Advertising Link Control for Fraud Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
On-line advertising systems are vulnerable to malicious click inflation due to click-bots and fraudulent activities, leading to inaccurate fee calculations for advertisers and publishers.
Innovation Solution
The system provides a group of advertising links, including both relevant and irrelevant links, to track click-through rates, comparing these rates to detect illegitimate advertising-related activity by identifying indiscriminate clicks that do not differentiate between content-related and content-unrelated links.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If click-bots are used to generate automatic clicks, then click count increases, but click accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces control advertising links as intermediary elements between the advertising system and click-bots. These control links serve as mediators that reveal the presence of click-bots through abnormal click patterns, allowing the system to distinguish between legitimate and fraudulent clicks without directly detecting the click-bots themselves.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms by monitoring click patterns on control advertising links and using this information to adjust fee calculations. When abnormal click patterns are detected on control links, the system feedbacks this information to identify and penalize fraudulent advertising activities, thereby improving click accuracy measurement.
2Ease of operation
If fee calculation is based on click count, then charging simplicity improves, but fee accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Control advertising links act as intermediaries that provide indirect information about click legitimacy. By monitoring clicks on these control links rather than directly analyzing advertiser link clicks, the system maintains charging simplicity while improving fee accuracy through the intermediary data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical counting of all clicks with a substituted system that uses control link click patterns as proxies for detecting fraudulent activity. This substitution allows the system to maintain simple click-based charging while accurately identifying and adjusting for fraudulent clicks through the intermediary control mechanism.
3Reliability
If control advertising links are provided, then fraud detection capability improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the advertising link portfolio into regular advertising links and control advertising links. This segmentation allows the system to isolate fraud detection functions into specific control links while keeping the main advertising system simple. The control links are separate, dedicated elements that do not interfere with normal advertising operations.
Solution Approach 2:
Control advertising links function as disposable, low-cost elements that can be easily created and discarded. They are simple HTML links with minimal overhead, designed to be used temporarily for fraud detection purposes and then replaced or removed once their detection function is fulfilled, thereby minimizing long-term system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A system may provide an advertising link in association with a document. The content of the advertising link is unrelated to a content of the document. The system may also determine a rate at which the advertising link is selected and determine whether illegitimate activity occurred based, at least in part, on the determined rate of selection.