Googlebot clicking my ads

Barnsy · 04-16-2009, 05:51 AM

Hi Everyone,

Yesterday, googlebot started crawling the ads on my website. I keep track of all ad clicks and store the IP, that's how I know it's google.

I have marked all ad links with nofollow - seemed to have worked up until yesterday. I've had google crawling my site every day for several weeks now and they have never clicked the ads before.

Is there anything else I am supposed to do to prevent google from clicking the ads?

Thanks for any advice.

Mark Brian · 04-16-2009, 06:13 AM

"nofollow" only means Google will not give PageRank to that link. Try "noindex" instead.

dburk · 04-16-2009, 03:28 PM

Hi Barnsy,

It's not unusual to see Google engineers and quality control staff clicking links occasionally on your site. You may notice that those clicks do not generate revenue for your account, nor are the advertisers charge for those clicks.

You should be aware that some unscrupulous people will spoof a googlebot and you should be on guard for that. Use a trusted DNS lookup to verify the IP address and ban from your site if it's not owned by Google.

Barnsy · 04-16-2009, 03:46 PM

Thanks for the advice everyone!

st0rm · 04-16-2009, 04:41 PM

Are ye sure about the charge suitation? man that would be a bummer if it incurred a cost!!

Barnsy · 04-16-2009, 09:07 PM

Because my site is adult themed, I don't have AdSense ads. Most of my ads are for dating sites, etc. I'm not set up for PPC on any of them, I get a cut of any actual sales, so luckily I'm not too worried about being accused of click-fraud. But I certainly don't like having the googlebot clicking the ads.

I've added a robots.txt file which will hopefully prevent google from trying to follow the ad links.

I can't believe that I couldn't find any specific documentation on google as to how to prevent their bot from clicking ads.

AlbertF · 04-16-2009, 10:53 PM

There are a lot of Google surfers to find sites who violate adsense rules. That is why it is critical to follow the rules otherwise you know what will happen.

Jenie0109 · 04-17-2009, 01:47 AM

i think that's not Google..

tmursch · 04-17-2009, 03:44 AM

When Google makes $16.4 billion revenue a year (2007 figures) from AdWords, it makes you wonder if they ever toot their own horn.

04-16-2009, 05:51 AM	#1
Barnsy Warrior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 24 Thanks: 13 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Googlebot clicking my ads Hi Everyone, Yesterday, googlebot started crawling the ads on my website. I keep track of all ad clicks and store the IP, that's how I know it's google. I have marked all ad links with nofollow - seemed to have worked up until yesterday. I've had google crawling my site every day for several weeks now and they have never clicked the ads before. Is there anything else I am supposed to do to prevent google from clicking the ads? Thanks for any advice.

04-16-2009, 06:13 AM	#2
Mark Brian Spartan Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: PH Posts: 906 Thanks: 124 Thanked 145 Times in 73 Posts	Re: Googlebot clicking my ads "nofollow" only means Google will not give PageRank to that link. Try "noindex" instead.

04-16-2009, 03:28 PM	#3
dburk Senior Warrior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Tampa, Florida Posts: 4,647 Thanks: 163 Thanked 673 Times in 583 Posts Contact Info	Re: Googlebot clicking my ads Hi Barnsy, It's not unusual to see Google engineers and quality control staff clicking links occasionally on your site. You may notice that those clicks do not generate revenue for your account, nor are the advertisers charge for those clicks. You should be aware that some unscrupulous people will spoof a googlebot and you should be on guard for that. Use a trusted DNS lookup to verify the IP address and ban from your site if it's not owned by Google.
	Don Burk * Get Results - Outsource Your PPC Management * Get a Keyword Domain Name - www.SeriousNames.com

04-16-2009, 03:46 PM	#4
Barnsy Warrior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 24 Thanks: 13 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Googlebot clicking my ads Thanks for the advice everyone!

04-16-2009, 04:41 PM	#5
st0rm Active Warrior Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 74 Thanks: 4 Thanked 10 Times in 4 Posts Social Networking	Re: Googlebot clicking my ads Are ye sure about the charge suitation? man that would be a bummer if it incurred a cost!!

04-16-2009, 09:07 PM	#6
Barnsy Warrior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 24 Thanks: 13 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Googlebot clicking my ads Because my site is adult themed, I don't have AdSense ads. Most of my ads are for dating sites, etc. I'm not set up for PPC on any of them, I get a cut of any actual sales, so luckily I'm not too worried about being accused of click-fraud. But I certainly don't like having the googlebot clicking the ads. I've added a robots.txt file which will hopefully prevent google from trying to follow the ad links. I can't believe that I couldn't find any specific documentation on google as to how to prevent their bot from clicking ads.

04-16-2009, 10:53 PM	#7
AlbertF Innovating Money Making Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: United States, California Posts: 254 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 1 Thanked 13 Times in 10 Posts Social Networking	Re: Googlebot clicking my ads There are a lot of Google surfers to find sites who violate adsense rules. That is why it is critical to follow the rules otherwise you know what will happen.
	Web Hosting Reviews, Ways to Make Money Online Read Our Article on the Easy Ways to Make Money Online Articles MD <- Dofollow Article Directory

04-17-2009, 01:47 AM	#8
Jenie0109 Advanced Warrior Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 516 Thanks: 2 Thanked 20 Times in 19 Posts	Re: Googlebot clicking my ads i think that's not Google..
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04-17-2009, 03:44 AM	#9
tmursch Wolverine Web Design Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 106 Thanks: 15 Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Googlebot clicking my ads When Google makes $16.4 billion revenue a year (2007 figures) from AdWords, it makes you wonder if they ever toot their own horn.
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