A Click Forensics report found 2006 click fraud numbers reached 14.2% overall and 19.2 for clicks from search engine content networks.
While high spend terms (clicks of $2 or more) averaged 20.9% click fraud.
“The industry average click fraud rate climbed to its highest level in 2006 and … the click fraud rate for affiliate sites was significantly higher than the overall industry average,” said Tom Cuthbert, president and CEO of Click Forensics, LLC. “The data confirms what other recent independent investigations have uncovered about click fraud. Click fraud remains a concern for online advertisers and affiliate sites represent a large and growing source of click fraud traffic. These are areas we and advertisers will continue to monitor closely in 2007.”