I don't think Google will cheat with adsense. But the problem is when Google ban publishers, the money doesn't go back to the advertisers! That's unfair to publishers if they are not cheating. Or unfair to advertisers if the publishers are cheating with adsense.
Actually if only Google give a reason when it ban publishers then I think no one will accuse Google cheating. But hard to say Google not cheating when Google doesn't return the money from banned publishers to its advertisers. Although Google still paying their publishers, still you cannot rely on Google. Google always says it protect its advertisers but why Google didn't return the money back ?
Those "some cents" add up to a significant amount when you put it together from ALL the people they screw, publishers AND advertisers. It may not sound like much from one person talking about a few cents, but it reminds me of a bank fraud scheme that happened several years ago. Some guy had hacked into the comp of a major bank and stole just a couple cents from each persons account. It wasnt enough for an individual person to notice or complain, but over 5 years of doing this he had collected a million dollars! Thats how the Big G does it. You dont worry about a few cents, as an individual, but if they do that to 1000's of people worldwide every month for just a few cents each, then you can see how they keep their shareholders happy. They won't blatently rip you off, but they're subtle about it. That's how big business works, off the backs of the little people.
You know, there are some pretty strong allegations being made in this thread without much substantive evidence to back them up.
I base my evidence on what I've read from MANY webmasters on forums all over the net, plus the fact that, as an advertiser, I always have to pay my monthly bill to them (100% of the costs per click), yet when they ban a publisher they keep that 100%. Shouldn't I, as an advertiser, get at least SOME of that money back??? It's logically and obviously a flawed system.
And how do you KNOW that any of the clicks on your ads are considered fraud, thus eligible as a refund to you?
Because Google has banned the publisher for doing so, and I guess I have to believe them...they'd never lie to me, right?? The point being that, irregardless of my personal experience, Google bans publishers for what they call fraudulent clicks every day and SOMEBODY has already paid for those clicks, as the advertiser, whether it's me, you or anyone else using Adwords. Has anyone here EVER gotten a refund from Google for fraud clicks due to a publisher being banned? ANYONE???
The only rules that really matter are these: what a google can do and what a google can't do. There is no cheating on the internet.
Just because a publisher is banned does NOT mean that all the clicks made on his site were fraudulent.....
I think you are on to something. Interestingly, there is no way to test our google adsense links without being banned There is no way to keep them accountable. They can do what they want but we can't even test the links to make sure they are working because we may get banned. Why do we allow them to have so much power? Is it because whatever money we do make from them is too good to give up or are we just wusses? Surely there is a fair alternative out there. cg
No, of course not! I'm trying to point out the logical reality of what is REALLY happening, but you skirt the issue in defense of Google. Follow my point carefully. Publisher gets banned before reaching the $100 payout...let's say at $85. He may have had a few fraudulent clicks...I dont know, but the point is that he gets banned. Where does that $85 go?? It's already been paid for by the advertisers and Google KNOWS which advertisers were displaying which ads, so do they give that money back?? No. Now, I know at this point your next logical argument (in defense of Google, of course) will be to say "well, they weren't all fraud clicks, so most of the advertisers still got the legit clicks they paid for". True enough, but the system works on the basis that the publisher gets half the money that the advertiser pays for the clicks as their payment for showing the ads in the first place. Since the publisher now gets nothing, where does his share go? Answer: In Google's back pocket. Repeat and rinse that cheat enough times and it amounts to a SIGNIFICANT amount of money. I wouldn't care if I was only owed a few cents. I'd still want it because I paid for it as an advertiser to begin with and its the only way to keep the system fair. A few cents from each person over time adds up to great riches. We all know THAT formula.
I'm not skirting anything. I'm not necessarily defending Google but simply pointing out flaws in your argument, if that happens to support Google, so be it. If any of that $85 (to the publisher) is from fraudulent clicks, it apparently goes back...see here for example: http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showpost.php?p=600489&postcount=11 It's just a forum post, but then so is yours (and mine), too. If your site is involved in fraudulent clicks and you are banned, the balance from legitimate clicks probably DOES go to Google. So what? Your site has been determined to be a risk to Google and the advertisers, the legit clicks are paid for, the advertiser won't get that back, the balance (from legit clicks) that would have been owed to you probably stays with Google, probably as click-fraud-detection capital.
Click-fraud-detection capital??? Is that meant to be a joke?? To a Multi-BILLION dollar company?? The system is unfair and there's easily enough evidence just on DP, let alone elsewhere on the internet, to prove that. Oh, and your link to the "it happened to a friend of a friend of mine" type of post doesn't prove a thing. I'll continue to distrust huge companies that swallow up small businesses on a daily basis and you'll continue to support them. Let's just accept our fate and leave it at that.