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Programmatic advertising, i.e. the algorithm of automated purchase by advertisers and sale by publishers of advertising space, has been around for 30 years. This technology has developed rapidly and has been growing in functionality like a snowball: first, back in 1994, it was just banners, and now it is a multi-billion dollar advertising industry.
But along with programmatic advertising, the share of digital fraud has also grown. Marketers and advertisers allocate up to 90% of their budget to promoting their products and services on advertising platforms, while up to 50% of it is eaten up by fraud.
That's why it's so important to understand what advertisers are risking. Digital scammers not only rob companies, but also waste the time of marketing and analytics specialists, ruin metrics and other statistics, lead marketers to make wrong decisions, and can even ruin a brand's reputation.
And I want to understand why this type of advertising is so popular despite such a level of fraud? What links does it consist of and which of the stages specifically leads to fraudulent actions? Are there methods to combat it? In addition, are there any hidden threats in the world of cybersecurity solutions?
Hint: If you rely solely on pre-bid filtering, which verifies traffic in real time at the individual user level and filters out only generic invalid traffic (GIVT), you're not going to get anywhere near solving the problem.
Contents
1. On the popularity of programmatic platforms
2. What stages does programmatic advertising consist of?
3. What does programmatic advertising fraud lead to?
4. Protection from general invalid traffic
5. Is it possible to protect against complex invalid traffic?
Without it, advertisers and marketers previously had to search for suitable resources on which to place an ad, request a price list, discuss the terms of placement, finalize the agreement, and only then create and place the ad. It was a long and tedious process without any guarantees or reports.
The market is now simply flooded with resources and applications (in addition to video, CTV, audio and outdoor digital advertising) on which to place your ads. The only thing that complicates the process is that it is impossible to know exactly which channels will best attract the target audience.
And programmatic advertising does just that. It offers a convenient and cost-effective way to achieve better conversion, brand awareness, and demand generation that can lead to sales.
Example: A user who recently searched for or viewed backpacks will see an ad with backpacks when visiting a site that participates in programmatic advertising (most likely from the site he has already visited).
Demand-side platforms (DSPs) - Advertisers use them as a one-stop shop where they buy ads across multiple sites in real time. They can see the publisher's inventory data to see if the site matches the ad's theme and if the offer will reach the target audience.
At the DPS platform level, attackers can generate fake traffic: botnets and click farms can be involved in this. To fake data, fraudsters resort to inventory spoofing.
Supply Chain Platforms (SSPs): Also known as ad selling platforms, they aggregate high-quality traffic sources for monetization via DSPs. Publishers use SSPs and dynamic pricing models to sell ad space to the highest bidders in real-time.
At this level, attackers can distort inventory data by using spoofing and fraud with the ID of the packet of transmitted data.
Advertising exchanges. These are digital marketplaces that connect advertisers (buyers) and publishers (sellers). They instantly compare advertisers' criteria and budgets with publishers' available advertising inventory for sale and placement.
In addition, there is fraud on the side of the publishers themselves: data falsification (ad injections, attribution fraud), as well as the placement of low-quality content (rates, 18+, etc.).
There are two types of fake traffic: generic invalid traffic (GIVT) and sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT). To do this, attackers use bots, malware, device farms, or a combination of these. The choice of attack method depends on the end goal and the platform.
Both types of traffic damage advertising campaigns: they waste advertisers' budgets, spoil metrics, and reduce conversion rates. The first is the easiest to detect, the second is much more difficult, since attackers use advanced technologies and smart bots that can imitate human behavior and solve captchas. In addition, fraudsters can use hacked devices, invalid traffic from proxy servers, and farms for fraud with real performers.
To stop ad fraud and reduce the risk of attacks, it is necessary to focus not only on general but also on complex invalid traffic.
The entire process must happen in real time, in a split second. This is done to avoid delays in loading content or placing ads.
