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[I:http://getslim4life.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/LewisBlack26.jpg]If you’re one of the many cosmetic medical practices, plastic surgery, laser clinics or cosmetic dermatology practices advertising online with Google Adwords or Yahoo PPC, don’t be surprised to find that some of the money you’re paying every month is sucked out of your marketing fund by click fraud.

Don’t think it’s already happening to your med spa, laser clinic or skin clinic? Here’s a recent quote from Michael Caruso, CEO of click fraud services vendor ClickFacts in an interview:

“In particularly fraud prone verticals such as finance, class action lawsuits and medical, we see click fraud rates in the 30%-45% range. These are categories that see high keyword pricing in the PPC auction model. That makes them particularly tasty for click fraud artists. If you can make more money from the dark side than the light side of search, there are plenty of people who will take advantage.”

There are two ways that your plastic surgery, laser clinic or cosmetic dermatology practice marketing budget is being drained:

First: competitors who see your ad simply click on it, draining your advertising dollars. Second; click fraudsters set up ‘affiliate’ sites are set up that run your ads where they are clicked on by bots or employees. These sites are the most damaging since you’re paying for every click without any return. Click fraud around plastic surgery, laser clinics or cosmetic dermatology practices can be very lucrative since plastic surgery, laser clinics or cosmetic dermatology practices are becoming such a competitive market and the payment per click can be as high as $4-5.

Unfortunately, to keep your budget safe you have very few tools. Google just gave advertisers $90 million to compensate for click fraud as the result of a class action suit but you can bet they’re not that Google’s not interested in your individual account. Especially since they’re making money from click fraud when your ads are clicked on.

Start by limiting your exposure to click fraud. If your plastic surgery, laser clinic or cosmetic dermatology practice is still running an Adwords or Yahoo campaign, they allow you to limit the maximum amount you spend in a day. Take advantage of this feature by limiting your maximum cost to what you can afford to spend. You can also look for the tracks of click fraud by examining the reports you might have available to you. Multiple clicks coming from the same IP address are a sure sign of fraud.

Malaysia has become such a haven for click fraud ‘sweat-shops’ that clicks generated there are completely discounted by Google and Malaysian accounts for Adwords or Adsense are routinely turned down.

Protect your dermatology or plastic surgery clinic by keeping track of your PPC account. You can be sure that you’re the only one really trying to.

Laser Clinic MD is a medspa community of Plastic Surgeons, Cosmetic Dermatologists with more than 3,500 medical spa members world-wide. Medical Spa MD offers physician resources like Botox from Canada and information for skin clinic & laser clinic patients.