We understand you may have questions and concerns about invalid traffic and keeping your account in good standing. Below we've provided a list of the most common issues and concerns publishers might have:
- I accidentally clicked on my own ads. Will this cause a problem for my account?
- I noticed some unusual traffic on my account. How can I protect myself from invalid traffic?
- Can I view my own site without generating invalid impressions?
- Can you block my IP address or the IP addresses of my users?
- I use the same IP as other users. Will this cause a problem?
- My reports are showing clicks on my ads but no earnings. What's going on?
- Can I use my own AdSense for Search box to perform my searches?
- Can I play the videos of ads on my site?
I accidentally clicked on my own ads. Will this cause a problem for my account?
Although publishers are not permitted to click on their own ads for any reason, we do understand that accidental clicks may occur. We therefore don't require that you contact us every time you click on your ads. Rest assured that your account is being properly credited for all clicks and impressions we consider to be valid. Note that Google will use its sole discretion when determining instances of invalid activity traffic.I noticed some unusual traffic on my account. How can I protect myself from invalid traffic?
If you suspect that invalid traffic may have resulted from a visitor to your site, we suggest that you review your site's logs for any suspicious activity. If you need help monitoring your site traffic, we recommend trying these Google search terms:
- Website tracking and logging
- Site traffic analysis
You may also wish to review our tips and guidelines for keeping your account in good standing.
Can I view my own site without generating invalid impressions?
Yes, you're welcome to view your own pages without generating invalid impressions. Simply viewing your pages yourself will not jeopardize your account’s good standing. However, please continue to avoid clicking on any ads, and don't reload your pages excessively. We take the issue of invalid clicks and page impressions very seriously and have a dedicated team of specialists and automated systems to flag and review any unusual activity.
Can you block my IP address or the IP addresses of my users?
Because IP addresses can be allocated from various sources, and because valid clicks may be blocked as a result, we're unable to block IP addresses provided by publishers. However, there are ways that you can directly block suspicious IP addresses from visiting your site. We suggest that you reach out to your site administrator for further instructions.
I use the same IP as other users. Will this cause a problem?
We understand that you may be using the same computer or sharing an IP address with other users. While we're unable to disclose any information about how we monitor traffic, please know that, to protect your interests and those of our advertisers, Google continually monitors all clicks and impressions on Google ads to prevent any abuse of the AdSense program.
My reports are showing clicks on my ads, but no earnings. What's going on?
It could be that your account has some clicks or impressions which our monitoring system considers to be invalid. As you may know, to protect the interests of our publishers and those of our advertisers, Google monitors clicks on Google ads to prevent any abuse of the program. Google's invalid traffic defenses analyze all ad clicks for any invalid traffic that is intended to artificially drive up an advertiser's clicks or a publisher's earnings. Clicks deemed by our monitoring system to be invalid will appear in your reports.
Publishers don't receive any revenue for invalid clicks, so you may occasionally notice clicks with no associated revenue. Note that your account is being properly credited for all clicks we consider to be valid.
Can I use my own AdSense for Search box to perform my searches?
We strongly recommend that you do not use the AdSense for Search box on your site to perform searches yourself. Besides increasing the risk of accidental clicks on your own ads, searching through AdSense for Search could cause metrics reporting that does not properly reflect the traffic to your pages.
Can I play the videos of ads on my site?
You're welcome to view the videos of ads on your site by clicking the play button. Clicks on the play button are not counted as clicks in your reports. We only count clicks that lead a user to the advertiser's site, including on the display URL or on the video while it's playing.