Criticism

Due to concerns about click fraud, Google AdSense has been criticized by some search engine optimization firms as a large source of what Google calls "invalid clicks", in which one company clicks on a rival's search engine advertisements to drive up the other company's costs.[15] Some publishers that have been blocked by Google complain that little justification or transparency was provided. Webmasters who publish AdSense can receive a life-long ban without justification.[citation needed] Google claims they cannot "disclose any specific details" on fraudulent clicks since it may reveal the nature of their proprietary click-fraud monitoring system.[16]

To help prevent click fraud, AdSense publishers can choose from a number of click-tracking programs. These programs display detailed information about the visitors who click on the AdSense advertisements. Publishers can use this to determine whether or not they have been a victim of click fraud. There are a number of commercial tracking scripts available for purchase.

The payment terms for webmasters have also been criticized.[17] Google withholds payment until an account reaches US$100,[18] but many small content providers[citation needed] require a long time—years in many cases—to build up this much AdSense revenue. These pending payments are recorded on Google's balance sheet as "accrued revenue share".[19] At the close of its 2006 fiscal year, the sum of all these small debts amounted to a little over US$370 million, money that Google is able to invest but effectively belongs to webmasters. However, Google will pay all earned revenue greater than US$10 when an AdSense account is closed.

Google recently came under fire when the official Google AdSense Blog showcased the French video website Imineo.com. This website violated Google's AdSense Program Policies by displaying AdSense alongside sexually explicit material.[20] Typically, websites displaying AdSense have been banned from showing such content.