Google Analytics can be faked to show traffic that doesn’t exist
69. June 2018 / Page 68
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Faked mouse moves/clicks
Source: https://youtu.be/HeGYr3jwubY
Demo of fake mousemovements and clicks using javascript
70. June 2018 / Page 69
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Click spamming
Click injection
Click flooding
Faked attribution, clicks
Attribution urls or SDKs can be called to create fake clicks
https://www.slideshare.net/inmobi/a-cure-for-
adfraud-turning-fraud-detection-into-fraud-prevention
Source: Method Media Intelligence
71. June 2018 / Page 70
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Criteo vs Steelhouse Suit
Source: BusinessInsider June 2016
“Both Criteo and SteelHouse use
a pay-per-click pricing model,
which means they only generate
revenue when users click on the
ads they have served.
Criteo alleges in the suit that
SteelHouse ‘counterfeited clicks
to trick e-tailers into attributing
sales to SteelHouse that should
have been attributed to Criteo,
other competitors and partners,
or direct traffic.’"
72. June 2018 / Page 71
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake ad agencies to buy ads
Source: Confiant, Jan 2018
“Beginads was only briefly used to
establish relationships with ad
platforms as a fake ad agency.
Zirconium established a well thought-
out organization to maximize both
Supply (user traffic) and Demand
(landing pages).
Supply is brought in by the fake
agencies, establishing relationships
with legitimate ad platforms, and
buying traffic. Having multiple
relationships makes the operation
more robust (in case an agency gets
caught) and stealthier — as each
agency poses as a long-tail small
business agency and buys small
amounts at a time.”
73. June 2018 / Page 72
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Affiliate Fraud – Cookie Stuffing
“eBay paid Hogan a staggering $28
million in affiliate marketing sales
commissions over the years,
according to court papers.”
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/eb
ay-the-fbi-shawn-hogan-and-brian-dunning-
2013-4#ixzz34WHjnefM
Source:
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/apr/19/b
usiness/la-fi-mo-cookie-stuffing-ebay-
20130419
“Laguna Niguel man pleads guilty
in 'cookie stuffing' scam against
Ebay. The online auctioneer paid
Dunning’s company about $5.2
million in 2006 and 2007, the U.S.
Attorney said.”
Keywords: cookie stuffing
Many more case studies published by Ben Edelman
http://www.benedelman.org/
75. June 2018 / Page 74
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Browser toolbars/extensions
Source: Ars Technica Jan 2018 Source: Shailin Dhar 2016
Toolbars/extensions to create traffic, fake clicks, log keystrokes
76. June 2018 / Page 75
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Fake ad blockers load more ads
Source: Engadget, April 2018
Thought you blocked ads? No, even more loaded in background
77. June 2018 / Page 76
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Pop-unders on porn sites
Source: Digiday Feb 2017 Source: BuzzFeed Dec 2017
Porn sites have real humans; pop-unders load continuous ads
78. June 2018 / Page 77
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Auto-redirects – hidden iframe
Source: GeoEdge, Jan 2018
“Hidden Auto-Redirects,
… opens invisible
iframes, and
unbeknownst to the
user, goes on its own
delivery path, serving
and clicking on ads
automatically.”
79. June 2018 / Page 78
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Apps load ads in background
Source: ImpScore.io - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-i-ue8fPCc
“fake apps or fraud apps (real apps that misbehave) continuously
load display ad impressions in the background, inflate revenue”
80. June 2018 / Page 79
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Bots load ads in background
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiVZC8eM_xE
Continuous loading of ads in the background and randomizing
page loads
81. June 2018 / Page 80
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Pages load ads in background
“dark processes” are continuous loading of ads, in background
https://youtu.be/utoN_VlxtE0
(demo video of page continuously
loading ads in the background)
82. June 2018 / Page 81
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Dark pages – hidden pages for ads
“dark pages” are NOT seen when sites are manually checked
Pages you can see, navigate to Dark Pages you cannot navigate to
(look normal, low # of ads) More ads, trackers, auto-refresh
Normal Dark Pages
84. June 2018 / Page 83
marketing.science
consulting group, inc.
linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
Malware makes money via ads
2017 Checkpoint “Fireball”
• 250 million infected devices
• primary use = ad fraud
• 4 ads /pageview (2s load time)
• fraudulent impressions at the
rate of 30 billion per minute
“Fireball has two main
functionalities: the ability of
running any code on victim
computers–downloading any file
or malware, and hijacking and
manipulating infected users’ web-
traffic to generate ad-revenue”
Source: Check Point, 2017 Source: BitDefender Labs, 2018
“The main goal of Zacinlo is to
deliver adware, displaying
adverts developed by the
attackers in webpages the user
visits and to secretly click
through to them in order to
generate ad revenue.
85. June 2018 / Page 84
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Malvertising / Ransomware
Source: ZDNet, March 2017 Source: TechRepublic, June 2017
86. June 2018 / Page 85
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Drive-by Malware/Cryptomining
Source: Malwarebytes, Feb 2018
Source: ComputerWeekly March 2016
87. June 2018 / Page 86
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Pre-installed malware/adware
Source: TheVerge, Jul 2017 Source: CNN, Feb 2015
88. June 2018 / Page 87
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Hacked Wordpress/Drupal Sites
Source: Wordfence, Apr 2016 Source: TechCrunch, April 2018
Compromised to deliver malware to unsuspecting visitors
89. June 2018 / Page 88
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Fake VPN – malware/ads
Source: PC Magazine, Jun 2018
“The free programs are merely
a guise for a notorious adware
strain, dubbed Zacinlo, that's
been harassing Windows PCs
since 2012.
Once installed, the apps can
secretly download other
programs on your computer,
take screen shots from the
desktop, and inject ads into
your web browser, security firm
Bitdefender said in a
Monday report.”
90. June 2018 / Page 89
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Google Safebrowsing Report
Source: https://www.slideshare.net/augustinefou/digital-ad-fraud-ecosystem
We are at HISTORIC highs for malware and phishing
92. June 2018 / Page 91
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Countless big data breaches
Harvesting personal info for use in various forms of attacks later
93. June 2018 / Page 92
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Compromised databases
Source: Hacker News, Jun 2018 Source: compsec, Jan 2017
94. June 2018 / Page 93
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Fake Leads (Lead Fraud)
Fake leads
• Previously filled out by hand
• Now, fully automated with
bots using databases of real
postal addresses, etc. (that
trick verification engines)
Use personal data from prior breaches to complete forms
95. June 2018 / Page 94
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3rd party trackers leak user info
96. June 2018 / Page 95
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(2017) User data exfiltration
“Emails, usernames,
passwords -- exfiltration
of personal data by
session-replay scripts; and
recording of user actions
on the site.”
Source: Freedom to Tinker, Nov 2017
97. June 2018 / Page 96
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Compromised apps to steal info
Source: Gadgets 360, June 2018
Source: ZDNet March 2018
98. June 2018 / Page 97
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Piracy sites’ specialized tasks
• Malware on humans’ PCs
are used to make botnets
• Real human’s cookies
used for retargeting
Piracy Sites
Specialty
• CPM on served ads
• Get paid to plant malware
Revenue
Fraud Types • Malware / Toolbar / Virus
• Sourced Traffic
• Fake Ad Impressions
Since there are real humans going
to piracy sites and navigating them,
their mouse movements and
keystrokes can be recorded for
replay attacks later.
99. June 2018 / Page 98
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Ad Blocking / GPDR
Source: CNBC, June 2018
Humans block ads and DON’T give consent; ads are served to bots
“Humans block ads; bots want ads to
load – so after ad blocking, most of
the remaining ads are shown to bots.
101. June 2018 / Page 100
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Bad Measurement of IVT
Incorrect IVT Measurement
Source 3 - in ad iframe, badly sampled
Sources 1 and 2
corroborate
One agency insists on
one fraud detection
company (that is owned
by same holding
company), despite
proven errors in IVT
measurement (due to
sampling and tag being in
ad iframe).
