Pace,

Thanks for putting this into the spotlight. This is definitely the least that is happening with publishers pushing crap traffic via PPC banners.

And of course, the engines turn their heads even while you publish it in the marketplace.

Posted by pete | 12:20 pm on March 29, 2006.

It’s amazing how innovative some marketers can be, and who rely upon their innovations to generate fraudulent income when they could use their skills to earn ethical, legitimate income.

Posted by David Hurlbert | 1:05 pm on March 29, 2006.

This simply underscores the need for ad network transparency.

Posted by David Berkowitz | 1:26 pm on March 29, 2006.

The only way to stop this kind of crap in the click-stream is to use something like validclick. http://www.validclick.com

Posted by Chris Blackburn | 3:41 pm on March 29, 2006.

I checked this site out and yes they do have pics next to the ads but the pics go to other pages at the site…. what they advertise for Yahoo is varied.. maybe they are buying their reminant traffic…

Posted by AussieWebmaster | 3:45 pm on March 29, 2006.

This is going on with a lot of different websites similar to this as well as myspace promotion websites. Teh scary thing is that these aren’t comming from small sites, these are comming from pretty big sites that can easily deliver 10,000 clicks a day.

Posted by Adrian Wilson | 3:58 pm on March 29, 2006.

It just might be a bit unethical indeed. But it’s a brilliant idea and I certainly think it should be legal and I hope Google leaves them alone. Sex sells, always has always will. On the other hand I’m so used to sex selling that I don’t think I’d click the ad just because of the picture. I have a brain that is capable of distinguishing the topic of the ad from the picture. It kind of makes me wonder what’s wrong with everyone else…

Posted by Dave Holmes | 6:05 pm on March 29, 2006.

Well, it does work, and I did post this on my blog, http://www.webmetricsguru.com, because I’m noticing the same thing too.

Too bad the pictures just lead to boaring products that have nothing to do with the sexy girl photos.

Posted by Webmetricsguru | 12:41 pm on March 30, 2006.

The web is an open, free marketspace and I hope it stays that way. But brand building is a 360 degree enterprise – in 4 dimensions. Trusted brands are driving hude numbers for corporations and will continue to thrive.

Sex sells sex. Sex delivers clicks. But 90% of the market doesn’t benefit. It’s a self limiting activity.

Posted by Lisa Wellman | 3:53 pm on March 30, 2006.

it’s unethical but it works…
i think the ppc companies would eventually take some actions to deal with such ‘going-to-be-violations’.

Posted by Bazar | 11:13 pm on April 3, 2006.

anyone knows that sex sell….

Posted by John T. | 10:33 am on April 4, 2006.

I would agree with Pace that this is unethical, and I suggest that a few of the previous comment writers look up the word “ethical” in a dictionary.

The best way to stop it is to make it against the Terms of Service and put in place an affiliate bounty for turning miscreants like this in.

Posted by Larry Gordon | 2:13 pm on April 10, 2006.

My friend, ed, has “myspace”, everyday he gets approxmatly 5 sexy girls wanting to be his friend. Thats so he will click on their picture to read there profile and then it sends you to the site, usually a smut site. He gets quit upset, he even wrote a blog telling all the brainless girls what he thought of them. But to no avail, they still keep on coming. They are a royal pain.

Posted by marlene | 12:13 am on August 17, 2006.

salut ca va comment va tu

Posted by marouen | 8:50 am on August 18, 2006.

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Posted by san | 9:11 am on September 20, 2006.

email for me and love with me

Posted by manu | 3:20 am on October 3, 2006.

fuck me playboy can we produce a baby dear

Posted by zakariya | 3:49 pm on April 24, 2007.

fuck me playboy can we produce a baby lets do it i am comming to fuck u

Posted by zakariya | 3:51 pm on April 24, 2007.

Whaaat just happened here? I was reading this blog, as an internet marketing person myself, and the comments turned crazy! Who are these people leaving idiot comments in half ass english..and why are they reading the blog in the first place. Freaking weird. Although I must say my favorite was “email for me and love with me”. I mean..whhhaaat?

Posted by Amae | 2:09 pm on October 26, 2007.

Amae, I think the crazy comments are from blog spammers. When I launched my blog I got all these odd comments from dodgy looking domains, then I discovered there was a spamming program that automatically leaves messages on blogs, in order to build up Google rankings for grubby spammy websites. If only they used their talent for good!

Posted by Kerryn | 6:20 pm on January 25, 2008.

I have more than few issues with digital marketing, digital advertising or digital selling in any manner that is not transparent.

This bait and switch modality of utilizing scantly clad models to lure people to sites and unethically charging advertisers for erroneous clicks serves no one as it erodes consumer confidence and diminishes the effectiveness of online advertising for everyone. Advertising a chocolate bar and sending the consumer to a panty site is suicide for our industry. If this was done on TV is would be shut down and heavily fined immediately with the broadcaster, agency and advertiser all suffering from their lack of due diligence and purposeful misrepresentations

In essence we’re extending and legitimizing SPAM from our mail boxes to digital ad networks and the pages of “so called” quality sites. Online advertising does not need to be equated universally with pirated software, counterfeit watches and the miraculous growth of body parts by taking little blue pills. We must as an industry with billions of dollars at stake bring an immediate end to dishonest and misleading practices.

There are a number of issues that need to be addressed and “self policed” in our industry before the autonomy we enjoy is taken away by Federal regulators. Through necessity and public outcry Congress and the FCC will take action based on vast “Trickery and Deceit” that negatively affects consumers and honest advertisers.

I can see the bill now. Taxation on every Internet transaction and “Standards & Practices” environments mandated as with broadcast television. None of us in the industry want this. However, we are doing this to ourselves by not stopping unethical practices at every turn of the ad lifecycle.

The enhanced normalization and verification of traffic, inventory, sales planning and the accurate reporting of media metrics will be essential. There is too much fragmentation now and no one benefits from this. From the beginning of an online ad campaign each collateral and associated link needs to be normalized. The vertical Consumer Package Goods (CPG) will go to sites that are CPG friendly and do not have Mature Adult Content (MAC). More importantly the channels that the ad copy, images, steaming video, shared links, and digital ad networks go through during the entire process will all have to certified as CPG and not equal to MAC. (=CGP,not=MAC).

Once this is accomplished the agencies and the clients will flock to credible advertisers and ad networks beyond anything we enjoy today. 20% to 30% organic growth rates will be realistic for a number of years and some will even enjoy 40% to come if a few unethical people are regulated through our industry before they ruin it for everyone.

P&G, McDonalds, GM, Nike, Yum Brands, Wal-Mart and others will backdoor the agencies and the digital networks in droves if some out there do not clean up their acts. How does an ad agency compete with P&G developing their own ad network? Developing their own digital entertainment content? They can’t! It seems that some would like to kill the golden goose.

Our industry is at a crossroads of sorts now and we all need to examine the benefits of a quick dollar versus the long term growth, credibility and success of digital advertising.

Tony Filson
President
Filcro Media Staffing
http://www.ExecutiveSearch.TV

Posted by Tony Filson | 2:34 pm on February 24, 2008.

Oh my heavens. These comments are out of control. The guys that came up with that methods of click fraud are pretty damn smart though.

Ive seen some others that made it snow or added some other visual effect to increase CTR. The sad thing is that it works.

Posted by Grant | 1:58 pm on March 13, 2008.

Unfortunately Pesach is right – it is very unethical but if you want to get your product out there, sex does sell!

Chris Alonso
http://www.bocanetworks.com

Posted by Chris | 1:21 pm on June 24, 2008.