You might be asking, just what IS Click Fraud!  Simply put, Click Fraud is the act of clicking on ads for the purpose of costing the advertiser money.  If you click on the ads you have posted, you effectively cause the company involved to pay out cash (to you) for false leads!  Not good! This is the one big problem that Adsense is facing from some unscrupulous people.

But, you say, “I have never done that!”  However, 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 want to get back into it - and quickly.

How do you prevent being inadvertently (without purposing to do so) involved in this fraud?  Here are a number of suggestions:

1.  Access Logs:  The 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.

2.  Click Monitoring Software:  It can also help if you have a click monitoring software. If you do not have one yet, you should get one.  Most of this software is free so there is really no reason not to have this software in place.

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 are in no way a part of it.

3.  Server Logs:  Study your server logs and watch for any activity that seems suspicious. Report anything that you may find odd, whether it be a big or small thing.  Activity logs can alert you quickly to the fact that someone may be click happy on your ads!  Who knows, it could be a friend or even a competitor.

4.  Disable Ads:  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 this through a htaccess file. This will avoid Google thinking you are clicking on your own ads and prevent your being kicked out because of it.

5.  Where to not keep your Adsense:  Keep your Adsense turned 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 businesses. Included in this is the content considered as adult and also gambling sites. If you think that you may be breaking this rule, immediately remove your content or Adsense from the web page.

6.  Honesty is the best policy!:  Be truthful and let Google know about times when you might have clicked on your own ads, whether accidentally or intentionally. Tell them also when you have done something that is against the Terms of Service they are implementing. Be honest about anything that you may have done that is wrong. Confessing is better than Google learning about it eventually, which could lead to termination and no getting back what you have worked so hard for.

7.  Family and Friends - BEWARE!  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.  Yes, they will be well meaning - but their actions could trigger your termination from Adsense!

If ever someone you know finds your Adsense, make sure they understand that they cannot click on your ads under any circumstances, unless of course they are genuinely interested in what that link has to offer.  It would be wise to brief them on important things about Adsense and what not to do with them.

8.  Network Measures in Place:  Most pay per click networks have measures in place to protect website owners against click frauds. In addition to Google, other search engines can track more than 50 data points, IP addresses, browser’s information, user’s session info, and pattern recognition. They also have “systems” available that detect fraud.  Specialized teams even monitor how things are going and are helping advertisers stop click frauds.

9.  Negative Keywords:  Google suggests using “negative keywords” to keep your Adsense showing on products and services that are in no way related to yours. 

10.  Tracking URLs:  Add tracking URLs to your links so you can track the traffic coming from Google. 

Do not be involved in the Google click fraud. Be aware and be wary.