The numbers around mobile app-install ad fraud are scary.
Over a third of marketers surveyed by Forrester think more than half their mobile budget is impacted by fraud. A Tune study found that 23 percent of ad networks have over 20 percent fraud. An AppsFlyer report estimated that app-install fraud would cost brands over a third of a billion dollars annually.
But the scariest figure isn’t a number at all; it’s a big, bold question mark. Why? With the fractured state of measurement in the app-install space, plus a lack of widely adopted definitions of fraud, nobody knows for sure how big the problem is.
So, what is an advertiser to do?
Know your enemy
Ad fraud is opportunistic; it exists because the approximately $5.7 billion spent in app-install media every year is fattened prey protected by shoddy fencing. Despite the deep data available, the app-install industry still over-relies on attributing an install to the last ad click or impression. Such a system, as anyone who recalls “cookie bombing” on desktop can attest, is very easy to game.
Compounding the issue is the speed at which ad fraud is evolving. Spoofed domains or IP addresses, click injection, click spamming, device ID resetting—the list of fraud types grows constantly and has more than 6 million apps in which to hide.
Start with measurement
Outdated measurement is a major facilitator of app-install fraud, so marketers must make increasing the depth of their in-app measurement a priority. Selecting the mobile measurement platform that best fits the app and its paid-media efforts is step one. Availability of data, attribution-window flexibility, interface usability and pricing are just a few of the factors to be considered.
From there, marketers must commit to capturing as many data points as feasible. App-install fraud thrives in environments where measurement stops at the install. Conversely, a well-thought-out matrix of measured, post-install actions is anathema to fraud.
Dig deep for suspicious activity
By and large, ad fraud will manifest itself as activity patterns that don’t quite look right when examined at a granular level.
Is there a disproportionate volume of installs coming from a device model with a small market share? Are users opening the app for the first time quicker than they could have downloaded it? Is some inventory driving only paid-media users who convert at almost the exact same rate as organic users?
Those are just a few examples of suspicious activity that uncovers fraud. The bottom line: If it looks like fraud, it probably is.
Good things happen when neighbors talk
Identifying and attacking app-install fraud can be a daunting and time-intensive task, but it doesn’t need to be a lonely one.
Marketers should be in open dialogue with their media partners about any suspicious activity they find. Reputable partners are as invested as any marketer in stomping out ad fraud and they should be fully willing to render any suspicious activity unbillable.
Moreover, everyone in the industry—marketers, media partners, publishers, agencies—benefits from sharing knowledge about ad fraud. New types of fraud keep appearing on new apps, requiring new types of analysis. Working together to combat fraud benefits the entire ecosystem, which, in turn, benefits everyone’s bottom line.
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At a glance
M&C Saatchi Mobile is a leading full-service mobile-first digital marketing agency. It helps brands engage with their customers using creative and data-driven mobile solutions.
M&C Saatchi Mobile
625 Broadway, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10012
(646) 619-2809
Website
www.mcsaatchimobile.com
Twitter
@MCSaatchiMobile
LinkedIn
linkedin.com/company/m&c-saatchi-mobile
Number of locations
10
Founded
2006
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Focus
Mobile-first digital media
User acquisition and retention
In-app fraud prevention
App store optimization
Insight & strategy
Measurement & analytics
Key products
Mobile-first digital marketing: Helps brands grow by harnessing data to find, engage and convert customers efficiently through digital media. Services include: media, strategy, creative, business intelligence, innovation and app-store optimization.
Contact
infoUS@mcsaatchimobile.com
