Does using NP Clicks violate AdSense Policies?

[G_C]

Does using NP Clicks violate AdSense TOS? Specifically, I found the following paragraph today when reading AdSense programme policies:

Prohibited Clicks and Impressions

Any method that artificially generates clicks or impressions is strictly prohibited. These prohibited methods include but are not limited to: repeated manual clicks or impressions, incentives to click or to generate impressions, using robots, automated click and impression generating tools, or other deceptive software. Please note that clicking on your own ads for any reason is prohibited, to avoid potential inflation of advertiser costs.

Shouldn't NP Clicks fall under a tool that offers incentives to view websites (and, by extension, using the tool would amount to providing incentives to generate impressions?) I still see quite a few AdSense websites being promoted via NP Clicks, so I'm not sure if I somehow misunderstand Google's stance on the matter or if these people are doing it at their own risk.

George

 

[dchesterton]

I always thought that it meant you couldn't generate clicks on the actual advertisements themselves.

It's just another form of advertising so i don't see a problem

 

[smub]

i dont think there is a problem

because we are clicking on their website and there are pop ups so they are not really telling us or forcing us to open their websites or click on their adsense so i think it is ok to use the click system.

 

[G_C]

Yes, but we are still rewarding people for viewing our website - in other words, generating impressions. Furthermore, Google does not differentiate between token and real life currency with regards to clicking/viewing incentives.

 

[WebForging]

...incentives to click or to generate impressions...

Taking this piece of the TOS so literally would mean that one could not advertise a site in a banner ad with any kind of offer on it because that would be an incentive leading to an impression.

Regards,
Keith

 

[dchesterton]

Taking this piece of the TOS so literally would mean that one could not advertise a site in a banner ad with any kind of offer on it because that would be an incentive leading to an impression.

Regards,
Keith

I agree, any sort of advertisement is generating impressions. If you take it even more literally, it means that you couldn't even submit to search engines as you would be generating impressions.

 

[G_C]

Yes, but I think the difference between banners and NP Click is that the user has no incentive to click on a banner, save for their own curiosity. On the other hand, a NP Clicks user has every incentive to click on the website even if they are not interested in the actual contents of the website. Correct me if I am wrong, but I would think that offering token incentives to visit a website that you would not visit normally is against not only against the letter, but also the spirit, of ToS.

To clarify, in this context, I am inclined to interpret the term "incentive" as referring to a reward (whether token or monetary) that the viewer would receive to visit your website, save the incentive of new information.

 

[dchesterton]

I see your point, maybe it's best to ask google??? If anyone does please post here, would be interested to know the outcome.

 

[G_C]

I will probably ask Google about it - they're probably sick and tired of answering my e-mails about AdSense TOS as I bug them almost on a weekly basis, but I suppose it's their job. I just wanted to post this here for everyone to see, so that people using NP Clicks to promote sites running AdSense get a bit of a heads-up.

Of course, one has to wonder how to stop people from exploiting the system by taking other people's websites down by using NP Clicks to draw traffic to them...

 

[Ixix]

Does using NP Clicks violate AdSense TOS? Specifically, I found the following paragraph today when reading AdSense programme policies:

Prohibited Clicks and Impressions

Any method that artificially generates clicks or impressions is strictly prohibited. These prohibited methods include but are not limited to: repeated manual clicks or impressions, incentives to click or to generate impressions, using robots, automated click and impression generating tools, or other deceptive software. Please note that clicking on your own ads for any reason is prohibited, to avoid potential inflation of advertiser costs.

Shouldn't NP Clicks fall under a tool that offers incentives to view websites (and, by extension, using the tool would amount to providing incentives to generate impressions?) I still see quite a few AdSense websites being promoted via NP Clicks, so I'm not sure if I somehow misunderstand Google's stance on the matter or if these people are doing it at their own risk.

George

You are mixing words. NP Clicks doesn't violate the rule because it doesn't entice users to click on GOOGLE ADS LINKS. if NP clicks offers an incentive to click on the google adword links like .10 cents for you, .20 cents for me....then ya, that's a violation of the TOS...

Any method that artificially generates clicks or impressions is strictly prohibited. These prohibited methods include but are not limited to: repeated manual clicks or impressions, incentives to click or to generate impressions, using robots, automated click and impression generating tools, or other deceptive software. Please note that clicking on your own ads for any reason is prohibited, to avoid potential inflation of advertiser costs.

Look at it this way, incentive sites goes like this: I am an affiliate marketer, and i am a promoting product that pays 75$ commission. an incentive site says to you, if you buy the product i'm promoting, i'll pay you $10.

Now, if a person is buying NP clicks for a website that is parked at SEDO or Domainhop, then that person might be violation of SEDO's, Domainhops, Domainsponsor TOS, not NP Clicks, since these companies have stricted rules regarding paid traffic. I think alot of these rules have more to do with the fact that alot of these parked domains are for sale, and pple that purchase traffic might skew their domain stats

:imho:



.

 

[G_C]

You are mixing words. NP Clicks doesn't violate the rule because it doesn't entice users to click on GOOGLE ADS LINKS. if NP clicks offers an incentive to click on the google adword links like .10 cents for you, .20 cents for me....then ya, that's a violation of the TOS...

Yep, but my concern is that a NP Click visit to an AdSense website is effectively an incentive to generate an impression, which is against the ToS. I realise that NP Clicks does not in any way offer incentives to click on Google links; but I'm not so sure if NP Clicks isn't effectively giving users the incentives to generate impressions (since an impression is generated when someone visits a website, and that someone is only visiting it because he has a NP$ incentive to do so).

Unless, of course, I complete mistunderstand the concept of an impression, which is entirely possible! :D

 

[Ixix]

NP Click visit to an AdSense website is effectively an incentive to generate an impression

i think you are misunderstanding it. an incentive to generate an impression would be like NP paying you .10 cents to click on a link, and when you click it, you're get an NP pop up window of just google adwords ads, with no content.

 

[Wolfman]

if adsense is on your site regardless of the content or lack there of an impression is still generated for the ad, and using NPClicks to send visitors to your site does effectively generate impressions, give it a try, and google will count them, I guarantee it. Im not saying dont use NPC if you have adsense, because more likely than not, google isnt really going to care about the tiny little bit of traffic NPC sends, especially if they're not currently paying you CPM.

My 0.02


Wolf

 

[proxycom]

I would have to agree on teh fact thats its incentive impressions. Google TOS says no incentive clicks or IMPRESSIONS and NP clicks provide an insentive to go to site and generate impressions

 

[chrisxx]

And what if I use AdWords where adsense ads are placed...i pay for clicks to my site so I make incentive impressions?

 

[Wolfman]

And what if I use AdWords where adsense ads are placed...i pay for clicks to my site so I make incentive impressions?

that again would fall under you're not paying the person clicking. with NPClicks the person who clicks gets paid. With adwords when you get a click you're paying the person who displayed the ad, not the clicker his/her'self.

 

[proxycom]

if you use adwords on adsense pages, then you arent paying the website owners to click, in fact ahts specifically agaisnt TOS, you are in no way providing incentives for peopel who see the adsense ads to click. Paying for the per click ads on NP is not against Google TOS, the fact that the people who click get NP$, as apposed to the forum is what is against the Google TOS.