It seems like every day we’re reading new reports of how much ad-fraud and other piracy is costing the ad industry. This is certainly one of the largest issues affecting us today, but it is also important to avoid looking only at the negative. According to a new study released by the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), the efforts that have been made so far have reduced the amount of fraud that is occurring by about 50%.
The study titled, “Measuring Digital Advertising Revenue to Infringing Sites” found that digital ad revenue that was linked to problematic content reached $111 million last year. The study further finds, however, that without the efforts that were taken by TAG and other institutions, that number would have likely been anywhere from $102 million to $117 million higher. This means these efforts have cut the issue by at least 50%.
Another important point that the study found is that 83% of the current ad fraud is coming from ‘non-premium’ advertisers. This means that when a brand buys spots from low-cost sellers, they are going to be exposed to a higher rate of fraud. This is obviously not news to anyone. When a brand buys bargain basement ad spots, they should be aware that they are going to get far fewer actual views from humans than if they purchased from a premium network.
This is not to excuse the state of the non-premium ad networks, but only to state that it is to be expected that they won’t be at the bleeding edge of combating ad fraud.
Overall, having been able to reduce the ad fraud by at least 50% is a good accomplishment. There is much more to do, but this is a bit of good news for the industry.
