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.

Google changed Search forever with the introduction of AdWords. Allowing advertisers to choose when and where their adverts appear worked out great for the advertisers and even better for Google. The search engine caught rivals on the hop and the competition is still losing ground eight years later.

Microsoft has been looking for a new angle for years now and may finally have stumbled upon a great solution for both advertisers and shoppers.

As any B2B salesperson will tell you, everyone loves guaranteed results. This is effectively what Microsoft are offering e-commerce clients; instead of charging Per Visitor, as Google do, they are charging Per Conversion. This is a no-lose situation for retailers and is a real incentive to consider running non-Google alternatives alongside AdWords and SEO.

In addition to this, Microsoft are offering cashback for searchers who purchase through the Live engine. Purchasers need to set up a Paypal style account with Microsoft, into which the cash is refunded. From there, it can be dispatched into a traditional bank account.

Not many people in the UK actually use Live Search. We are a nation of Google lovers. Will this be enough to draw advertisers away from Google? Unlikely, but it does offer another way of looking at Paid Search.