Click bot is attacking my ads! What should I do?

CTR went up too high

[Dooga]

Hello. Today, I've noticed that my CTR has gone up by over 2 thousand percent, literally. There is a clickbot that is mass clicking my ads, because I usually don't get any clicks at all, but in the last 3 days, I've recieved HUNDREDS of clicks, with very little ad impression.

The funny thing is, I don't get a single penny for the clicks, and Google hasn't banned me yet, and it's been 3 days. (I thought Google was really fast at detecting this). So I've contacted google about something wrong with my account. I've sent more than 3 (I can't tell you exactly how much I sent) emails to Google not only apoligizing/admitting, but also offering compensation, and logs. Now to wait for a reply.

Sorry I can't make things TOO clear, because it would be against Google's Terms And Conditions to reveal these information. But I can tell you that my CTR is too high, a few thousand percents.

I've already removed the ads from my webpage, but I still get over hundreds of ad clicks every few minutes. This has got to be solved. Right now, I would prefer my account got banned and they let me register a new one, because I really don't want Advertisers to lose any money because of this.

Can anyone tell me what to do while waiting for the email responses?

[toomuch72]

It sounds like you have done the right thing. Telling google is the most important part. They Have logs of every click(and I'm sure some software to help too) that they can get a breakdown by IP address on the day of the clicks.

They can then find out WHO(what IP) is making these clicks and get it shut down.

As long as this is not your fault Google will work it out.

[Dooga]

Thanks, this makes me feel better.

I've taken 10 screenshots of my Cpanel stats, downloaded a raw access log, and I'm going to send it to Google when they reply, despite what they say.

Oh yes, and I would like more comments about this... Do people usually get auto-banned instantly? I haven't got banned for the 3 days that these clicks increased by. Coincidentally, 3 days ago is when Christmas break started.

[jetteroheller]

Can You check Your log files?

If it's always the same IP address, You could block this IP.

I serve my ads by a SSI.

It takes only minutes to put in the SSI script
to check for an IP address and show an Amazon ad instead of an AdSense ad.

[jchampliaud]

The funny thing is, I don't get a single penny for the clicks, and Google hasn't banned me yet, and it's been 3 days.

Sounds like Google has already discounted the clicks. I’ve read about other people having similar experiences and not being banned from AdSense.

[deepesh]

Sounds like Google has already discounted the clicks. I’ve read about other people having similar experiences and not being banned from AdSense.

I think they should label the clicks as INVALID/FRAUD to make things clear and to tell those cheaters out there that, the Big G knows what they do.

All The Best 'Dooga' , I hope G will understand this and will not terminate your A/C.

[Dooga]

I'm so glad I stopped getting clicks, because I removed all my ads. Hopefully it won't increase again. I'm not going to put the ads on for a whole week so Google trusts me.