"Click fraud” poses a threat to the boom in internet advertising

That's the sub-title of a particularly superficial article in The Economist this week (usually, the articles there are very good, and The Economist is one of the few unbiased publications left in the world); the article's main title is "Truth in advertising" and it is available at: http://www.economist.com./opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8319505&CFID=101347023&CFTOKEN=b1a06a-5e5a492a-61f9-4c69-b63d-2ddd0a45f223

So why do I scoff at this particular piece?

Becaues the real threat to Internet advertising is not "click fraud" at all.

It is rather that no one I know responds to Internet advertising, except to click it off.

The case for Internet advertising therefore seems to me to be based on an illusion.

That bubble will burst as soon as decision-makers realise the basic facts of the case.

Regretfully, decision-makers (like some of those who write for The Economist) don't seem to know the Internet or Internet users at all well.

Has there been any research will quantifies response rates on the Internet at any level OTHER than "clicks"? Does "clicking the ad off" count as a "click"? Sphere: Related Content