It's Where You Click That Counts

Posted by Joel Comm on November 14, 2007

Google is continually looking for ways to put the kabosh on click fraud. It is important that they protect the rights of their advertisers by making sure each click is an intentional click. That is, they want to be certain that the person clicking the ad is doing so deliberatel. Otherwise, the advertiser is paying for a visit that is not purposeful.

So it has recently leaked out from a number of blogs that Google is getting ready to make a change to the way AdSense ads are clicked. Many people are concerned that this change is going to affect their AdSense earnings.

What are they changing? Let's take a look.

From the beginning, a click anywhere within the region of an ad would result in a successful clickthrough to the sponsor site. This image highlights where an ad could be clicked in order to count as a clickthrough.

However, with the upcoming changes, Google is only allowing the clickthrough to take place if the visitor clicks the title or the url of the advertisement, not the description text or surrounding areas.

This image highlights the change that is coming.

Why is Google doing this?

In all likelihood, there is a percentage of clicks that are the result of accidental clicking. A page loads and the mouse may stray to a portion of the ad and get clicked unintentionally. Google wants to prevent this from happening as it costs the advertiser money without providing the intended result, and that is a visitor who is wanting to visit the advertiser site.

What does this mean to advertisers?

It means they are likely to receive fewer visitors and more value per visitor. This is exactly what they want.

What does it mean to the AdSense publisher?

Most likely, it means your AdSense revneue will fall somewhat. But honestly, I don't expect any major changes in clickthrough rate. There may be some accidental clicks, but I've got to believe that most people are clicking ads on purpose. And if they click the description text and nothing happens, most people will try again by clicking the ad title. After all, it is a hyperlink and I would think the vast majority understand that is where you are supposed to click.

Of course, we won't know for sure until the change takes place, but I don't expect to see any major changes in revenue. Besides, if this change is good for advertisers, they will have more money to spend on ads. And you know what that means.


Posted by Joel Comm on November 14, 2007