1.
The Limitations of
Ad Fraud Measurement

2.
The rise of ad fraud has created its own industry: ad
fraud detection and measurement. Numerous
companies provide this service and—when MRC
accredited—give the market confidence that
measurement processes and procedures adhere to
industry standards.

3.
But is ad fraud detection and measurement giving
publishers and media buyers a false sense of
security?

4.
But is ad fraud detection and measurement giving
publishers and media buyers a false sense of
security?
Are there limitations to the technology?

5.
But is ad fraud detection and measurement giving
publishers and media buyers a false sense of
security?
Are there limitations to the technology?
To better understand ad fraud detection and
measurement, consider two techniques used today:
in-ad and on-page measurement.

6.
In-Ad Measurement
Website
Used by advertisers and agencies to
measure fraud in campaigns.
Code is placed in the ad container. As
users travel to a publisher’s site, their
browser executes the code and counts
that ad exposure as a human or bot.
AD
Code
Website
Code
On-Page Measurement
Used by publishers to measure fraud
on a web page.
Code is placed on the web page and
counts the page impression as a
human or bot.

7.
In-Ad Measurement
Ad fraud vendors each use propriety methods
Each vendor’s measurements are calculated differently
The Limitations
On-Page Measurement
Only activity within the ad container
is tracked by the code
Fewer data points are collected
since only the ad is seen, not the
entire page
This method has a better chance of
producing a more accurate
measurement because it can detect
more engagement on the entire page
such as scrolling and clicking.
These discrepancies are the reason that an advertiser’s in-ad measurements are
normally at odds with a publisher’s on-page measurements

8.
Multiple vendors with their own proprietary methods

9.
Multiple vendors with their own proprietary methods
Differing methodologies

10.
Multiple vendors with their own proprietary methods
Bot traffic that is engineered to pass through filters
Differing methodologies

11.
Ad fraud frustration

12.
In the ad fraud ecosystem, marketers lose.

13.
In the ad fraud ecosystem, marketers lose.
Illegitimately sourced
bot traffic passes ad
fraud detection

14.
In the ad fraud ecosystem, marketers lose.
Illegitimately sourced
bot traffic passes ad
fraud detection
Agency pays
publisher for ads
not seen by humans

15.
In the ad fraud ecosystem, marketers lose.
Illegitimately sourced
bot traffic passes ad
fraud detection
Agency pays
publisher for ads
not seen by humans
Agency shares
misleading metrics
with marketer

16.
In the ad fraud ecosystem, marketers lose.
Illegitimately sourced
bot traffic passes ad
fraud detection
Agency pays
publisher for ads
not seen by humans
Agency shares
misleading metrics
with marketer
The publisher gets paid$

17.
In the ad fraud ecosystem, marketers lose.
Illegitimately sourced
bot traffic passes ad
fraud detection
Agency pays
publisher for ads
not seen by humans
Agency shares
misleading metrics
with marketer
The publisher gets paid
The fraudster gets paid
$
$

18.
In the ad fraud ecosystem, marketers lose.
Illegitimately sourced
bot traffic passes ad
fraud detection
Agency pays
publisher for ads
not seen by humans
Agency shares
misleading metrics
with marketer
The publisher gets paid
The fraudster gets paid
The agency gets paid
$
$
$

19.
In the ad fraud ecosystem, marketers lose.
Illegitimately sourced
bot traffic passes ad
fraud detection
Agency pays
publisher for ads
not seen by humans
Agency shares
misleading metrics
with marketer
The publisher gets paid
The fraudster gets paid
The agency gets paid
The marketer is out money and views
$
$
$

20.
Is there a fix for the system?

21.
Is there a fix for the system?
Find out by reading
What You Can Do to Meet Marketers’ Demands
to Fix Digital Ad Fraud