Have you ever clicked on a brand’s ad and ended up on a website you didn’t expect? That’s ad hijacking . And it hurts advertisers and users alike. Read on to learn how ad hijacking works, what risks it poses, and how to protect your brand.
In a digital world where marketing and advertising play a crucial role in a brand’s success elise hanuschek partner portal manager sales strategy & operations , various forms of fraud are emerging that can damage a company’s reputation and reduce its revenue. One such threat is ad hijacking. What exactly is it and how can your brand defend itself?
What is ad hijacking?
Ad hijacking is when an affiliate partner imitates a brand’s ads to get click spam data revenue from trademarked keywords. Affiliate partners do this to trick you into clicking on their ad instead of the brand’s actual ad.
This is a type of online fraud in which fraudsters improperly manipulate a company’s advertising campaigns to drive traffic or sales to their own site or another vendor. They typically target PPC (pay-per-click) ads, particularly Google Ads, where they can use well-known brands and keywords to redirect users.
There are several methods by which ad hijackers carry out this scam:
- Unfair PPC strategies : An ad hijacker may target the same keywords as your business, but offer a higher cost per click. When a user clicks on their ad, they are redirected to a fake page or a competing store.
- Affiliate link redirection : In this case, the fraudster exploits affiliate programs by redirecting users through their affiliate link, thereby claiming a commission on the sale, even though that user would normally have purchased the product without their intervention.
- Manipulation of advertising banners : Another common technique is the manipulation of advertising banners on websites, where users are redirected to malicious or unrelated pages.
How does ad hijacking damage your brand?
- Revenue Loss : Fraudsters misappropriate sales that would otherwise belong to your business. This directly impacts your revenue and return on ad investment. Imagine paying for clicks that don’t reach your website! Hijacked ads steal clicks intended for your official ads, driving away potential customers and reducing revenue.
- Reputational damage : Users who are redirected to irrelevant or fraudulent pages can lose trust in your brand. If users click on a hijacked ad and end up on a poor quality website or experience something negative, it reflects poorly on your brand. They may associate the bad experience with your company.
- Higher advertising costs : By bidding higher prices for clicks on your keywords, hijackers can increase the price of your PPC advertising, which will lead to higher campaign costs. Advertisers compete with hijackers who bid based on their brand terms (i.e. your brand). This increases your CPC price , which means you pay more for each person who sees your original ad.
- Channel Conflict and Data Distortion : If both you and the hijacker are using affiliate programs, the situation becomes more complicated. Metrics like impression share and revenue attributi