Different forms of digital ads have different levels of ad fraud. For example display and video ads (served on an impression basis) have far higher levels of fraud than search ads. The pyramids are visuals so brands and media buyers can see what are the "low hanging fruit" areas to prioritize first.

1. Optimization
Pyramids for
Digital Ads
Dr. Augustine Fou
http://linkd.in/augustinefou
acfou @mktsci .com
February 2014
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Augustine Fou

2. Optimize Targeting
“Non-human and not in-view traffic
confounds measurement systems and
messes up metrics. Once those are
under control, reach and targeting
optimization can become much more
effective.” (see the green slices)
-- Ted McConnell
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Augustine Fou

3. Display Ads
16-25%
23-54%
15-30%
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non-fraud, human viewer
not-in-view or ad-blocked
known fraudulent impressions
Augustine Fou

4. Display Ad Impressions
30 – 60%
fraudulent, wasted, not-in-view
IAB: FY 2012 Display Ad Spend = $7.7B
• By far, the easiest to commit – fill a web page with many
display ads and repeatedly load the page with scripts or bots
• Clients pay on CPM basis and are usually goaled on the
number of impressions delivered and CPM
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Augustine Fou

5. Video Ads
10-20%
non-fraud, human viewer
30-50%
20-40%
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not-in-view, autoplay
confirmed fraudulent views
Augustine Fou

6. Video Ad Impressions
50 - 77%
fraudulent, autoplay, wasted, not-in-view
Source: Vindico via Adweek, December 15, 2013
eMarketer: Digital Video Ad Spend est. $4B in 2013
• Advanced bots are programmed to load video ads and wait
till they are counted as “views” before leaving the page
• Video ads have 10x the CPM compared with display ads, and
are therefore a prime target for ‘bad guys’
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Augustine Fou

7. Search Ads
70-90%
5-10%
5-20%
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non-fraud, human viewer
accidental clicks
ads shown on fraudulent sites
Augustine Fou

8. Search Ad Clicks
20 - 40%
fraudulent, accidental, wasted
Source: Adometry Click Fraud Report 1H 2013
IAB: FY 2012 Search Ad Spend = $16.8B
• Search ad fraud is a bit more involved to commit and usually
occurs on “search partner” sites (not the main search sites)
• Bad guys set up sites with no content, execute searches with
lucrative keywords, and click the ads with bots
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Augustine Fou

9. Dr. Augustine Fou – Digital Consigliere
“I advise clients on optimizing
advertising across all channels. One
main area of focus is reducing ad waste
due to fraud – fake impressions, clicks,
leads, and sales.”
FORMER CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER, HCG (OMNICOM)
MCKINSEY CONSULTANT
CLIENT SIDE / AGENCY SIDE EXPERIENCE
PROFESSOR AND COLUMNIST
ENTREPRENEUR / SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
PHD MATERIALS SCIENCE (MIT '95) AT AGE 23
ClickZ Articles: http://bit.ly/augustine-fou-clickz
Slideshares: http://bit.ly/augustine-fou-slideshares
LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/augustinefou
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@acfou
Augustine Fou

10. Ted McConnell – Digital Consigliere
“My Goals are to drive, and participate
in the process that yields the winning
vision for my clients. I'm a Digital
Marketing Generalist: I've Run large
organizations, been staff to c-level
executives at P&G, hold 4 Patents,
successfully driven change in Marketing
and Advertising practice in P&G and
other companies.”
ADVERTISING RESEARCH FOUNDATION
MANAGER, DIGITAL MARKETING INNOVATION
AdAge Articles: http://adage.com/author/ted-mcconnell/4334
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/ted-mcconnell/0/5b5/8a2
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Augustine Fou

11. Related Articles
ROI Case for Solving Ad Fraud
By: Augustine Fou January 2014
Fake YouTube Videos
By: Augustine Fou, December 2013
Digital Ad Fraud Briefing
By: Augustine Fou December 2013
Motive and Opportunity for Ad Fraud
By: Augustine Fou, February 2014
How Display Fraud Works
By: Augustine Fou, May 2013
Fake Facebook Profiles
By: Augustine Fou, Dec 2013
How Click Fraud Works
By: Augustine Fou, November 2013
Fake Twitter Accounts
By: Augustine Fou, August 2013
The Magnitude of Digital Ad Fraud
By: Augustine Fou, November 2013
Display Fraud 101 (video)
By: Augustine Fou, Feb 2014
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Augustine Fou

12. APPENDIX
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Augustine Fou

13. Display Ad
Backup Data
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Augustine Fou

14. Fraudulent Impressions
Ad exchanges are particularly prone to fraud because shady sites sell enormous
quantities “ad impression inventory” into the exchanges for re-sale.
Source: Integral Ad Science, via BusinessWeek Nov 26, 2013
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Augustine Fou

15. Bot Traffic Estimates
30 – 75%
51% suspicious
fraudulent, not-in-view, adblocked bot
24-29% confirmed
IAB: FY 2012 Display Ad Spend = $7.7B
• By far, the easiest to commit – fill a web page with many
display ads and repeatedly load the page with scripts or bots
• Clients pay on CPM basis and are usually goaled on the
number of impressions delivered and CPM
Source: Solve Media via Marketing Charts September 12, 2013
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Source: Solve Media Dec 31 2013
Augustine Fou

16. 54% Online Ads Aren’t In View
Source: comScore June 2013 via MarketingCharts
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Augustine Fou

17. 23% of Users Use Adblockers
Source: PageFair, August 2013
Average Adblocking Rate
22.7%
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Augustine Fou

18. Video Ad
Backup Data
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Augustine Fou

19. Video Ad Viewability
A new study [download page] from
VideoHub indicates that during the first
quarter, average viewability for online
video ads in the US was 83%, although
rates varied widely among properties,
from 43% on the low end to 94% on the
high end. Broadcast TV sites fared best
(89% on average) among property
categories, with networks and
exchanges (73%) bringing up the rear.
Source: VideoHub August 2013 via MarketingCharts
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Augustine Fou

20. Search Ad
Backup Data
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Augustine Fou

21. Click Fraud by Qtr
Source: ClickForensics 2011
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Augustine Fou

22. Before and After
BEFORE
AFTER
Top 2 “good guys” = 76%
Top 5 “good guys” = 94%
18% of spend shifted from fraudulent websites to “top 5” good guys
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Augustine Fou