There have been whole AdSense accounts bringing in $5000 per month banned for life from Google because of fraudulent clicks. If Google catches you clicking on your own AdSense ads, they can shut you down.
You won`t get canned just for a single click, but if you`re like me and tweak your site a lot it`s only a matter of time before you click on one of those things by accident.
The way I keep this from happening is I temporarily block the domain name Google`s ads are served from. Once I`m finished editing my site I go back under the hood and turn it back on.
Getting this setup will take you less than a minute.
First, find your HOSTS file.
Open Notepad. Go to File, and Choose Open.
If you have Windows 95, 98, or ME browse to the folder `C:windows`
If you have Windows XP Home browse to the folder `C:windowssystem32driversetc`
If you have anything else (Windows XP Pro, Windows 2000, NT, 2003, etc.) browse to the folder: `C:winntsystem32driversetc`
Once you`re there, open the file called `hosts`. If you don`t see anything listed just type the word hosts and the file should open up. Just the word `hosts`, no extension or anything after that. It`s probably blank but it might not be.
Add this line:
127.0.0.1 pagead2.googlesyndication.com
And save. You`re done.
Now go back to a site that you know has some Google Ads. There should be an empty space where the ads appeared.
Want to turn it off? Don`t just delete it, put a `#` sign in front of that line, like this:
# 127.0.0.1 pagead2.googlesyndication.com
What`s that do? It basically says `ignore this line.` I like to leave it like that so when I want to hide Google Ads again, all I have to do is remove the `#` sign and save – then put the `#` back in when I`m ready to go back to normal.
| | Author Info:
Robert Plank is the creator of `AdSense Seeker,` the powerful PHP script that sends AdSense stats via phone or e-mail that`ll save you literally HOURS every day.http://www.robertplank.com/adsense |
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