Most DSP platforms guarantee fraud protection to advertisers. However, this only consists of basic filtering of general invalid traffic. Its algorithm checks the IP address and user agent, which makes it possible to detect only 1 to 3% of invalid traffic that leads to ad clicks.
Fraudsters know about this vulnerability of programmatic advertising and exploit it. They bypass basic filtering with the help of advanced bots, clickers and click farms. As a result, advertisers lose billions of dollars.
DSP and SSP platforms, as well as media agencies, do not differentiate traffic by type. And, of course, they do not specialize in advertising fraud. Yes, they develop filters, introduce artificial intelligence to detect fraud, nevertheless, advertisers lose more and more advertising funds every year due to invalid traffic.
Invalid traffic that successfully passed all filtering stages leads to fake clicks and ad views. Because of this, advertisers lose their budgets.
It also results in inaccurate data being provided. False metrics will then be used to create and place future campaigns, which can lead to even greater losses. Publishers risk losing revenue if the problem of invalid traffic and ad fraud is not resolved in favor of advertisers.
Depending on the programmatic platform you choose, you can combat invalid traffic in the following ways:
Basic antifraud filters in programmatic advertising protect against invalid traffic, but they are not able to completely eradicate cases of click fraud. If they block most of the general invalid traffic, then the situation is worse with complex traffic. In this case, advertisers choose cyber protection systems for advertising campaigns, since they have a large number of accumulated patterns of invalid traffic.
But along with programmatic advertising, the share of digital fraud has also grown. Marketers and advertisers allocate up to 90% of their budget to promoting their products and services on advertising platforms, while up to 50% of it is eaten up by fraud.
That's why it's so important to understand what advertisers are risking. Digital scammers not only rob companies, but also waste the time of marketing and analytics specialists, ruin metrics and other statistics, lead marketers to make wrong decisions, and can even ruin a brand's reputation.
And I want to understand why this type of advertising is so popular despite such a level of fraud? What links does it consist of and which of the stages specifically leads to fraudulent actions? Are there methods to combat it? In addition, are there any hidden threats in the world of cybersecurity solutions?
Hint: If you rely solely on pre-bid filtering, which verifies traffic in real time at the individual user level and filters out only generic invalid traffic (GIVT), you're not going to get anywhere near solving the problem.
Contents
1. On the popularity of programmatic platforms
2. What stages does programmatic advertising consist of?
3. What does programmatic advertising fraud lead to?
4. Protection from general invalid traffic
5. Is it possible to protect against complex invalid traffic?
On the popularity of programmatic platforms
Automation of processes, their acceleration and optimization are ideal conditions for targeted advertising. Programmatic simplifies the process of buying and selling places for advertising announcements.Without it, advertisers and marketers previously had to search for suitable resources on which to place an ad, request a price list, discuss the terms of placement, finalize the agreement, and only then create and place the ad. It was a long and tedious process without any guarantees or reports.
The market is now simply flooded with resources and applications (in addition to video, CTV, audio and outdoor digital advertising) on which to place your ads. The only thing that complicates the process is that it is impossible to know exactly which channels will best attract the target audience.
And programmatic advertising does just that. It offers a convenient and cost-effective way to achieve better conversion, brand awareness, and demand generation that can lead to sales.
Example: A user who recently searched for or viewed backpacks will see an ad with backpacks when visiting a site that participates in programmatic advertising (most likely from the site he has already visited).
What stages does programmatic advertising consist of?
On the one hand, programmatic advertising is designed to speed up and simplify the process of placing ads, on the other hand, it is capable of expanding advertising networks so that advertisers have more opportunities to find a thematic platform. Here are the types of programmatic advertising platforms:Demand-side platforms (DSPs) - Advertisers use them as a one-stop shop where they buy ads across multiple sites in real time. They can see the publisher's inventory data to see if the site matches the ad's theme and if the offer will reach the target audience.
At the DPS platform level, attackers can generate fake traffic: botnets and click farms can be involved in this. To fake data, fraudsters resort to inventory spoofing.
