Easy Tips To Avoid Google Click Fraud
Many web site owners are getting their Google Adsense account
terminated. I read on the forums almost daily posts from people
who are bemoaning the fact that Google has terminated their
account when they feel they have done nothing wrong to deserve
the punishment. In almost every case, click fraud is the reason
for termination.
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 website owners are aware of this
fraud, and share the same sentiment that this is the one big
problem that Adsense is facing.
How do you prevent yourself from being involved in this fraud?
The majority of web hosts offer access logs. If you are notified
of click fraud and possible termination of your account by
Google, it is necessary that you hand over these logs to them to
clarify your situation. This allows them to look for any
suspicious activity on your site. Problems like this are very
serious and giving it to them is a show of good faith that you
want to help Google in any way you can to attempt to solve the
problem.
It can also help if you have a click monitoring software. There
are many good programs available, but it is important that you
get a program that has no limitations. there are free programs
available, but I would suggest that you get a script from a
certified expert in this field. I highly recommend using William
Bontrager's script, available at
http://bontragercgi.com/programs/clickwatch. Mr Bontrager will
install this script on one site for you after the purchase of
the software, and will show you how to add the script to other
sites. Free scripts are also available on the Internet if you
are limited in funds. Remember, you get what you pay for. As
usual, all the information you will receive from your tracking
software 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. Look for large spikes in traffic, and suspicious
activity in files and folders where people would not normally
have access to. Remember, that when working on your site, that
you will access these files and folders. It is suggested you
track these by noting the time of activity. A little work on
your part will save you a lot of grief in the long run.
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 the htaccess file on your web site. the process is too
detailed to go into further here, but if you do a search on the
engines to learn ways to access and disable portions of this
log, a lot of information is readily available. By doing this,
and showing Google that you have done so, you protect yourself
against any possible threat from Google.
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 or
gambling in nature, or promote firearms, tobacco, or drugs of
any kind. 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 ads, whether accidentally or
intentionally. 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.
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 has some of the best brains in the business, and it does
no one any good to try to "fool" them. In addition to the
algorithms that Google has in place, they also employ regular
people to surf the net to find illegal sites.
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. Add
tracking URLs to your links so you can track the traffic coming
from Google.
Don't be caught in the Google click fraud. The opportunity to
make a very decent income is readily available if you use common
sense, do not try to cheat Google, and follow their Terms of
Service. If you do these things, maybe some day you too can be a
member of the FedEx Club!
Visit our website http://www.for-the-record.biz for more
information on Google Adsense and many other related articles
for your growing internet business.