Defining invalid clicks and click fraud

We often receive questions from new publishers about what these two
terms mean, and we'd like to help you understand the difference.Invalid
clicks are clicks for which we decide not to charge our AdWords
advertisers, since they may artificially drive up advertiser cost or
publisher revenue. These include extraneous clicks without any value to
the advertiser, such as the second click of a double-click. They also
include many other types of clicks that we've determined aren't
motivated by genuine user interest."Invalid clicks" are often confused
with "clicking on your own ads". However, we'd like to stress that
invalid clicks are generally any clicks that artificially inflate
advertiser cost or publisher revenue, regardless of their source.Click
fraud is a subset of invalid clicks that are generated with malicious
or fraudulent intent -- in other words, clicks that are intended to
drive up advertiser cost or publisher revenue artificially. Sources for
these clicks include, but are not limited to:
- A publisher clicking on his own ads, or encouraging clicks on his ads
- Users or family members clicking to support the site / publisher
- Third-party programs with user incentives, such as paid-to-click
services and click-exchanges
- Automated clicking tools, robots, or other deceptive softwareThe same
principles above apply to ad impressions and conversions as well. Some
sources of invalid impressions include, but are not limited to:
- Excessive page refreshes, generated either manually or automatically
- Third-party programs with user incentives, such as paid-to-surf or
auto-surf programs
- Third-party programs for purchasing fixed amounts of traffic,
e.g. "$10 for 1,000 page views"As a reminder, any method that
artificially generates clicks, impressions, or conversions is strictly
prohibited by our program policies. You can also find more information
about these topics in our Invalid Clicks FAQ.

Posted by the Google Ad Traffic Quality Team