AdSense publishers are ultimately responsible for the traffic on their ads. For this reason, it’s critical that you diligently monitor your ad traffic to ensure that your account is compliant with our policies and not accruing invalid traffic. If you see something suspicious after following the tips below, you’re welcome to notify us.
We encourage you to review the information in these resources:
- AdSense policies: a beginner's guide
- AdSense Program policies
- AdSense Terms and Conditions.
- Ad Traffic Quality Resource Center
Tips to help you prevent invalid traffic on your ads
- Understand your ad traffic and site visitors
Break down your traffic reports into meaningful segments using URL channels, custom channels, or ad units. This will help you gauge how changes to traffic sources or implementation can affect your ad traffic.
Next, use Google Analytics to get detailed information about your site visitors, and be on the lookout for any suspicious user behavior. (Where do my users come from, either geographically or on the Web? Which pages do they view on my site?). Learn how to understand your traffic.
- Avoid partnering with untrusted / low-quality parties
Some publishers have had issues with invalid traffic when partnering with low-quality ad networks, search engines, or directory sites in efforts to increase traffic to their site. Learn more about purchasing traffic.
- Don’t click on your own ads, even if you think it’s okay to do so
Even if you’re interested in an ad or looking for its destination URL, clicking on your own ads is still prohibited. Keep in mind that even when we filter clicks on your own ads, we don't ignore those clicks completely; if it appears to us that a publisher has been clicking on his own ads to inflate his earnings or an advertiser's costs, we may disable the account to protect our advertisers.
- Double- and triple-check your implementation
Some publishers use custom implementations that may have unintended consequences on their ad requests. Make sure your ad implementation conforms to our ad placement policies and has no programming errors. Also, check your ads in different browsers and platforms to ensure they work as you expect.
- Consult the AdSense Help Forum
If you have a question, it’s likely that another publisher has encountered the same issue, so join in a discussion to learn more, or start your own. Let others know if you’ve encountered a third party or situation that tends to generate invalid traffic.
For information on how to prevent invalid traffic in AdMob, see the AdMob Help Center.
