Don't Get Caught With Google Adsense Click Fraud
By Dave Scott
Many web site owners are getting their Google Adsense account terminated when they have done nothing wrong to deserve the punishment. Considering the money that they are getting from Adsense, they would certainly want to get back into it.
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 getting into it.
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 in the Google click fraud. Be aware and be wary. For more tips on making money with Google Adsense, go to http://www.adsense-secrets.com
About the author: Dave Scott
Protect Your AdSense Business From Click Fraud
By Casey Yew
Major PPC companies such as Google and Yahoo decline to quantify the scope of click fraud. However, some estimate click fraud range from a few percent to more than twenty percent. Click fraud occurs when a person, automated script, or computer program imitates a legitimate user of a web browser clicking on an ad. These clicks are done for the purpose of either to drain competitor's marketing budget or generate advertising income.
Who Commits Click Fraud?
Business Competitors: Competitors of a business try to drain opponent's pay per click (PPC) marketing budget by clicking on their PPC ads deliberately. They may click themselves, have friends or employees click or use software to click the ads. Advertiser's PPC ad will automatically stop showing on the ads listing if the daily budget of PPC campaign is set. Competitors can then bid at a lower price for the same position.
Web Publishers: Many web publishers are making money by showing ads syndicated by PPC companies such as Google, Overture, Yahoo and etc. They earn money from clicks on these ads. Some publishers fraudulently generate clicks on their own ads in order to make money or make more money quickly.
Networks of Clickers: There are few networks of clickers organized by fraudsters to click PPC ads. In these networks, each member is asked to click on other member's PPC ad in return for other members to click on his ad.
Bad People: Plain old mean people know that they can easily drive advertiser's marketing budget to the roof or kick publishers out of the PPC advertising business by clicking on their PPC ads deliberately and frequently.
PPC companies such as Google and Yahoo do not tolerate click fraud and they have sophisticated anti click fraud systems in place to fight click fraud. These systems will monitor incoming clicks and then discard fake clicks. However, these systems relied on unrevealed artificial intelligent click fraud patterns are far from perfect and sometimes not effective. Besides, the current systems provide no protection for the publishers. These systems do not alert the publishers for click fraud activities happened on their websites. Publishers could easily be banned from the PPC advertising program for click fraud activities which they did not commit.
How Do Publishers Monitor and Stop Click Fraud?
To prevent click fraud and protect your AdSense business, you should install a more sophisticated AdSense tracking tool, such as Adlogger, on your AdSense website. You should constantly monitor your AdSense site using AdSense tracking tool in conjunction with Google AdSense channel.
These advanced tracking tools will give you extra tracking information and features which are not provided by AdSense Channel. These information and features include:
Which Ad has been clicked
The details of PPC Ads
The time and origins of each click.
The browsing history of each IP on your site
Alert you and stop multiple clicks from the same IP
Block certain IP from click on your AdSense Ads
With a more complex tracking tool installed on your website, it would be easier for you to spot any unusual click activities on your websites. Once you have discovered unusual activities on your AdSense site, you can alert PPC companies about these activities immediately and let them investigate the problem. This will provide your AdSense business minimum protection against click fraud.
About the Author:Casey Yew|Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Google AdSense. Guide to making money with Google AdSense. Home of the AdSense optimization tips that will boost your Google AdSense profits.