Supply Chain Platforms (SSPs): Also known as ad selling platforms, they aggregate high-quality traffic sources for monetization via DSPs. Publishers use SSPs and dynamic pricing models to sell ad space to the highest bidders in real-time.
At this level, attackers can distort inventory data by using spoofing and fraud with the ID of the packet of transmitted data.
Advertising exchanges. These are digital marketplaces that connect advertisers (buyers) and publishers (sellers). They instantly compare advertisers' criteria and budgets with publishers' available advertising inventory for sale and placement.
In addition, there is fraud on the side of the publishers themselves: data falsification (ad injections, attribution fraud), as well as the placement of low-quality content (rates, 18+, etc.).
What does programmatic advertising fraud lead to?
Programmatic advertising fraud is a set of tactics used to generate fake ad interactions (views, clicks, conversions) either intentionally or accidentally. This includes bot clicks and clicks from real users who do not intend to take the target action and convert.There are two types of fake traffic: generic invalid traffic (GIVT) and sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT). To do this, attackers use bots, malware, device farms, or a combination of these. The choice of attack method depends on the end goal and the platform.
Both types of traffic damage advertising campaigns: they waste advertisers' budgets, spoil metrics, and reduce conversion rates. The first is the easiest to detect, the second is much more difficult, since attackers use advanced technologies and smart bots that can imitate human behavior and solve captchas. In addition, fraudsters can use hacked devices, invalid traffic from proxy servers, and farms for fraud with real performers.
To stop ad fraud and reduce the risk of attacks, it is necessary to focus not only on general but also on complex invalid traffic.
Protection against general invalid traffic
Programmatic advertising is a process in which advertising placement occurs in a fraction of a second:- sending a request;
- confirmation of response;
- an auction where the winner is the one who bids the highest;
- display (placement) of advertising.
The entire process must happen in real time, in a split second. This is done to avoid delays in loading content or placing ads.
Most DSP platforms guarantee fraud protection to advertisers. However, this only consists of basic filtering of general invalid traffic. Its algorithm checks the IP address and user agent, which makes it possible to detect only 1 to 3% of invalid traffic that leads to ad clicks.
Fraudsters know about this vulnerability of programmatic advertising and exploit it. They bypass basic filtering with the help of advanced bots, clickers and click farms. As a result, advertisers lose billions of dollars.
DSP and SSP platforms, as well as media agencies, do not differentiate traffic by type. And, of course, they do not specialize in advertising fraud. Yes, they develop filters, introduce artificial intelligence to detect fraud, nevertheless, advertisers lose more and more advertising funds every year due to invalid traffic.
Is it possible to protect against complex invalid traffic?
Programmatic platforms are one of the largest and most effective sales channels. And at the same time, this is the most attacked area of advertising by fraudsters. According to cybersecurity experts, the share of fraudulent traffic in it reaches 50% on average.Invalid traffic that successfully passed all filtering stages leads to fake clicks and ad views. Because of this, advertisers lose their budgets.
It also results in inaccurate data being provided. False metrics will then be used to create and place future campaigns, which can lead to even greater losses. Publishers risk losing revenue if the problem of invalid traffic and ad fraud is not resolved in favor of advertisers.
Depending on the programmatic platform you choose, you can combat invalid traffic in the following ways:
- DSP. In this case, the most effective anti-fraud solutions will be those that use algorithms based on statistical analysis and anomaly detection.
- SSP. Standards approved by the international Interactive Advertising Board (IAB) are applied.
- At the publisher level. Creative verification systems, antiviruses, cloaking protection.
Basic antifraud filters in programmatic advertising protect against invalid traffic, but they are not able to completely eradicate cases of click fraud. If they block most of the general invalid traffic, then the situation is worse with complex traffic. In this case, advertisers choose cyber protection systems for advertising campaigns, since they have a large number of accumulated patterns of invalid traffic.
