# You appear to be abusing our search engine listing. huh? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [November 23, 2005, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-appear-to-be-abusing-our-search-engine-listing-huh/332469 "2005-11-23T20:04:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@sj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sj2)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-appear-to-be-abusing-our-search-engine-listing-huh/332469/1 "2005-11-23T20:04:53Z")
I was in this [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=346250), and I saw an ad [Considering Abortion](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=346250)? on the bottom. Since it seemed to relate to the episode (pro-life clinics posing as abortion providers) I clicked on it to get the dope straight. Well, it forwarded me to the page, instead of opening a new window (which I prefer). So I went back to the dope and opened the link in a new window. Then I get this pop-up message: You appear to be abusing our search engine listing. YOUR ACTIONS ARE BEING LOGGED. Please stop clicking on our search engine listings. My questions: Is it the message board doing this? Google? The website [optionline.org](http://optionline.org)? I’ve never seen this before. And why would anyone care if I went to a website TWICE? And why would MY ACTIONS be LOGGED? Anybody else get this? Maybe it’s my pregnancy hormones, but it is making me mad. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![sj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@sj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sj2)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-appear-to-be-abusing-our-search-engine-listing-huh/332469/2 "2005-11-23T20:09:01Z")
Well. the google ad is on this page too! They must be getting a lot of abuse on that site. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-appear-to-be-abusing-our-search-engine-listing-huh/332469/3 "2005-11-23T20:23:01Z")
My guess is that the website is paying per clickthrough, and someone opposed to their message may repeatedly click on their ad to cost them as much money as possible. They may have interpreted your two visits as an attempt at that. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-appear-to-be-abusing-our-search-engine-listing-huh/332469/4 "2005-11-23T20:28:38Z")
I don’t get it. How can you abuse a search engine? (An ad is one thing, but a search engine is just a mindless tool.) And what did it have to do with abortion clinics? Whose search engine was it? Who’s “logging” your actions? ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-appear-to-be-abusing-our-search-engine-listing-huh/332469/5 "2005-11-23T20:31:37Z")
Note that the link has the argument ‘wcw’ in it, and that the pop-up indicates it’s from [auditor.whosclickingwho.com](http://auditor.whosclickingwho.com). That website has some code in it that checks where you came from to track who is sending them the most links. They don’t want people messing up their stats (which is why that message would appear for people clicking the same link twice), but they’re really being pricks about it. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-appear-to-be-abusing-our-search-engine-listing-huh/332469/6 "2005-11-23T20:34:46Z")
Yep. Those ads, they sure are a great idea. They suuure arrrrrrrrrre. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-appear-to-be-abusing-our-search-engine-listing-huh/332469/7 "2005-11-23T20:48:45Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > I don’t get it. How can you abuse a search engine? The OP said the search engine _listing_ was being abused, not the _search engine_. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-appear-to-be-abusing-our-search-engine-listing-huh/332469/8 "2005-11-23T20:52:49Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Whose search engine was it? The OP mentioned that this was a Google ad on the SDMB, so presumably the search engine was Google. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-appear-to-be-abusing-our-search-engine-listing-huh/332469/9 "2005-11-23T22:25:49Z")
> [@Uvula Donor](#): > > Yep. Those ads, they sure are a great idea. They suuure arrrrrrrrrre. I think they’re an excellent idea, because they raise money for the Dope that we would presumably otherwise be paying. They’re not intrusive like half the ads on every news website/search engine/email provider/etc. that explode all over your screen or raise thousands of popup windows. You can either click on them or ignore them, and you don’t end up getting pissed off and boycotting the advertisers because it takes you an hour to click through all the popups. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-appear-to-be-abusing-our-search-engine-listing-huh/332469/10 "2005-11-23T22:27:22Z")
I just popped in to say I love the irony of someone named **fetus** posting to this thread. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-appear-to-be-abusing-our-search-engine-listing-huh/332469/11 "2005-11-23T23:09:12Z")
I just tried it a few times, with the same result, so if I get aborted by the anti-choice site, or lost by the search engine, you’ll know why. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-appear-to-be-abusing-our-search-engine-listing-huh/332469/12 "2005-11-23T23:53:04Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I just popped in to say I love the irony of someone named **fetus** posting to this thread. 😉 😃 I hadn’t even thought of that. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-appear-to-be-abusing-our-search-engine-listing-huh/332469/13 "2005-11-24T02:12:43Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > How can you abuse a search engine? Tell it it eats stupid food. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-appear-to-be-abusing-our-search-engine-listing-huh/332469/14 "2005-11-24T02:30:36Z")
