ICANN looks into zero-click monetization

The ICANN Security, Stability, and Resiliency research team is examining zero-click domain monetization in light of changes in the domain monetization business.

Google shut down its AdSense for Domains program last month after opting all advertisers out of the program last year. As a result, more domains are being monetized with zero-click ads.

Zero-click means that, instead of seeing a page full of ad links, users are redirected directly to an advertiser’s website.

For example, a travel-related domain might send users to expedia.com.

Unfortunately, these redirects often send users to scam and malware pages.

Late last year, security firm Infoblox reported that nearly all such redirects resolved to bad pages.

ICANN’s initial research found that the issue wasn’t as pervasive as Infoblox reported.

However, ICANN’s current definition of zero-click is fairly broad. With the demise of AdSense for Domains, GoDaddy has begun monetizing parked domains by forwarding them to pages on other domains, such as searchounds.com. The research team found that 79% of the redirects it observed stayed within the registrar’s control.

This is not the classic definition of zero-click. Instead, this could be classified as RSOC monetization. RSOC is a Google AdSense program that allows for monetization on pages with content.

RSOC monetization will require researchers to create multiple redirect categories, which is easier said than done.

Regardless, it’s clear that zero-click is still being abused, and this will likely be a stain on the domain industry.