How in the WORLD are they determining what IS or is NOT click fraud?
Think about this for a second... A suit was brought against Google for Click Fraud. That would imply, due to the fact that Google is settling, that Google KNEW and CONDONED the alleged click fraud.
In fact, one my conclude from the annoucement that Google itself was guilty of click fraud.
This suit smells bad to me. Google either has some very precise way of tracking what is click fraud and chose to do nothing about it (for which they are now liable) or Google didn't have a way to monitor it effectively denoting negligence (for which they are now liable).
However, this all means ONE thing... YOU ADSENSE IS GOING TO BE OVER SCRUTINIZED.
For all their miraculous technology and Billions of dollars and super secret search databased on each one of us and their super secret "click fraud detector kit", they haven't simply thought of logging your own IP address and setting a DO NOT PAY code for when an ad is clicked through your own address?
I mean I can't possibly be the only one not to see the obvious stupidity here that is causing SO MUCH heartache.
They are ALREADY tracking you clicking your own ads and they are already tracking an overabundance of clicks from one IP and so on... why not simply USE that information to regulate the offense.
After all, I see ads pop up all the time on my sites that I would LOVE to click through to see more information. But I can't because Google will AXE me for doing exactly what a paying advertiser WANTS... me to click his ad and perhaps BUY something.
Now that the precedence is set, we should very shortly see an advertiser suing google for prohibiting the tens of thousands of Adsense users from viewing their ads and therefore costing these advertisers potential revenue.
XXX Million Adsense member views multiplied say a 10% click through rate and a %1 puerchase rate... that is costing Adsense Advertisers Millions of Dollars in revenues every year!
So while we see Google settling for $90 Mill for users clicking their own ads I predecit we will see Google also settling for another $XX Mill for NOT letting potential customers click the very same ads.
Why? Because Google had a method in place to PROPERLY regulate click fraud yet CHOSE not to. That is negligence and that is why they are paying up.
And who wins? Who looses?
You and I, my friend... WE DO.
GoPC
