Tips for Preventing Fraudulent Clicks With Google AdSense

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The hard truth is you cannot prevent click bombing. If someone decides they want to sabotage your site, they will try.

There have even been plugins and other software created online to block people who may try to click bomb your ads.

The problem with this software is that some may violate the AdSense terms and conditions, so I would not recommend using it.

The good news is Google has gotten a lot better at detecting a massive click bomb, and they won't necessarily disable your account if they discover it.

They will just refund the advertisers their money.

Click Bombing vs Fraudulent Clicks

Even though click bombing is a kind of fraudulent clicking, click bombing is slightly different because of how it's carried out.

Click bombing often involves sophisticated software that tricks Google into thinking these are real clicks.

They will produce numerous clicks at one time from what appears to be different IP addresses and make it look as if they are real clicks by humans.

Google can typically detect if it's a sophisticated system like this, and it usually happens across multiple AdSense accounts at the same time. So it's less likely this will get you in trouble.

Fraudulent clicks are usually manual clicks made by humans. It could be you clicking your own ads, friends or someone sabotaging your site.

I wouldn't worry as much about sophisticated click bombing schemes because Google can normally detect and block. But you do want to prevent manual, fraudulent clicks as much as possible.

Of course, you can't prevent sabotage, but there are some things you can do to minimize fraudulent activity.

Don't Tell Your Friends & Family About AdSense

I know it may be tempting to announce to your friends and family that you're making money via the program and even ask them to click your ads.

Don't ever do this.

First of all, it's against the terms to generate fraudulent clicks.

And yes, any time someone clicks on an ad when they aren't really interested in it, means it's a fraudulent click.

Think about it. Each click costs an advertiser money. Google gets a share of that revenue and the rest goes to you.

So if one of your friends clicks an ad to "help you out", it's almost like stealing from that advertiser because they aren't really interested in the ad. That's why Google has such strict guidelines about fraudulent clicks.

Don't Test Your Own Ads

New AdSense users are notorious for trying to click their own ads to make sure the clicks are being recorded.

Don't ever do this.

AdSense has been around since 2003. Trust me. The system works and there's no need for you to test it.

And if there is a problem, it will be rectified quickly.

Also, there can be delays in reporting so Google can verify the clicks. So if you don't see earnings right away that may be why.

Relax. I assure you the system is working.

Google can often tell if you're clicking your ads by simply looking at the IP address the click came from. If it's from the same IP that you used when you joined, it's easy to tell it was probably you.

Don't Join Any Traffic Schemes or Rings

A traffic scheme is a system that generates low quality or untargeted traffic.

Here's an example.

Let's say you join a forum and there's a thread encouraging all AdSense Publishers to list their websites. The hope is that everyone will visit each other's website and click AdSense ads.

This is low quality traffic. People are only visiting for their own gain and are probably not genuinely interested in the websites.

That's a traffic scheme.

It's also against the AdSense terms because these are fraudulent clicks.

Targeted traffic is high quality traffic. That means someone found you by doing a relevant search in Google (learn about ranking on Google here) or a link on social media.

That's the kind of traffic you want to aim for. Yes, it takes work, but it's definitely doable and less likely to get you in trouble for click bombing.

Newer Accounts Have The Most Risk

Google knows that newer accounts are much more likely to participate in fraudulent activity.

Often times new sites do not have a lot of traffic, and the owners are not really sure of the rules.

So if they suspect anything odd and your account is new, you have a much greater chance of getting your account disabled.

What to Do if Your AdSense Account Has Been Disabled

A Basic Guide to AdSense

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