An interesting report from Click Forensics has just been released, suggesting that almost one in five paid clicks across search results and content networks is fraudulent.

There are large automated networks (botnets) out there that only exist to scupper people’s honest endeavours on the web. While efforts are being made to stop them, this will be little consolation for business owners who are pushing their marketing budgets during the downturn, only to find out that their “visitors” don’t actually exist.

Keep an eye on your Paid Seach click spend. With the cost per click spiralling in almost every industry and the return on investment dropping, botnets are an unwelcome nuiscance. Of course, if you are ranking well in natural search you needn’t worry about these pests eating up your marketing budget.