Agency uses high IVT
numbers to get refunds,
which agency keeps as
profit for themselves.
102. June 2018 / Page 101
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Opposite results from tag placement
In-Ad
(in foreign iframe)
On-Site
(on page)
window sizes detected
as 0x0 or 0x8 pixels correct window sizes
for ads detected
0% humans
60% bots
60% humans
3% bots
“fraud measurements could be entirely wrong, depending
on where the tag is placed – in-ad versus on-site.”
103. June 2018 / Page 102
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Legit sites wrongly blacklisted
Domain (spoofed) % SIVT
esquire.com 77%
travelchannel.com 76%
foodnetwork.com 76%
popularmechanics.com 74%
latimes.com 72%
reuters.com 71%
bid request
fakesite123.com
esquire.com
passes blacklist
passes whitelist
✅
✅
declared
1. fakesite123.com has to pretend
to be esquire.com to get bids;
2. fraud measurement shows high
IVT b/c it is measuring the fake
site with fake traffic
3. Fake esquire.com gets mixed with
real so average fraud rates
appear high.
4. Real esquire.com gets backlisted;
bad guy moves on to another
domain.
104. June 2018 / Page 103
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declared to be:
Brand safety tech doesn’t work
Pre-scanned Domain List
In-ad tag
Ad tags that are in the foreign
iframe (different domain) cannot
look outside the iframe – i.e.
cannot read content on the site
to determine brand safety.
bad word
porn
terrorism
hate
badsite123.com
badsite123.com
badsite123.com
badsite123.com
goodsite123.com
goodsite123.com
goodsite123.com
Domain Placement Reports
goodsite123.com
goodsite123.com
goodsite123.com
goodsite123.com
goodsite123.com
goodsite123.com
goodsite123.com
FAILS because it is not directly
measured; relies on domain placement
reports which have declared data.
105. June 2018 / Page 104
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Fraud filter no better than blacklist
1.Fraud filters are no better than manual blacklists
2.In some cases, there’s MORE fraud when filter is on
3.Using fraud filters adds 20 – 24% to costs; manual
blacklists are free
106. June 2018 / Page 105
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“Verified” no different than control
“Verified Bots”
“Verified Humans”
Control: No Targeting
+$0.25 data CPM
+$0.25 data CPM
“verified bots” and “verified
humans” showed no difference in
quality to each other – AND both
were no different than the
control where no targeting
was used.
107. June 2018 / Page 106
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Bad guys trick measurement
SDK Spoofing— code in an app that sends simulated ad
clicks and engagement signals to the attribution provider
… [to] fool an advertiser into paying for fraudulent
impressions/views.
Attribution Fraud— code that executes clicks (click
spamming, click injection) so fraudster can claim credit
for downstream conversions.
Detection Tag Blocking— fake or fraudulent apps
can selectively block fraud detection tags or
manipulate analytics data.
108. June 2018 / Page 107
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Simple code to trick viewability
“This code manipulated
data to ensure that
otherwise unviewable
ads showed up in
measurement systems
as valid impressions,
which resulted in
payment being made
for the ad.”
Buzzfeed, March 2018
109. June 2018 / Page 108
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Bots easily trick AI/ML algorithms
“Humans (blue) are hard to predict …
… but bots give you beautiful signals – 1 or 0.”
Source: Claudia Perlich, PhD.
Data Scientist
110. June 2018 / Page 109
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Fake or plagiarized ads.txt
Source: MediaMath
Fake sites rushed to put ads.txt files in place, to continue to sell
“the company will only
buy … from publishers
who have an ads.txt file
in place.”
“completely useless…
… fake and fraud sites just
put ads.txt files in place
or plagiarized content
from other publishers to
stick in their own files.”
111. June 2018 / Page 110
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Fake botnet for PR
“used highly sophisticated techniques
to fraudulently load ads on the
affected sites without the site
owners' consent, leveraging a new
methodology that allows it to
monetize inventory on premium
domains.”
