Invalid Traffic - AdMob Applications - AdWords Ads

[ilan]

Admob (Google) is not happy with all the billions they make now they start cutting our profit to make more money.
in the last 5-6 years i had about 0-1$ invalid traffic. that means that that amount will not be paid from the revenue i see in my admob account.
in the last 2 months that amount was unbelievable high. 2 month ago it was 49$ and last month 132$. and that amount is not paid to me after i earned it with my apps.
how can it be that from less then 1$ for 5-6 years it went to 132$ ?????

the thing is that i cannot contact them. the only support they give is by searching forums for the same question. why cant i just send an eamail to someone in google that can give me answers why i am not getting what i worked so hard for it

 

[LucaMs]

Adorable Google ( )

 

[ilan]

such actions just take my motivation to keep my apps updated and create new apps. we spent so much time and in the end others (like google) make the profit.

 

[Pendrush]

My last two months 600+ euro was invalid clicks (280e and 320e per month), before that about 2e-9e per month.
I have also check with some of my friends, invalid click are increased across all admob accounts.

 

[rabbitBUSH]

such actions just take my motivation

This is a bit disconcerting. I haven't come to the point of creating a Google Store account yet as I am planning to do (well up to now).

Does the result of what you are saying mean that one should NOT use ADMOB and just go the pay-per-APP route. Then, there is also the question of just using another of the "stores". I have also been told that Google only pays over developer's earnings after a certain total has been reached - that would mean an earning of interest to their account - just like the banks do to us.

Is it viable (though obviously less broad based audience) to set up one's own vending point? Maybe we should club together and set up a payment route and system for our own purposes - by gee that might take Guts and Bravery .....

Finally, is it possible that Google introduced a ?? into their tracking of this? More than likely though someone FOUND the bug and fixing it turns to their advantage.

Google's motto started out as "do no evil" (croaky X files) but recently I saw a comment calling Google EVIL. Heh. After all, maybe they have joined the other EHM organisations.

[EDIT - BTW what constitutes an "invalid click"]

 

[ilan]

[EDIT - BTW what constitutes an "invalid click"]

Invalid traffic
Invalid traffic includes any clicks or impressions that may artificially inflate an advertiser's costs or a publisher's earnings. Invalid traffic covers intentionally fraudulent traffic as well as accidental clicks.
Invalid traffic includes, but is not limited to:

• Clicks or impressions generated by publishers clicking on their own live ads
• Repeated ad clicks or impressions generated by one or more users
• Publishers encouraging clicks on their ads (examples may include: any language encouraging users to click on ads; ad implementations that may cause a high volume of accidental clicks; etc.)
• Automated clicking tools or traffic sources, robots, or other deceptive software

Please note that clicks on Google ads must result from genuine user interest, and any method that artificially generates clicks or impressions is strictly prohibited by our program policies. If we observe high levels of invalid traffic on your account, we may suspend or disable the account to protect our advertisers and users. Additionally, if we are unable to verify the quality of your traffic, we may limit or disable your ad serving. Due to invalid traffic, you may also see a difference between your estimated and finalized earnings.
We understand that a third party may generate invalid traffic on your ads without your knowledge or permission. However, ultimately it is your responsibility as the publisher to ensure that the traffic on your ads is valid. For this reason, we highly recommend that you review our tips for preventing invalid traffic.

from my experience admob was making the best result from all other ad companies. but if me depend on google that it can be just a question of time when we will stop making revenue from our apps. in my opinion the best way to earn from apps and make a stable income is to work with companies. if you will get to the point where you have few costumers that you work with and have a stable income from them then that could be the best way to earn from coding. i dont think that we can count on apple or google. they can change every day their guidelines and reject our apps. (by working with clients i am not meaning create apps for them so they will put them on the stores. i mean create apps for internal use)

 

[rabbitBUSH]

to work with companies

Mmmm the down side of that is its quite a lot of hard work to market one's self as a consultant developer. You make sense though, there would still be the "store" income-route that could produce what people call "bread-and-butter" income.

I have noticed on a web statistic I own that there has been an increase in the ROBOT traffic. The policy you quote (thanks) indicates that these are invalid clicks. So how does one prevent robots / bot traffic? what never ceases to fascinate is that host providers and sys admins insist on folder ownership being tight so that hacking is greatly minimised - but looking at web page statistics you see that the Bots have gone behind those security measures and read pages in the folders. That is not one's own fault and Google then is penalising developers if their own system is being Bot'ed. Huh? According the policy above - Bots could cause big-time invalid clicks. BTW. Google knows who or what the actual "clicker" is ... I saw a thread recently somewhere about Google tracking which toilet you went to and the time and day (Well - - - ok - - - but pretty close to ....)

Repeated ad clicks or impressions generated by one or more users

What can go wrong - tracking That many of these per second? What if that's agents for the advertiser? Ok they should be trapped ... but, its not the developer.....

ad implementations that may cause a high volume of accidental clicks; etc.)

Gee that's kinda vague and broad reaching at the same time - how do they know its an "accidental click"? It really sounds like a conspiracy theory.

You make a good case for turning my web site into an ecommerce platform. OK that would mean users installing onto phones which have to be reset to install from an outside source (according to standard settings in Android-based ones). Also, every day I get can see on the Play Store App that the phone has been checked by Google for Apps they don't think are secure or whatever. If one installs from a so-called outside source from Play Store - do we know if Google then might disable that App on one's phone - that would anger one's clients. Do they only check the Play Store installed Apps?

the thing is that i cannot contact them.

I think you might be frustrated but in good company ....

 

[sorex]

where do you see this invalid traffic stats in the admob console?

 

[ilan]

where do you see this invalid traffic stats in the admob console?

yes, go to PAYMENTS and when you click a payment you will see the Invalid click amount.

 

[sorex]

1–31 Dec 2019

Invalid Traffic - AdMob Applications – AdWords Ads

−€23.40

it's about x9 compared to november when it was 2.5.

zero transparency of what it actually is so they can remove any random value.

 

[ilan]

1–31 Dec 2019

Invalid Traffic - AdMob Applications – AdWords Ads

−€23.40

it's about x9 compared to november when it was 2.5.

zero transparency of what it actually is so they can remove any random value.

correct!!! and i have the filling it will increase!! 2 months ago 49$ last month 132$. and this is the money i should have seen in my bank account but now its in google bank account. they even dont send any warnings on something is wrong or something like this. as you can see everyone is complaining so its not an issue with a specific developer its something systematic. even if they will find the bug in their system we wont get that money back. this make me very angry.