Content Placement Link Unit Ad Format
Click Fraud is on my mind often these days as I determine if content match is really worth all the trouble it creates. My latest Google AdWords Content Placement complaint is Ad Format.
The Link Unit offering by AdSense leads me to believe that not all ads are created equally. This ad format is often used to look like part of the menu structure on a site, rather than an actual ad.
If Google are serious about reducing click fraud, then they should remove this ad format as it is abused more often than not by fraudulent adsense users trying to make a quick and easy buck.
As you can see from the insert to the right, the AdSense Ads are clearly used fraudulently by placing them at the beginning of a selection of menu items under PC troubleshooting. Due to the nature of these ads - they display only the 25 character title line of the ad - they appear to be menu items, just like the rest below them. Without realising these to be ads, many people will click on them unsuspectingly, no doubt just as the site owner plans, in order to generate money.
In cases such as these, I believe that these sites should be excluded as Return On Investment (ROI) will be very low due to unintended click fraud.
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