Avoiding Adsense fraud November 5, 2006
Posted by infoidiot in AdSense Revenue.trackback
Don’t Get Caught With Google Adsense Click Fraud
Many web site owners are getting their Google Adsense account terminated when they have done nothing wrong to deserve the punishment. (Post your comments, does anyone know how to get back in after being kicked out?)
Considering the money to be made with Adsense, it is no wonder that they would want to get back into it.
It is that same consideration why the Google Adsense click fraud is thought of and why many people are perpetrating this error.
Click fraud is the act of clicking on ads for the purpose of costing the advertiser money. It is simply the same as paying out cash for false leads. Many people website owners are aware of this fraud and are sharing the same sentiment that this is the one big problem that Adsense is facing.
How do you prevent being involved in this fraud?
Majority of web hosts are offering access logs. Once this is offered to you, it is necessary that you hand it over to Google as well. This allows them to look for any suspicious activity on your site. Problems like this are very serious and giving it to them is saying that you would want to help them in any way you can in solving the problem.
It can also help if you have a click monitoring software. If you do not have one yet, you should try and get one. There is absolutely no major factor preventing you from having one because most of this software is free.
As usual, all the information you have received should be turned over to Google. This is showing Google that you too are fighting against click frauds and is in no way a part of it.
Study your server logs and watch for any activity that seems suspicious. Report anything that you may find odd, may it big or small thing.
You may want to consider disabling ads for your own IP address and local geographic area. This will certainly prevent accidents and will not make Google mistake another user as you. You can do through a htaccess file. This will avoid Google mistaking as clicking on your own ads and be kicked out because of it.
Keep your Adsense off on pop ups and pop unders. Your ads should not be displayed on content sites that promote illegal activity or tampering of the legal rights of other people or business. Included in this are the content that is considered adult and gambling ones. If you think that you may be breaking this rule, immediately remove your content or Adsense from the web page.
Be truthful and confess up to Google about times when you might have clicked on your own as, whether accidentally or intentionally. Or the times when you have done something that is against the Terms of Service that they are implementing. Be honest about anything that you may have done that is wrong. Confessing is way better than Google learning about it eventually. It would mean eventual termination and no getting back what you have worked so hard for.
Do not tell your family or friends about Adsense on your website. Chances are they may start clicking on them to help you make money without you knowing it. They may be doing more harm to you than help by trying it in the first place.
If ever someone you know chanced upon your Adsense, make sure they understand that they cannot click on your ads under any circumstances. It would be wise to brief them on important things about Adsense and what not to do with them.
Most pay per click networks have different measures in hand to protect website owners against click frauds. Other search engines can track more than 50 data points, IP address, browser’s information, user’s session info and pattern recognition. They also have “systems” available that detects fraud. Not to mention the specialized teams monitoring how things are going and helping advertisers stop click frauds.
Google offers suggestion on how to avoid click fraud. Using “negative keywords” can be used to keep your Adsense showing on products and services that are in no way related to yours. Adding tracking URLs to your links so you can track the traffic coming from Google.
Do not be caught by Google for click fraud.
Be aware and be warned.
Good article Ahren !
Avoiding getting caught in Google’s Adsense Click Fraud is almost like walking through a field full of landmines, you have to be sooo careful. But if one of my relatives in the states click an Adsense ad on my blog, that should be ok, right? as long as they don’t abuse it, clicking multiple times or visiting it everyday and clicking it.
As long as they visit once in a while and click on one adsense ad, I don’t see anything wrong with that.
Thanks.
Thanks for your post.
I don’t believe that a few clicks are a problem, abuse would be super clicking strategies for a profit by a few individuals and some black hat techniques.
Bottom line: Real traffic from real visitors = Adsense success.
Ahren
I tried to get back in after they accused me of illegal clicks.
I sent an e-mail explaining that I had’nt even set up my advertising campaign for this site and they said the clicks did’nt match the software protection that they use and my earnings were re-directed back to the advertiser. They refuse to answer my emails.
Steve Crossley’s comments are no suprise, the arrogance and dishonesty at Google are beyond comprehension.
Here is a little about my adsense experience
I have never seen good results with our Adwords content ads and as I have investigated and searched the Google network I know why, the content they place these ads on is very poor. I have found ads for Shell wind Chimes on blogs with nothing more than some alluding to wind in their blog. But the worst part is quality sites such as mine (I know this from VERY positive feedback) are turned down for Adsense ads. My website has a lot of content, good PR and has been around a while. Apparently Google figures there is a better chance of clicks on these sites as frustrated readers are looking for more than someone’s life editorial, which why my clicks are high but conversions are almost nil.
Needless to say Adwords nor Adsense will return emails.
My real question is when will some Lawyer get of his or her butt and take Google to court over this abuse.