Invalid Traffic
What is Invalid Traffic?
According to Google, invalid traffic is any interaction (clicks and impressions) that does not originally come from a real interest of a user. As a result, it leads to distortions in the advertiser's costs and a publisher's earnings.
The definition of invalid traffic covers intentionally fraudulent traffic as well as accidental clicks.
The examples of invalid traffic can be:
- Clicks or impressions generated manually by publishers or third parties.
- Repeated ad clicks or impressions generated by one or more users.
- Use of encouraging clicks messages on the ads.
- Artificial clicking tools or traffic sources, robots, or other deceptive software.
- Accidental clicks due to incorrect ad placements (examples may include ad units placed too close to sharing buttons or other clickable elements of the site).
More information on invalid traffic can be found here.
Why should publishers care about Invalid Traffic?
Fake impressions and clicks make advertisements cost more. And too much non-converting traffic will result in a reduction in the market value of an inventory for a publisher. That's why advertisers are always trying to avoid working with publishers with invalid traffic.
The high percentage of invalid traffic on a site may also lead to limitations or suspensions of ad placement by Google. This eventually will significantly affect publishers’ earning potential.
Preventing invalid traffic will help maximize the value of the publishers' inventory and secure from unforeseen income decreases.
Best practices to prevent Invalid Traffic
To avoid spam click violations, we recommend taking the following actions:
- Ensure correct ad placement.
- Monitor for unusual traffic patterns or spikes.
- Ramp up new traffic sources gradually over time.
- Avoid traffic from paid sources.
- Implement blocklists to avoid sources of invalid traffic.
- Run some form of traffic quality analysis regularly (not only when your overall invalid traffic rates are high).
If you want to understand more about invalid traffic and you wish to receive help from Clickio, please contact us via email support@clickio.com.