> [@google](#): > > Search Engine Submission… Paging Evil Captor! ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-appear-to-be-abusing-our-search-engine-listing-huh/332469/15 "2005-11-24T02:43:51Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > My guess is that the website is paying per clickthrough, and someone opposed to their message may repeatedly click on their ad to cost them as much money as possible. They may have interpreted your two visits as an attempt at that. [It’s all about click fraud](http://news.com.com/Exposing+click+fraud/2100-1024_3-5273078.html) > [@](#): > > I’m talking about click fraud – the practice of skewing pay-per-click advertising data by generating illegitimate hits. Click fraud takes advantage of the increasing popularity of performance-based ad arrangements on the net, and the dramatic rise in the cost of online advertising. Those that stand to benefit most are search networks’ content partners, which receive commissions on these fraudulent clicks, and competitors intent on playing dirty by inflating a rival’s pay-per-click spending to stretch their advertising budget. [http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,65324,00.html](http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,65324,00.html) [http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3503376](http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3503376) [http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3387581](http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3387581) [http://money.cnn.com/2004/12/02/technology/google\_fraud/?cnn=yes](http://money.cnn.com/2004/12/02/technology/google_fraud/?cnn=yes) > **[Click Fraud- An Overview](https://www.alchemistmedia.com/blog/ppc/click-fraud/)** > > History of Click Fraud & Invalid Click Activity. [http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3453201](http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3453201) [http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3440341](http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3440341) > **[Click fraud](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Click_fraud)** > > Click fraud is a type of fraud that occurs on the Internet in pay-per-click (PPC) online advertising. In this type of advertising, the owners of websites that post the ads are paid based on how many site visitors click on the ads. Fraud occurs when a person, automated script, computer program or an auto clicker imitates a legitimate user of a web browser, clicking on such an ad without having an actual interest in the target of the ad's link. Click fraud is the subject of some controversy and inc... In other words, **Dewey Finn** nailed it. Repeatedly clicking on the ad benefits several entitities: 1. SDMB gets paid for the click by Google. 2. Google gets paid for the click by the the website’s publisher. 3. Those who dislike the ad’s message. The website’s publisher has a budget for it’s advertising set up in its Google campaign. If it gets a high number of clicks, its budget might get exhausted, which will cause the ad to temporarily stop running. 4. Competitors, not so much in this case, though. Competitors who bid less will see their ads run less frequently. If the higher bidding ad clicks out (see 3) the next-highest bidder will temporarily get the prime space. If the SDMB becomes a serious source of click fraud, it can get in trouble with Google. There are services that will monitor clicks for click fraud (repeated clicks from the same IP address being the most obvious). Some of them probably also offer a warning such as the one you saw. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-appear-to-be-abusing-our-search-engine-listing-huh/332469/16 "2005-11-24T02:58:04Z")
> [@Uvula Donor](#): > > Yep. Those ads, they sure are a great idea. They suuure arrrrrrrrrre. If you continue to have a problem with the administration of this board, which it constantly appears that you do, please put your complaints in the correct forum. Questions about the operation of the board go in this (ATMB) forum. Complaints belong in the BBQ Pit. But, I’m sure you knew this. **samclem** GQ moderator ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-appear-to-be-abusing-our-search-engine-listing-huh/332469/17 "2005-11-24T03:03:26Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > I don’t get it. How can you abuse a search engine? (An ad is one thing, but a search engine is just a mindless tool.) You can abuse a search engine listing by clicking it repeatedly. See the links above for more details. > [@](#): > > Whose search engine was it? Google’s. The listing is a part of Google’s [Adwords](https://adwords.google.com/select/) service. Advertisers pay for clicks on their sponsored listings in the Google search results. They can also choose to have their ads appear on the sites of subscribers (like the SDMB) to the [Adsense](https://www.google.com/adsense/) program. The clicks cost them the same amount (theoretically) no matter whether they come from Gmail, Google search results, a Google associate, or an Adsense member. > [@](#): > > Who’s “logging” your actions? Possibly nobody. Possibly a click-fraud prevention service. [http://www.adwatcher.com/?clickfraud](http://www.adwatcher.com/?clickfraud) ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-appear-to-be-abusing-our-search-engine-listing-huh/332469/18 "2005-11-26T00:19:49Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Questions about the operation of the board go in this (ATMB) forum. Fine, just tell us who is logging the “violation”. And if it isn’t the SDMB, does the SDMB in any way have access or control of said violation? ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-appear-to-be-abusing-our-search-engine-listing-huh/332469/19 "2005-11-26T22:39:52Z")
We have no control over Google Ads to speak of. Not staffers, and beyond a limited extent, not even the Reader. TubaDiva