Invalid traffic refers to any activity that does not reflect real user interest or intentional engagement. This type of activity can seriously impact your performance metrics, advertiser trust, and long-term earnings.
What Is Considered Invalid Traffic?
Invalid traffic can include, but is not limited to:
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Automated/Bot traffic: Visits or clicks generated by bots, scripts, or other non-human sources.
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Paid traffic manipulation: Acquiring traffic through services designed to generate clicks or impressions artificially. This does not include traffic generated from paid social media ad campaigns (i.e., Facebook, Instagram, etc), affiliate work, or sponsored traffic.
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Click spamming: Multiple or repeated clicks from the same user or coordinated group of users that do not represent genuine interest.
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Excessive Publisher-generated clicks: Any instance where a publisher clicks on their own ads, whether intentionally or unintentionally, without a legitimate intent to engage with the ad content.
Why Is This Important?
Engaging in or allowing invalid traffic practices can significantly distort performance metrics, creating a misleading picture of user engagement. Invalid traffic violates the Journey by Mediavine Terms of Service, advertising policies, and the trust of our partners. Use of Invalid Traffic can result in account suspension.
We reserve the right to withhold or adjust earnings that are determined to result from invalid traffic, including, but not limited to, non-human or otherwise fraudulent activity per our Terms of Service.
As such, all payments remain subject to change based on ongoing validation of traffic quality.
Best Practices to Avoid Invalid Traffic
- Monitor your traffic sources regularly and avoid questionable or low-quality acquisition channels.
- Educate all site collaborators about proper ad interaction and policy compliance.
- Use analytics tools to identify unusual patterns in traffic or engagement. Work with your host to resolve traffic you suspect is invalid.
- Avoid clicking on your own ads, even for testing purposes.
Maintaining high-quality, authentic traffic is essential for sustaining long-term revenue and fostering a transparent, trustworthy advertising environment.
For more information on Journey’s Publisher Policies, please visit this help article.