They’re sending jobs overseas, so why not outsource online ad consumption as well?

A growing number of housewives, college graduates, and even working professionals across metropolitan cities are rushing to click paid Internet ads to make $100 to $200 (up to Rs 9,000) per month…

Traffic to click overseas Internet ads — from home loans to insurance — is spreading fast in India. “I have no interest in what appears when clicking an ad. I care only whether to pause 60 seconds or 90 seconds, as money is credited if you stay online for a fixed time,” says another user.

Here’s how it works: online advertisers in developed markets agree to pay hosting website each time an ad is clicked. With performance-based deals becoming dominant on the Internet, intermediaries have sprung up to “do the needful”. Why, type in ‘earn rupees clicking ads’ in Google — you get 25,000 results.

Keep this in mind the next time you see some report crowing about the “effectiveness” of online advertising, based on click-thrus. Between this chicanery and the countless number of accidental clickings, I’m thinking the entire online ad business is built upon sand and smoke.