Search engines are on the defensive about click fraud. In lawsuits, advertisers accuse Web companies like Google and Yahoo of failing to adequately guard against a practice that artificially raises ad rates and enriches scammers. But it also enriches the search engines--which has led advertisers to accuse them of collusion, or at the very least, indifference. However, to completely thwart the click fraud problem, companies would have to change the pay-per-click business model, whereby ad rates are determined by the number of times an ad is clicked. The model provides a strong incentive for fraud, says Mikhail Ledvich, chief strategy …

At the time of its initial public offering, Google said if the company were a person, it would have been close to finishing the first grade. What's that supposed to mean? Well, expect the company to release several products in beta. Check. Expect youthful exuberance and stubbornness. Check. Expect the company to mess up. Hmm. Google hasn't really messed up, but it's definitely released way too many products to possibly keep up. Thankfully, its core business is so strong that it continues to grow at a torrid pace. But one day it won't, and then it will be time for …

Cellular networks are only just starting to accept ads on their wireless information and entertainment services. This year, both Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless began running banners on their Web services pages. Sprint is also testing video ads, and is expected to make an announcement about its ads program in the coming weeks. Verizon Wireless is also reported to be making inroads into cellular advertising. Today, Yahoo and go2 Directory Systems are set to announce a deal that will put Yahoo-sponsored listings on go2's local-search Web directory--a service carried by Verizon, Sprint and Cingular Wireless. Right now, most wireless Internet …

Things just get weirder and weirder at AOL: The AP reports that Time Warner wants to bring in bulldozers to dig up property owned by the parents of an Internet spammer, who owes the company some $12.8 million in damages. The spammer is believed to have buried gold and platinum bars at his parent's house. The family says it knows nothing about any buried treasure, and plans to fight AOL's gold-digging plans. Last year, the company won a $12.8 million judgment against spammer Davis Wolfgang Hawke in U.S. District Court in Virginia, but has been unable to collect any of …

Opinion is crucial in helping people determine which products and services they should use. But new research from JupiterResearch says the growing phenomenon of consumer-generated media is proving disruptive to Web sites offering professional reviews and ratings. The company found that 77 percent of online shoppers regularly read consumer product reviews and ratings. Viewers were increasingly loyal to stores that feature product feedback. Another survey found that 22 percent of online consumers who leave feedback on forums tend to purchase more online. Content created by consumers is gradually replacing experts in terms of effectiveness. If there's a product you really …

As Google prepares to roll out a new municipal Wi-Fi service in the city of its birth, the search giant dismissed suggestions of a nationwide rollout. The free service in Mountain View, Calif. is set to become generally available today after nine months of testing. Google also plans to install Wi-Fi service in San Francisco, in a partnership with EarthLink--but its Internet service ambitions end there, an executive tells The New York Times. There are roughly 300 open contracts for municipal Wi-Fi services around the country, and Google has not bid on any of them. The exec says Google is …

Far from resting on its PPC laurels, Google is breaking new ground in advertising, writes Diane Francis of The New York Sun. It has now announced three deals with three different high-profile broadcasters: Fox Interactive, MTV and XM Radio. The three companies have agreed to let Google provide search technology for their Web sites and sell ads on the sites in return for a cut of earned revenue. Google plays all sides of the deal, as an ad technology vendor/provider, a key ad resource for direct marketers, a key revenue driver for Web publishers, and now, a distributor of media …

YouTube wants to add legal, licensed content to the millions of online video clips posted on the site each day. Yesterday, the viral video site said it's talking to major record labels about gaining the right to post music videos online. "What we really want to do is in six to 12 months, maybe 18 months, to have every music video ever created up on YouTube," co-founder Steve Chen told Reuters. Chen said any commercial model it uses will offer the videos for free. The California-based Web site says its videos account for 60 percent of all videos watched online. …

It may have raised a collective eyebrow when former Vice President Al Gore and Joel Hyatt introduced Current TV, the San Francisco-based user-generated cable and satellite channel. At first, critics worried that the channel would be overtly left-leaning. When that proved not to be the case, many still couldn't wrap their heads around Current's core concept: three- to seven-minute videos created by emerging filmmakers, citizen journalists and regular everyday users. The Wall Street Journal called Current TV "newsless," adding that its content was "often clueless and usually dull." Current's total reach was also just 17 million, significantly less than the …

How do advertisers react when their work shows up on YouTube? How do they react when spinoffs of their work show up on YouTube? Is this a good or bad thing--and is there any fear of copyright infringement? The answer to all these questions isn't a straight yes or no. The important thing is, it's happening. Kids are uploading their favorite ads to YouTube. Sometimes, it's because they thought it was funny. Most would agree that's a good thing. Other times, they mess with an ad they've seen, changing it in certain ways in order to poke fun at its …