Google and Click Fraud

Lots of talk around the Web water cooler today about Google, click fraud, and $90 million dollars. Here's just a few of the sites/blogs that are talking about it:

WebProNews: "A class-action lawsuit filed by Lane's Gifts and Collectibles in Arkansas against Google could end soon if the presiding judge approves a proposed settlement. Google provided an update in its year-plus battle with Lane's Gifts over accusations of the search advertising company charging businesses for fraudulent clicks on paid search advertisements."

Official Google Blog: "Google currently allows advertisers to apply for reimbursement for clicks they believe are invalid. They can do this for clicks that happen during the 60 days prior to notifying Google. Under the agreement with the plaintiffs, we are going to open up that window for all advertisers, regardless of when the questionable clicks occurred. For all eligible invalid clicks, we will offer credits which can be used to purchase new advertising with Google. We do not know how many will apply and receive credits, but under the agreement, the total amount of credits, plus attorneys fees, will not exceed $90 million."

Forbes:"Google's settlement of a click fraud class action lawsuit is a "non-event," according to SG Cowen analyst Jim Friedland. On Wednesday, Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) announced that in February, it agreed to settle a click fraud lawsuit for $90 million, pending judicial approval. Yahoo! (nasdaq: YHOO - news - people ) is also a defendant, but will continue to litigate the case. Google will allow all U.S. advertisers to apply for reimbursements for invalid clicks since February 2002."

SearchEngineWatch: "It's worth stressing a point I'm seeing lost in some other stories and comments. This settlement isn't $90 million for the lead plaintiff, if approved. It covers all parties in the class action, which are ALL Google advertisers in the US. For that price, Google looks to be effectively ridding itself of click fraud claims going back to when it started cost-per-click pricing in 2002."

InsideAdWords has a nice long explanation of what click fraud really is and how it could affect you as a siteowner, not to mention Google.

More About Google: Did you REALLY delete those Google images? Learn more about Google Sitemaps, or read my Web Search editorial titled Google and Censorship in China.

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