The end of search rankings??

[Nemo]

Does the client company know about what is going on? The company's website analytics are brilliant and show that their site is going down very well with the public. But does the company realise that their website viewers are not the least bit interested in the product or service they are offering? Surely they must know the full story and are in on it. The idea being to raise the company's Google ranking significantly.

As I said in my comment, their statistics won't be brilliant if all they have are clicks and no browsing. Their bounce rate will rocket and anyone in their company with a glimmer of technical knowledge will soon see that all is not as it should be. You don't need just clicks, you need people browsing, people interested enough to stay for a minute or two who have an interest in the site, not rent a bod.

[Kirigiwi]

Yes, by gullible advertisers what I meant was business owners who pay a company like this to promote their site or Facebook page. They are promised more traffic or likes and this is delivered but doesn't mean they grow their business. Good luck to your barber and all the rent-a-clickers out there, I sincerely hope what they've earned is more than what they paid in and that they have the cash in their hands and not in some "account" they can't actually access.

Unless traffic goes through Google, Google doesn't know what kind of traffic there is on any given site (leaving aside Google analytics, which as far as I know is not connected to search).

Ultimately it's always been in Google's best interest to provide relevant search results. It's always been a game between people trying to cheat the system and Google finding ways to compensate.

Focus on providing good, relevant, up to date content on your site. Know how to use page titles and other legitimate ways to improve your search ranking and stick with that for the long haul.

[Kirigiwi]

Does the client company know about what is going on? The company's website analytics are brilliant and show that their site is going down very well with the public. But does the company realise that their website viewers are not the least bit interested in the product or service they are offering? Surely they must know the full story and are in on it. The idea being to raise the company's Google ranking significantly.

As I said in my comment, their statistics won't be brilliant if all they have are clicks and no browsing. Their bounce rate will rocket and anyone in their company with a glimmer of technical knowledge will soon see that all is not as it should be. You don't need just clicks, you need people browsing, people interested enough to stay for a minute or two who have an interest in the site, not rent a bod.

I would imagine the targets for this kind of scam are not larger companies but smaller ones.

[Nemo]

I would imagine the targets for this kind of scam are not larger companies but smaller ones.

I'm a one man business and I know how to gain some basic knowledge from Google Analytics. If I can, anyone can.

[Mouse]

Maybe your barber is being fooled and is being paid from his own pot of money. Perhaps they give him a small percentage back of his 'investment' but make him think he's earning it. Otherwise why would it be a pyramid scheme if money could be legitimately earned?

Just another thought.

Mousie
x

[AndrewH]

Here is a definition of click fraud (with acknowledgment to 'Paid Search Best Practice Guide')

“A third-party generates invalid clicks on a paid advertising link to drive up advertising costs with no intention of conducting business with the advertiser.”

So it is PPC advertisers who are the potential victims. I also read that the perpetrator might be your business competitor wanting to drive up your advertising costs, without any benefit to you. Thus making things harder for you and so easier for him.

Again, it might be you having many clicks made on your own website ad., intending to make your site look more popular than it really is, and thus more attractive for ad placements.

Nemo, I noticed in their explanation on that clicker-recruiting website, that the clickers had to stay on the clicked site for at least 30 seconds or a minute, according to the instructions they were given. They weren't asked to browse.

[russellt]

I dug a little deeper, and it's all very murky.

The business suggests brands like Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen, General Motors, Renault, Volvo, Porsche, Levi’s, McDonalds, Ben & Jerry’s, M&M’s, Coca Cola, Pepsi, KFC, Pizza Hut, Ikea, Lufthansa, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Prada, Gucci, Versace, Chanel, L’Oréal, Swarovski, Victoria’s Secret, Sony, LG, Disneyland, Armani, Nike, Adidas, Atomic, Amazon and Dethleffs Caravans use their platform.

It's hard to believe, and sounds very much like a pyramid/scam. Can't imagine Google, et al would countenance this. Would they?? Yet, if these clicks are coming from random users all over the world, how would the search engines know to discount them?

Another of life's unanswered questions. Coffee over, back to work!

[Essar]

This whole subject has left me "clicked-out" and ready for bed.

[russellt]

Night, Night.

[paolo]

If this scam works it is because a marketing company wants to show its client that its ads are getting lots of clickthroughs, and therefore the campaign is a success and the marketing company should be retained.

But for the clicker the clue is in the fact that you have to pay to join this scheme. That means it is a Ponzi scheme. Those that joined early will do alright, the others...not so much.