I detailed an email I received from Google last week accusing me of using a third party program like a paid-to-surf vendor to generate invalid clicks on the Google ads on my site. The email was a warning and it was definitive: according to Google, my organization was GUILTY of click fraud. I wrote them back insisting that I don't use such schemes and never have in the FOUR years I've been using adsense. I looked at all my logs and determined six clicks on a site that had had only a few visitors for the day. I told them they could disallow the clicks if they wanted, because they didn't look legitimate to me either (it could have been a kid just screwing around, who knows). I asked Google for two things: 1. What did they expect from me now? 2. What information they could provide to help me avoid being credited for invalid clicks that I did not generate. Of course, I got a form letter back. Their only answer was for me to stop using paid-to-surf programs. Frustrated, I wrote them back and asked for a human response to my case. Clearly no one was reading what I was sending them. I asked them for proof to support their accusation. Their response -- again, a form -- was that "due to the proprietary nature of our algorithm, we cannot disclose any details about how our monitoring technology works or what specifics we found on your account." I don't give a crap about their technology. I want proof to substaniate the accusation. Ultimately, I know I have a choice: use adsense or don't use adsense. But ultimately, I'm a Google customer, too -- an honest Google customer. And I'm getting really p*ssed off at their lack of response to legitimate inquiries in the face of these accusations. Methinks it's time to let Google go and add my name to the class action suits. It's one thing to say we've got a problem. It's quite another to make an accusation and then not back it up. I don't need Google blacklisting me from potential advertisers (MY real customers) because I can't put their ads on my site.
As much as it must be frustrating to be in your situation, I don't see how you are in a position to "demand proof". This is not a court of law, but a business relationship where Google can choose who they want to do business with at their discretion. Branding the weapon of "class action suits" is probably the worst road you can take. It also has that terrible entitlement smell.
Buloney. I didn't offer them with any threats...I said that here to you, not to them. Those are my frustrated thoughts. And I'm sorry, this is a business relationship. I am a businessman. I expect that in any business relationship that we take care of each other. I am allowing Google to make money from my web properties. It's not like they're not getting anything out of the deal. I have kept up my part of the deal by following their terms of service. If they are going to accuse that I've broken my end of the bargain I think it is not only acceptable but also expected to know why they think that and what I can do about it. There is so far one fact here: they accused me of using a third party product to generate invalid clicks on my site. And that accusation is wrong. This kind of way of doing business smacks of Microsoft or Wal Mart. Some consider those fine companies. Others will no long do business with them.
Edzachary, This one really must be a very frustrating and bad expirience for you. If you ever had personal dealings, questions and have gotten answer from someone of their staff - I'd try writing to this person and explaining how bad you felt by automatically generated responces, and you'll try to do whatever needed to get this problem solved. Keep trying to stay calm and cool with them, and keep sending emails as there is always a chance that things could be solved. Good luck!
I think it'd be like being collared by security at Target and being told "you've been shoplifting". They don't frisk you to prove it. And you wish they would, because you've got nothing on you. And even without proof they can stop you from entering the store again. It would be good if Google said "you've been getting traffic from xxxxx.com and quite frankly, we don't like it." Guess what, I sure as hell would stop getting traffic from that source. And they wouldn't have revealed any trade secrets by doing so.
I had no idea there was a suit against them, but that's the very same thing I was getting with one of my past sites. Could you give me some information on this suite?
i think you should try give them some info like your log files and so on. you can appeal to them as well. tell them you are not sure where this click fraud comes from and you are not interested at all with the income coming from these clicks. also say that as a publisher we have no way to protect ourselves if someone else within the same office block which shares the same ip / internet connection tries to click on the ads on your website.
Nice analogy, but it doesn't really work for me. I don't agree to any terms of service when I do business with Target. With Google those terms are a contract and I've been fulfilling my portion of that agreement without contesting for more than four years. The funny thing here is that I have traffic on 30 websites that I don't want. At least that's what shows up in the referrer logs -- porn sites, pharmeceuticals, etc -- that somehow get the links without actually driving traffic to my sites. I don't want them, I'm not associated with them, I don't ask them to link to me -- I can't do anything about them. How can Google hold me responsible for that? Why should