Valid/Invalid AdSense clicks

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8
On Google's adsense site I was reading about valid/invalid clicks. Google states that they have some algorithm that determines whether a click is valid or not.

I am assuming that the algorithm would pick up on things like you clicking your own ads. Or maybe one of your friends clicking on your ads.

What worries me is the following scenario:

You start up a website or blog. You tell all your family and friends about it. At the beginning you will not have lots of traffic. Most of your traffic will be from family and friends (and their friends). What might happen is that some of your friends (and their friends) will click on your ads.

The google valid/invalid algorithm might have a problem with this. Because, out of the whole world most of the clicks are coming from your small town. Google might consider this suspicious.

Although, you did not tell your friends to click you ads, some of them invariably will. And you can not control what their friends do.

My question is: Does anybody know much about the google valid/invalid algorithm and whether someone can get banned from google due to the above scenario? High percentage of clicks coming from a single small town.

The reason I ask is I am considering whether or not to tell family and friends about website. My traffic is still low enough that a whole bunch of people from my town clicking on my ads could raise a flag at google. Of course I would tell them not to do it...but who knows what they will do.
#search engine optimization #adsense #clicks #valid or invalid
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
    • [1] reply
    • You should keep you Adsense niche sites private for the most part, don't tell family and friends about them. If you want to use Adsense on a public site, like a personal blog, where you're getting significant search engine traffic (over 100 unique visitors a day from Google) use scripts or plugins that will only show the Adsense ad once per visit and only to search engine visitors.
  • Thanks bgmacaw, I had no idea that there were plugins that can filter adsense depending on the type of visitor. I think I will use them just to be safe.
  • If most of your revenue was coming from certain IP's ,yeah I guess that would be bad,but on a geographical basis I as long as the IP numbers are different,can't see a problem,you only be promoting locally therefore all clicks will have a local IP number.

    I have heard they wait until you are about to get piad and hit you with the invalid click rule,my point would be do they refund the sponsor or keep the money themselves,afterall the sponsor of the ad will have been billed for the click before you get paid.
    • [1] reply
    • they very definitely do refund the sponsor, i've had a number of clicks "refunded" due to invalidness
  • The best thing you can do is to avoid letting anyone know about our ads or your site that has adsense on it. On one really knows what Big G does. And they are notorious when when it comes to invalid clicks and some are not even their own mistakes just like what you've illustrated. Its better to be on the safe side of things.

    Oling
  • Wow, thanks all for sharing. I am thinking of into adsense model. Now, I have to be very secretive about the site name... will just tell I am in internet biz when asked by someone.
  • Yep - don't tell your friends or family about your site. The last thing you want is them wrecking havoc on your site - and you getting banned.

    Just concentrate on getting more traffic.

    Don't worry too much about the banning process or details about how you can get banned.

    BUT

    Make sure you read the policies and then don't be tempted to break them even when you get annoyed or angry about anything in particular.

    The last thing you want is to spend 1 or 2 years driving traffic to your site - and then earning good money only for Google to pull the plug.

    All that wasted effort down the drain.
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    Valid/Invalid AdSense clicks

    On Google's adsense site I was reading about valid/invalid clicks. Google states that they have some algorithm that determines whether a click is valid or not. I am assuming that the algorithm would pick up on things like you clicking your own ads. Or maybe one of your friends clicking on your ads.