Tips for Overcoming Invalid Clicks on Google AdSense

Table of Contents

Before I write about tips for dealing with invalid clicks on Google AdSense, it's a good idea to explain the difference between earnings and payments, as well as the definition of invalid click activity.

The Difference Between Earnings and Payments

• Earnings or profit is the income earned through your participation in AdSense. Earnings go through several stages during the payment period:
• Estimated earnings - the income still to be paid throughout the month. This appears on your homepage and performance reports.
• Finalized earnings - the total income minus all invalid activity. This appears on your homepage, performance reports, and payment history.
• Earnings - equals final earnings in payment history
  Balance - the account balance of all final earnings, debits, and credits

Definition of Invalid Click Activity

Google AdSense defines invalid click activity as "Invalid click activity includes any clicks or impressions that artificially inflate advertiser costs or publisher earnings, which we decide not to charge the advertiser. This includes, but is not limited to, clicks or impressions generated by publishers clicking their own ads, publishers encouraging clicks on their ads, automated click tools or traffic sources, bots, or other deceptive software." (Source: AdSense Help).

When you review your payment history, you may notice a discrepancy between your estimated AdSense earnings and the final amount paid to publishers. The difference between the two amounts is largely due to invalid clicks on your site, such as intentional clicks, which are deducted from your final earnings.

For example, if your estimated earnings are $1,100 and your final earnings are $1,000, you now have a better understanding of how your estimated earnings break down into invalid activity and final earnings.

If there's a significant difference between your estimated earnings and final earnings, you can follow the tips below. To prevent invalid activity on your site, pay special attention to your site design and traffic. If you notice anything unusual in the invalid activity, Google AdSense recommends reporting it using the Invalid Clicks Contact Form.

Tips for Addressing Invalid Clicks on Google AdSense

Understand your ad traffic and site visitors

Use URL Channels in your AdSense account, located under the My Ads tab, and custom channels under the Performance Reports tab. Select Common Reports in the left sidebar, then click Custom Channels. You can even check traffic reports using the DFP ad unit. With these three tools, you can measure how changes in traffic sources can affect your ad traffic.

Always use Google Analytics to get detailed information about your site visitors, and be alert for any suspicious user behavior (where are users coming from, both geographically and on the web? Which pages are they viewing on your site?).

Avoid partnering with untrustworthy/low-quality parties.

Some AdSense publishers have experienced issues with invalid click activity when partnering with low-quality ad networks, search engines, or directory sites with the goal of increasing traffic to their sites. If you want to promote your site by buying traffic or partnering with third-party services, be sure to monitor your reports closely and regularly to measure the impact of each source on your ad traffic.

Avoid clicking on your own ads.

I'm sure you already understand this. Clicking on your own ads will impact your AdSense account, potentially resulting in it being disabled to protect advertisers or even banned. We recommend using the AdSense preview tool, the AdSense Publisher Toolbar, which you can find in the Chrome Web Store and is free for publishers. This tool allows you to view up-to-date information about your account while browsing your site in Chrome.

Check your custom channels two to three times.

For those using custom channels, I recommend checking them frequently, as they may have unintended consequences for your desired ads. Also, ensure your ad implementation is free of programming errors, comply with AdSense policies, and test your ad interactions across different browsers and platforms to ensure all users interact with them as you expect.

Use the Authorized Sites feature

This feature prevents unauthorized use of your ad code. This feature ensures that your account will only accrue statistics for ads appearing on the sites you specify. Ensure that you have added the sites correctly, otherwise the Google AdSense system may filter out traffic you prefer to retain.

To authorize a site, log in to your account, click the gear icon in the top right corner, and then click Settings. In the left sidebar, click Access and Authorization, then check the box next to "Only allow certain sites to display ads for my account." Enter the URL of the site or blog you wish to authorize and click Save.

There are consequences if you display ads on unauthorized sites or blogs: ads will still appear on the site, impressions and ads will still be recorded, but the advertiser will not be charged, and you will not receive any revenue from the site.

Well, here are some tips I can share, hopefully they can help you understand the difference between estimated earnings and final earnings and how invalid click activity affects your payouts.