What is mobile ad fraud? How does it impact app marketing campaigns?
Mobile app marketing is riddled with challenges and obstacles. Marketers have to make sure their app stands out amongst 2.87 million Android apps and 1.96 million iOS apps on Google Play and App Store respectively.
There are a myriad of tactics marketing teams adopt to promote their apps. Running app install ad campaigns is one of those tactics. It is an active outbound tactic that can help businesses instantly reach their audience. Marketers can run ad campaigns on multiple channels, from search engines to social media and even native apps.
It is very easy now to convert WordPress site to Android & iOS app with the help of tools like AppMySite. The spotlight has thus shifted from the obstacles of development to the challenges of marketing.
It makes a lot of sense to run these ad campaigns when you want to quickly expand your user base. The main challenges most marketers have to face while running these campaigns is selecting the right audience and budget.
Very rarely is ad fraud counted amongst a major challenge in an ad campaign. And yet, ad fraud can derail your entire campaign and deplete your budget.
What is mobile ad fraud?
The term ‘fraud’ must itself give some inkling of what mobile ad fraud really is.
By definition, mobile ad fraud refers to any attempt made to exploit mobile device ads and defraud advertisers. Generally, ad frauds are done by spamming an ad with fake clicks, impressions, or installs. This cuts away a chunk of money companies generally invest in an ad campaign.
Let’s take an example to understand this phenomenon better. Assume you start a pharmacy app and run an ad install campaign. You’re paying the ad network a certain amount every time someone clicks on your ad. What if a malicious party starts clicking on your ads with no intention of installing your app? This will deplete your marketing budget and spam your analytics dashboard with false data.
This is a classic example of mobile ad fraud. When you compound the problem of ad fraud with the overall challenge of running a good ad campaign, the picture looks much more tedious. The last thing marketers want is running their marketing budget into the ground because of fraudulent engagement on ads.
To avoid ad fraud, you first need to understand it. The following sections provide a deep dive into mobile ad fraud.
Types of ad fraud
There are many ways malicious parties target ad campaigns and attempt to defraud advertisers. The following sections discuss the different types of ad fraud.
#1 - Click spam
Click spam is also known as organic poaching. It is a tactic used by malicious parties to take credit for organic app installs and defraud the advertiser.
How does click spam work?
Let’s assume you download an app. The app is already infected with malware when you download it. The app basically performs a number of actions on your behalf in the background, such as clicking ads or installing apps. Advertisers are defrauded using these shady tactics and fed falsified data on user behaviour and actions.
Furthermore, click spam can also result in your organic installs to also be counted in the ad campaign. This means you have to end up paying more than you actually owe.
Click spam is tactic malicious parties to enrich themselves at the cost of the advertiser. It is one of main reasons app companies hesitate to run a campaign.
#2 - Click injection
Click injection is a very sophisticated tactic fraudsters use to take credit for downloads and installs they don’t generate.
This is how it works - an app infected with malware must first be present on your app. Whenever you download a new app, the infected app learns about the arrival of a new app. Before the new app is installed, the fraudster quickly generates a new click and takes credit for the install. This chart explains the process on a visual level -
Source: Appsflyer
Click injection can again eat away your marketing budget and hide the efforts of your app marketing team in bringing organic installs. This generally happens when your end users have installed a malware-ridden app on their device.
#3 - SDK spoofing
SDK spoofing involves fraudsters giving advertisers the impression of many app installs without there actually being any activity. This is naturally done to take credit for multiple installs and defraud advertisers.
This form of mobile fraud is highly sophisticated and has the potential to send your entire marketing campaign into a long-term tail spin. It is also difficult to detect, making it more dangerous than the type of fraud discussed earlier.
How to counter this challenge?
You generally don’t think about mobile fraud when trying to build your own app. And yet, it is a very real possibility. Here are some ways you can avoid fraud-
● Analytic tools - A number of mobile app analytics tools specialize in thwarting mobile fraud and its various types. You can select one of many tools to run ad campaigns safely and attribute each install to the right source.
● Organic installs - Serving personalized ads will soon become a major obstacle because of massive changes to data privacy conventions. This will reduce the effectiveness of app install campaigns. It is thus vital to move beyond app install ads altogether and look for a long-term solution for app downloads.
One never thinks of the prospect of fraud and loss. The possibility only becomes apparent when it actually happens. It is important to use analytics tools to thwart mobile fraud attempts and find a long-term alternative to running app install ads.
In conclusion
Mobile ad fraud is not a very popular topic in the app space. It is nevertheless something app companies have to consider while starting a campaign.
Anyone can go from WordPress or WooCommerce to mobile app in minutes thanks to tools like AppMySite. It is thus important to focus on other subjects like ad fraud that can cause massive damage to your marketing campaign.
This piece provides a brief analysis on mobile ad fraud. Readers should remain alert before deploying an ad campaign and do their due diligence on avoiding ad fraud.
