GeoEdge, a provider of ad security solutions shares a Clickbait landscape research

A new report from GeoEdge, global provider of ad security and quality solutions for the online and mobile advertising ecosystem, analyses the landscape of clickbait advertising and its effects on publishers over the first four months of 2022. The research contained in the report analyses a normalised sample of billions of advertising impressions monitored from January 1 to May 1, 2022, across GeoEdge’s network of websites and apps.

The data paints a picture of a landscape where the number of clickbait, offensive and misleading ads on publishers’ sites is increasing over time, with fraudulent campaigns often driven by trending news topics.

Misleading product offers, financial scams, and support scams are the top trends in early 2022. Financial scams have largely been driven by trending news around two specific topics: cryptocurrency and government support programs.

Across GeoEdge’s entire ecosystem, the types of clickbait through April 2022 breakdown as follows:

• The misleading offer gets 49%
• Forced browser notifications 24%
• Gift card scams 14%
• Financial scams 6%
• Tech support scam 4%
• Fake antivirus and cleaners 3%

The report also includes key insights into the effect of clickbait on a site’s revenue. Aside from full scale audience alienation, clickbait damages the site’s metrics, which discourages high-quality advertisers from buying inventory, and ultimately sinking CPMs and overall earnings.

‘To prevent damage to user experience, publishers must own all touchpoints with their audiences, from the editorial content to the ad content and all accompanying landing pages,’ said GeoEdge CEO Amnon Siev.

GeoEdge’s goal is to guard against malware, inappropriate content and non-compliance. Leading publishers, ad platforms, exchanges and networks rely on GeoEdge’s automated ad verification solutions to ‎monitor and protect their ad inventory – without sacrificing revenue. To prevent damage to user experience, publishers must own all touchpoints with their audiences, from the editorial content to the ad content and all accompanying landing pages.