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I would assume Google just shows more ads on other sites to compensate for the fraudent clicks. Why should they give you money back when they can just fulfill t

I would assume Google just shows more ads on other sites to compensate for the fraudent clicks. Why should they give you money back when they can just fulfill their side of the contract by showing ads to non fraudent users.

sam0x17 6y ago
It's funny that never actually occurred to me as a possibility. I would have to get in touch with the advertisers to see if that data is still in their account (which may be possible, I'll see what I can do). It's also not sufficient even if they do that. Many advertisers will run a time-sensitive campaign -- free traffic 3 weeks later in those scenarios is worthless. I actually doubt google does this because if they did it would be most easily implemented as an account credit. They just keep the money and hope no one ever holds them accountable for anything.
- zaphar 6y ago
  That isn't the way ad auctions work. They don't make it up 3 weeks later. They make it up in real time. The decision on where to show an ad is done in milliseconds. If it doesn't show up on your site it shows up on a different site instead right then.
  - sam0x17 6y ago
    Click-fraud decisions happen weeks later when it's time to send payouts to publishers. It will show $800 pending for deposit and then will say removed and you'll get an email about click fraud. That's what happened in this scenario. $800 / a month worth of earnings on a publisher account got wiped out minutes before the new pay period started.
    - zaphar 6y ago
      Ahh that's a piece I didn't notice in the post. That does change things yes.
    - sagarm 6y ago
      When the click fraud decision is made and when the decision is communicated are different things. When combating fraud, communicating the result of fraud decisions gives fraudsters information they can use to evade fraud protections. The faster the feedback loop for fraudsters, the faster they can find the gaps. Give feedback too quickly, and you'll never keep up in the cat-and-mouse game.
- siggen 6y ago
  I suspect G doesn’t do strict budget enforcement because that would be “fraud-intolerant.” They likely show in more places and, if no fraud, for the extra they charge $0 to the advertiser. Having said that, I have also heard similar case where someone was banned for fraud when he wasn’t doing anything of the sort, and he had no way to dispute it. This was over a half-a-decade ago.

sam0x17 6y ago

It's funny that never actually occurred to me as a possibility. I would have to get in touch with the advertisers to see if that data is still in their account (which may be possible, I'll see what I can do). It's also not sufficient even if they do that. Many advertisers will run a time-sensitive campaign -- free traffic 3 weeks later in those scenarios is worthless. I actually doubt google does this because if they did it would be most easily implemented as an account credit. They just keep the money and hope no one ever holds them accountable for anything.

zaphar 6y ago
That isn't the way ad auctions work. They don't make it up 3 weeks later. They make it up in real time. The decision on where to show an ad is done in milliseconds. If it doesn't show up on your site it shows up on a different site instead right then.
- sam0x17 6y ago
  Click-fraud decisions happen weeks later when it's time to send payouts to publishers. It will show $800 pending for deposit and then will say removed and you'll get an email about click fraud. That's what happened in this scenario. $800 / a month worth of earnings on a publisher account got wiped out minutes before the new pay period started.
  - zaphar 6y ago
    Ahh that's a piece I didn't notice in the post. That does change things yes.
  - sagarm 6y ago
    When the click fraud decision is made and when the decision is communicated are different things. When combating fraud, communicating the result of fraud decisions gives fraudsters information they can use to evade fraud protections. The faster the feedback loop for fraudsters, the faster they can find the gaps. Give feedback too quickly, and you'll never keep up in the cat-and-mouse game.
siggen 6y ago
I suspect G doesn’t do strict budget enforcement because that would be “fraud-intolerant.” They likely show in more places and, if no fraud, for the extra they charge $0 to the advertiser. Having said that, I have also heard similar case where someone was banned for fraud when he wasn’t doing anything of the sort, and he had no way to dispute it. This was over a half-a-decade ago.