Dive summary:
- The online ad industry is suffering from suspicious websites that are both stealing ad dollars and ruining the image of online advertising; ad firm RadiumOne estimates that ghost publishers, shady Web crooks and their bot-employing associates are stealing $400 million a year from honest advertisers.
- These so-called "ghost sites" operate by setting up sites with minimal content and then inflate the traffic numbers with bots.
- Some of the worst offenders on the web include Mevio.com, Forward Health, Modernbaby.com and Interiorcomplex.com. [see full list of top offenders at AdWeek]
From the article:
"Since our initial story, numerous industry sources have stepped forward to help us unearth still more suspect publishers. Some have blamed traffic vendors or affiliate brokers for peddling bogus traffic, implying that certain questionable publishers could be innocent. That has only served to muddle the picture, and further erode the industry's trust."