“none of this actually happened; it was completely
fabricated for the press release announcing their
new algo – ‘dramatic improvements to its automated
traffic detection .. primarily through …machine
learning methodologies’. The failure was due to their
analyzing only pre-bid data, which was faked. There
were no ads injected into any of the sites they
named in the press release. This was confirmed by
each of the good publishers, falsely accused.”
112. June 2018 / Page 111
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Discrepancies – won vs served
DSP says Adserver says
Why actually serve the
ad if you already get paid
based on the number of
impressions won?
From the data, the more
fraudulent the site, the
greater the discrepancy
– e.g. 80 – 100%
113. June 2018 / Page 112
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“He said, she said” stalemate
Marketer/Buyer Publisher/Seller
Selects fraud verification
Vendor A that consistently finds
higher IVT – so they can get
bigger refunds on their media
buys (use it like discounts).
Selects fraud verification
Vendor B that finds lower
IVT to help them defend
against false accusations of
fraud and refund requests.
Vendor A Vendor B
MRC Accredited
MRC Accredited
“high IVT” “low IVT”
“it comes down to negotiation or relative power; so it is
no better than if NO fraud detection were used at all.”
115. “Ad fraud is at ALL TIME HIGHS
both in RATE and in DOLLARS…
… and what’s worse is fraud
detection is not catching it, so
people have a false sense of security.”
Source: https://www.slideshare.net/augustinefou/state-of-digital-ad-fraud-q2-2018
116. June 2018 / Page 115
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Two main kinds of ad fraud
“Everything else is a derivative of (e.g.
cost-per-install fraud), or in support of (e.g.
tricking measurement, attribution, covering
tracks) the above 2 forms of ad fraud.”
Impression Fraud
(CPM) Fraud
(includes mobile display, video ads)
Click Fraud
(CPC) Fraud
(includes mobile search ads)
117. June 2018 / Page 116
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Why? Largest buckets of spend
Leads
(CPL)
Sales
(CPA)
Lead Gen
$2.0B
Other
$5.0B
• classifieds
• sponsorship
• rich media
Impressions
(CPM/CPV)
Clicks
(CPC)
Search 46%
Display 31%
Video 14%
91% digital ad spend Source: IAB FY 2017 Report
9% spend
118. June 2018 / Page 117
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Digital Ad Fraud is At All Time Highs
Digital Ad Spend
($ billions)
Actuals Projected
Digital Ad Fraud
($ billions)
119. June 2018 / Page 118
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F*********************k
DDoS attacks overwhelm with traffic; now use traffic to make ad revenue
Google Digital Attack Map
120. June 2018 / Page 119
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Only way to tell – pause or cut
“Once we got transparency, it
illuminated what reality was,” said
Mr. Pritchard. P&G then took matters
into its owns hands and voted with
its dollars, he said.”
“As we all chased the Holy Grail of
digital, self-included, we were
relinquishing too much control—
blinded by shiny objects,
overwhelmed by big data, and ceding
power to algorithms,” Mr. Pritchard
said.
Source: WSJ, March 2018
P&G: cut $200M, no impact
121. June 2018 / Page 120
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So what?
• Tried and true attacks/techniques continue to be used –
they are just more automated now and scalable in digital
• Assume everything is compromised (all personal details)
and look for tell-tale signs and anything suspicious, dig in.
• “Don’t trust, and always verify” and definitely don’t trust
the verification numbers where no supporting details are
provided; how would you know if it is right or not?
• Run experiments to test hypotheses and check hunches; for
example pause or cut spending to see if any business
outcomes go down?
• Use your common sense to solve fraud and run real digital
marketing campaigns that yield real business outcomes.
122. June 2018 / Page 121
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About the Author
Augustine Fou, PhD.
acfou [@] mktsci.com
212. 203 .7239
123. June 2018 / Page 122
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Dr. Augustine Fou – Independent Ad Fraud Researcher
2013
2014
Published slide decks and posts:
http://www.slideshare.net/augustinefou/presentations
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/augustinefou
2016
2015
2017