Google AdSense Says Don’t Worry About Accidental Clicks, No One Will Notice

Accidents
happen from the Google Inside AdSense blog today caught my eye. Apparently,
lots of publishers accidentally click on their ads and write in to Google to say
sorry. Don’t worry, says Google, "chances are we’ve already detected your clicks
on your ads and discounted them." Bull.

Seriously, bull. Here’s an example. Over on my personal blog
Daggle, I have AdSense ads. If I accidentally
click on one of those ads, how does Google know that it was me the blog owner
that did that and thus automatically issues a credit?

All Google knows about me is that I use British Telecom as my broadband
provider. Lots of people use BT. How is Google going to spot my click and know
it is accidental?

If I’m logged in to Google, THEN I’m more open to the idea they might see
that my Google Account is linked to my Google AdSense account so discount clicks
that way. After all, when I’m logged in, they actually know who I am. In
addition, if I’m constantly clicking, I have no doubt that sets off alarm bells
for possible review and discounting.

But the occasional accidental click, for the non-logged in person? That’s got
to get through. And what I read from this post is Google saying don’t worry
about it — the occasional accidental click isn’t something an advertiser will
notice. Bad message to send.

Here’s a thought. How about a way for AdSense publishers to see all the
clicks on their ads? Then if they accidentally click, they can go and delete the
click themselves or flag it for review, so that AdSense support isn’t flooded
with these requests.

I’m also asking Google if I’ve missed the mark on how they can — and can’t
— automatically discount accidental clicks.