clicks don't equal my log hits

[overdrive]

I just checked my access-log and I see 3 hits from the same IP, but my clicks says 4. Do they count the same IP(client/robot/fraud) clicking on an ad 3 times? Why does it say 4 clicks but only see 3 hits total?

Thanks

[sacX]

I also have this problem. For one term I have been charged for 25 clicks, which is 8 unique ips. The rest have a referrer of "googleadservices" which I thought was adsense advertisements, but I have content advertising turned off.

It would be helpful if google counted unique clicks, although I understand AOL proxies may make this difficult.

[Jenstar]

>>"googleadservices"

It also covers search sites, if you have that enabled, it is not strictly for AdSense.

[skibum]

They don't seem to filter out 100% of dup IPs/multiple clicks but do tend to do a very good job of filtering on the accounts I watch most closely.

[overdrive]

What do you mean filtering accounts?

I dont think its right if my competitor or anyone else can just sit there and click away costing me clicks. Or even better yet script a robot to do the dirty work for them faster. There has to be something Google is doing to counter this horrible issue. right...?

Thanks

[skibum]

By filtering I mean weeding out duplicate clicks. Typically the clicks I get charged for are slightly greater than the number of unique IPs but not anywhere near as high as the total number of clicks reported on the back end.

If anyone is trying to get rich from the ads via AdSense (by repeatedly clicking on them) or just wants to run up my AdWords bill, Google seems to be doing a very good job of stopping that from happening.

[overdrive]

Very good to hear that, but I think we should be charged for every UNIQUE IP. Right? Sounds fair.

Thanks

[overdrive]

I just got 4 clicks again today but my log says 3 with the same ip that hit it yesterday. Is this a Deja Vu?

[webdiversity]

Every unique IP would be impossible, AOL proxies would put paid to that, you could have an entire office building have one shared IP address and 1000 workers all making unique searches through the day.

Generally speaking your logs will not track every attempted visitor that Google sends, as some will only be a short amount of time.

We've given up on even beginning to think logs are 100% accurate, but give you a good gut feel and as long as the numbers are either in the same ballpark (+/- 10%) or there is an obvious explanation (AOL proxies), we tend to allow traffic numbers to pass through.

[nerowolfe]

overdrive,

Saying that you should be charged for every unique IP is not the same as saying that you should be charged for every unique user.

If a company uses a firewall, for example, the requests of all its employees would appear to come from the firewall's (single) external IP address.

nerowolfe