Google to report ad-click details

Google Inc., owner of the most-used Internet search engine, will disclose to advertisers the number of clicks on ads that it deems are invalid in a bid to assuage concerns over "click fraud."

Google, based in Mountain View, Calif., is responding to advertisers' demands for more information on the effectiveness of their ads, said Sapna Satagopan, an analyst at market research firm JupiterKagan. Companies or individuals using special software can click on an ad repeatedly to artificially boost a rival's marketing costs or to increase their own ad revenue.

Advertisers now can see how many clicks on ads are excluded from their bills, Shuman Ghosemajumder, a Google business product manager, said Tuesday in an interview. Clients will now be able to see information on clicks going back to the beginning of the year.

"It's definitely addressing some of the concerns that marketers have about click fraud," said Satagopan, who is based in San Francisco.

Google sells ads using an online auction in which clients bid for certain search keywords. Companies pay each time users click on their ads, which appear next to search results.

Google had said in the past that it didn't provide information on bogus clicks because it could help fraudsters mount new attacks. Ghosemajumder said the information being disclosed won't increase the risk of attacks.