My son is 3 and is quickly mastering the internet. At the rate hes going, hes soon going to have his own blog! But the other day I was caught off guard when I noticed he had found his way to my website. Practically breaking my wrist to stop his click madness, I then realized just how easy it would have been for him to start clicking on my Adsense ads. Thankfully I was able to stop him before he did, because if I had turned away for a second - Im sure he would have delivered a fateful click.
I got to thinking about it, did a little research, and found that nobody seems to be talking about it - at least not enough. I have often heard of people scratching their heads wondering why their Adsense accounts and other types of ad network accounts were shut down and have to wonder how many of them have kids which may have played a role. Google has no way of telling whether its you clicking on the ads or your child, and since it is against their terms for you to click on your own ads - you can bet your account will be shut down accordingly.
Prevention and careful monitoring are key in making sure your toddler doesnt go click-crazy on your ads. Here are some tips:
- Download a different browser just for them which contains no access to your bookmarks or site links. Fill it with child friendly bookmarks and emphasize that it is your childs own special browser so they will have less desire in using yours.
- Make sure your browser, email and other access points are closed or hidden away when the child is playing games.
- Check the location bar in your browser. If you have urls saved there, this can be easy access to any of the sites youve visited including your own. Clean it out, and if possible, adjust your browser settings to disable saving this information.
- Clear the history cache every time before your child uses the computer.
- Dont leave any shortcuts on your desktop that offer easy access to pages you want to keep your child away from.
- If your browser offers settings or filters for blocking access to web sites - use them. You can always turn them back on later.
- Dont leave the computer unattended with your child around. They are quick and sneaky when they want to be.
- Dont underestimate your child. They know more than they let on.
- Toddlers and small children should be monitored at all times on the internet, not just because of accidental ad clicks, but to make sure they avoid dangerous and adult content which is a parents worst nightmare.
Good luck with your little clickers!
Carole Nickerson has been a web developer and internet marketer since 1998. To find more like this visit her new blog at:
If you are new to online marketing you are probably in a state of bewilderment with some of the lingo. When you venture into new circles it is natural to experience moments of confusion. Dont let this intimidate you.
When I was first looking into ways of driving traffic to my website someone recommended paper clips. I sat there wondering what in the world paper clips had to do with online advertising. It seemed rather bizarre but I was assured they gave you the ability to drive high quality traffic to your website.
Not wanting to appear uninformed, I kept nodding my head through the whole discussion on paper clip advertising. Well... the light bulb went on when I realised they were referring to a technique called Pay Per Click. So I have decided to explain what I have learned in nice, simple language.
Pay per Click (PPC) is an advertising technique used on the web. The ability to drive high quality traffic to your site is fundamental to the successful outcome that you are seeking with your online business. In other words, you need the right people to visit your website, so you can sell your products.
In search engines, Pay per Click advertisements are usually text ads which appear near the search results. There are two primary Pay per Click search engines that cover about 90% of the World Wide Web. They are Google AdWords and Yahoo Search Marketing (formerly Overture).
These two systems offer basically the same capability although their techniques differ from one another in various ways. In addition to these basic engines, each of these results are syndicated to a large number of other search engines. Appearing in the top three or four positions will allow your search ad to be syndicated to nearly all search engines on the web in one form or another.
Now how do they get there Advertisers bid on words or phrases, which are referred to as keywords. When a user searches for a particular word or phrase in the search engine, the list of advertiser links appears in order of bidding. Google provide their paid inclusions (Sponsored Links) down the right hand side of the page. In Yahoo, the advertisers links (Sponsor Results) are shown at the top of the page above the regular search results.
The more you bid on the keyword, the further up this list of links your ad will appear. When and only when the user clicks on your link do you pay the agreed amount for each click. This user is then directed to the destination of your choice.
So basically..... the Pay Per Click technique allows you to bid on search words, when the user clicks on the advertisement, then you pay. Thus you have Pay Per Click.
Some key aspects to bear in mind:
* You select the keywords you want your link to appear on.
* The link itself is like a small ad, with a title and text.
* This link can go to any specific page of your website that you choose.
* You only pay when somebody clicks on the link.
* The higher up the paid subscriber list you appear, for the most part, the more you pay per click.
* Depending on the search engine, minimum prices per click start at $0.01 but very popular search terms can cost much more.
Ritchie Hale is founder and owner of ELAH Group Pty Ltd. Consultant to large, global corporations in the areas of Marketing and IT. Developed eClass programs geared to small businesses based on proven marketing techniques. Personal coach to small business owners and individuals.Visit