Forum Moderators: martinibuster
I'm looking for a solution that will make it as difficult as possible for me to click my own AdSense ads. Here's my current idea:
1. Only ever check AdSense stats from one computer - the computer used for signing up for AdSense, and do that as infrequently as possible, say once a week just to check for unusual click patterns so you can contact Google before they contact you.
2. Install an IP blocker script on my server so that it's impossible for me to visit my own website from my own computer.
This of course will make it tricky for me to develop the site but that's something I can live with. I simply cannot afford ever to click my own ads and when I do need to upload files will develop them offline, add the AdSense code at the very end, FTP the files to my site (disabling the blocker script temporarily for the relevant directory if neccesary) and then check the pages later from another IP/computer/location. This way I'll never see AdSense-enabled pages from the one computer I use to check and apply for AdSense.
Am I paranoid? Too right :)
Thanks,
Jeremy
If you just IP-block your site, then adwords will still collect your clicks (it goes to adwords first, then redirects to your site).
John
It must be a hard, long life for those who don't know where they are on the Internet, and for those who have an Adsense trigger happy finger.
Quit frankly, it is difficult to work on the site a lot and avoid accidental clicks, especially when you're working on it frequently. Each of the three times it was because of a window popping up in front of the window I thought I was clicking.
Also, out of the very few times I've accidently clicked on an ad, I've never contacted Google. In fact, unless you have a low traffic, and low CTR site, I don't think there's any need to contact Google.
In fact, I would suppose they get really tired of all of those emails saying, "oh crap I clicked on one of my ads. Please don't cancel me. Please don't ruin my credit. Please don't take my dog." All they do is send a form reply, and move on to the next annoying help request.
The point is, Google is not going to ban you, or shut you down if you accidently click on an ad 3 times in 12 months. They're looking for purposeful, frequent, fraudulent clickers. Not accidental clicks from webmasters.
My bet is that the only time a person has been banned from Google for clicking on their own ads (accidently or otherwise) has been when they did it with some degree of frequency, and they had low traffic and click-through rates.
127.0.0.1 pagead2.googlesyndication.comIt will stop showing G ads, still you can view your site on your own computer.
Thanks for the replies.
"The point is, Google is not going to ban you, or shut you down if you accidently click on an ad 3 times in 12 months. They're looking for purposeful, frequent, fraudulent clickers. Not accidental clicks from webmasters."
I made that assumption once, and so far it's lost me a healthy 6-figure sum in potential earnings. Leniency concerning clicking your own ads may be common, even the norm, but it cannot be guaranteed and these measures are a small price to pay.
Clicking your own ads is the number one newbie AdSense mistake - surely one click can't be so serious, right? Clicking your own ads is against the TOS, and as such it can get you banned. The TOS is everything: if you have 200 scraper sites that abide by the TOS you can stay in the program. But 1 fraudulent click is against the TOS, so it's more than enough to get you banned.
I'll try the "hosts file" solution, that sounds like it's just the ticket. If there are any ways ads can still get through though with this solution I'd like to hear about them.
Thanks folks,
Jeremy
I'll try the "hosts file" solution, that sounds like it's just the ticket. If there are any ways ads can still get through though with this solution I'd like to hear about them.
If you want to maintain the exact layout of your site, while not displaying AdSense (in other words, replace AdSense with a table of the same size) here is something for ya... personally, I think it's a lil overboard, but then you have admitted your paranoia. It can also possibly help with those who knowingly click on ads to "help you out".
Turn blocker on... you can also send this page to friends/family/etc to block AdSense from them as well
Turn blocker off
On pages with AdSense (via PHP in this example) - Option 1
Replaces AdSense block with table of same size when cookie is set to "yes"
<?
if ($BlockAdSense == "yes") {
echo "<!-- resize table to same size as AdSense block for layout purposes -->
<table width=\"300\" height=\"250\">
<tr><td>Why not have your cake and eat it too - it's cake, what else are you going to do with it?</td></tr>
</table>
";
} else {
echo "<!-- AdSense code here -->";
}
?>
On pages with AdSense (via PHP in this example) - Option 2
With this method, AdSense would display as normal... but it has been stated that clicks w/o publisher IDs are not charged/counted/credited. However, since you are admittedly paranoid, you ought not think about whether this constitutes modifying the AdSense code or not ;)
<?
if ($BlockAdSense == "yes") {
echo "<!-- AdSense code without your pub id (ie. google_ad_client) here -->";
} else {
echo "<!-- AdSense code here -->";
}
?>
Wow, thanks for the great code, that's a nifty solution. As the code needs to be on every page with AdSense it's quite a handful to setup, so laziness has almost equaled my paranoia and I've gone with the hosts solution. As long as I only check AdSense from the computer I signed up on then other clicks should appear as such - nice, uncomplicated other clicks.
Goodness, it's absolutely wonderful to be free of the worry of clicking my own ads. I'll keep a steady eye out not to check AdSsnse from any other computer and generally not tell people about AdSense income, and hopefully I can get a few months at least before something bad happens. Gee, maybe I can even stay in the program longterm :).
Thanks loads,
Jeremy
Am I paranoid? Too right :)
You should see a doctor. ;-)
