At Adloox, we have been actively hunting down and removing MFAs (previously known as 'Fake Domains') for over 10 years. MFAs (or "Made-for-Arbitrage") are sites created for the sole purpose of generating revenue from ads. These websites host low-quality content and are designed to generate high levels of traffic through the use of misleading headlines, clickbait tactics and purchased traffic.

Watch Adloox's latest webinar on MFAs, live-streamed on Friday, March 15th, 2024.

MFA sites can account for over 15% of your ad spend if not monitored and blocked correctly!

According to the US Association for National Advertisers (ANA)

According to the US Association for National Advertisers (ANA)

MFA sites can account for over 15% of your ad spend if not monitored and blocked correctly!

According to the US Association for National Advertisers (ANA)

According to the US Association for National Advertisers (ANA)

MFA sites can account for over 15% of your ad spend if not monitored and blocked correctly!

According to the US Association for National Advertisers (ANA)

MFAs have been central to heated controversies in the advertising industry recently, with major platforms facing accusations of selling low-quality inventories.

Let's recap! 👇

2017

2017

"Why the Ad Fraud Fight Needs a Global Approach"

Back in 2017, we were already vocal about the massive scale of fraud related to fake domains, as demonstrated in this MarTech Series Article.

June 2023

June 2023

ANA Programmatic Media Supply Chain Transparency Study

In a groundbreaking study, the US Association of National Advertisers announces that MFAs account for 21% of all impressions, causing shockwaves in the industry.

Fall 2023

Fall 2023

Numerous highly-publicized statements from Ad Tech companies and agencies, announcing big efforts to fight MFAs.

…and many more.

…and many more.

…and many more.

March 2024

March 2024

"Are ad tech vendors serving ANA members’ ads on MFA websites in 2024?"

Analytics and research firm Adalytics delivers a new bombshell, revealing that despite previous announcements from ad tech vendors and agencies, ads from these same entities still overwhelmingly appear on MFAs.

Explore our MFAs inquiries:

MFAs have been central to heated controversies in the advertising industry recently, with major platforms facing accusations of selling low-quality inventories.

Let's recap! 👇

MFAs have been central to heated controversies in the advertising industry recently, with major platforms facing accusations of selling low-quality inventories.

Let's recap! 👇

Adloox has been fighting MFAs for +10 years!

We’ve been developing technical solutions to track and optimize against MFAs for more than a decade.

Daily, we spot an average of

15 Bn.

bid requests available on MFAs, on the Open Web.

According to our data, around

21.5%

impressions are recorded on MFAs, through the leading DSP globally, +25% for the US market.

Adloox has been fighting MFAs for +10 years!

We’ve been developing technical solutions to track and optimize against MFAs for more than a decade.

Daily, we spot an average of

15 Bn.

bid requests on MFAs, on the Open Web.

According to our data, around

21.5%

impressions are recorded on MFAs, through the leading DSP globally, +25% for the US market.

Our methodology agains MFAs:

Known Detection Methods

✅ High ad-to-content ratio

✅ Aggressive auto-refresh

✅ Ad / Ad Stacking

✅ Autoplay video ads

✅ Slideshows

✅ AI-generated content

✅ Copied content

✅ Generic or low-quality content

✅ High ad-to-content ratio

✅ Aggressive auto-refresh

✅ Ad / Ad Stacking

✅ Autoplay video ads

✅ Slideshows

✅ AI-generated content

✅ Copied content

✅ Generic or low-quality content

✅ High ad-to-content ratio

✅ Aggressive auto-refresh

✅ Ad / Ad Stacking

✅ Autoplay video ads

✅ Slideshows

✅ AI-generated content

✅ Copied content

✅ Generic or low-quality content

New clients starting with Adloox often have between 20% and 40% of MFAs (depending on DSPs, markets, date ranges, etc.).

After optimization, which typically takes 1 day (prebid) to 1 week (manual) turnaround, the percentage drops to

After optimization, which typically takes 1 day (prebid) to 1 week (manual) turnaround, the percentage drops to

less than 1%*

*AVG. since 01/2021

Our undisclosed technology

Adloox employs a combination of statistical rules and machine learning models to detect MFAs. Our methodology is continuously updated and refined through automated processes and human expertise. AI and ML have played a pivotal role in enhancing MFAs detection. 

Compliance with MRC guidelines

"Purchased Traffic that is unknown to buyers or not declared should be considered for filtration and Purchased Traffic that is otherwise obfuscated as well as Purchased traffic exhibiting robotic characteristics shall be filtered as invalid."

New clients starting with Adloox often have between 20% and 40% of MFAs (depending on DSPs, markets, date ranges, etc.).

New clients starting with Adloox often have between 20% and 40% of MFAs (depending on DSPs, markets, date ranges, etc.).

After optimization, which typically takes 1 day (prebid) to 1 week (manual) turnaround, the percentage drops to

After optimization, which typically takes 1 day (prebid) to 1 week (manual) turnaround, the percentage drops to

less than 1%*

less than 1%*

*AVG. since 01/2021

=

+

They talk about us

They talk about us

They talk about us