Distribution Fraud Defined, Not Click Fraud
Searchquant made a very vaild point and defined distribution fraud in the PPC industry. Apparently, the argument is that distribution fraud is even worse than click fraud, and we (PPC advertisers) should start calling it the proper term - ‘Distribution Fraud’, instead of ‘Search Arbitrage’. Here is the reason:
Paid search ads are bought by advertisers with the explicit understanding that those ads will only be viewed as a direct result of a search performed on a search engine. Contrary to this understanding, Distribution Fraudsters are taking search ad feeds (as distinct from contextual ad feeds) and showing them on domains whose sole purpose is to receive low-CPC clicks from Google AdWords and provide no option to the user but to click on a high-CPC *search ad* within the site; this constitutes a contextual ad, not a search ad.
Posted in: Contextual Advertising, PPC
[...] It will be much simpler to control spending and monthly budgets by setting a Max CPC via the CPC (or conventional PPC) pricing model than by setting a CPM. Also, by switching from CPM to CPC, it will greatly reduce impression fraud (or distribution fraud). Increased flexibility. Select the content network sites you want your ads to appear on and choose the bidding option that fits your needs. If clicks are your goal, try CPC bidding so you pay only when you get the result you want. [...]