Google Adsense Click Fraud - What You Should Know
Posted on December 10, 2007
Filed Under Pay Per Click |
Don’t Get Caught With Google Adsense Click Fraud
It’s the same old story over and over again. A blog or website owner got their Google Adsense account terminated because of click fraud. How can you protect yourself against account termination?
What is Click Fraud?
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?
Don’t click on your ads The easiest way to prevent account termination due to click fraud is not to click on your Adsense ads - period. Many website owners claim that they click their ads because they are truly interested in the product or service advertised. Instead of clicking on the ad, type in the URL of the advertiser instead.
Don’t ask your visitors to click on your ads. Never ask your visitors or friends to click on your Adsense ads. For example, never put a ‘Please visit our sponsors’ or ‘Support this site by clicking on our ads’ note on your site.
Furthermore, 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.
Read and re-read Google Adsense’s Terms of Service (TOS) - One of the biggest reasons why people get their Adsense account banned is not because they clicked on their own ads, but because they (knowingly or unknowingly) violated Google’s TOS. For example, they have more than 3 Adsense text ads on their website or they’ve placed the ads on a page lacking content.
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.
Keep the lines of communication open - 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. If you feel that your website is being sabotaged by a disgruntled visitor who is clicking your ads, it might help to shoot an email to Google letting them know of your situation.
Majority of web hosts offering access logs. If you feel it is necessary send the data to Google. 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.
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