As recent press brings more and more new writers flocking to eHow, there is a lot of misinformation floating around in the groups and private messages.   Some of it is newbies innocently trying to help one another out, while some of this information is being passed on by unscrupulous, experienced eHowers trying to get unknowing newbies to boost their income. The informatin circulating is basically: “We get revenue from ads that are clicked on our article pages. Click on my ads, and I’ll click on yours.  Everyone wins.”

The Truth

So, will asking friends to click on your Google Adsense ads (or clicking on your own) increase your income.  Yes.  It will.  But only temporarily.  Within a very short amount of time, eHow and Google will swoop down and take away your account.   So while your pending income will increase, you’ll probably never see that money in your bank account or hands, because the powers that be are savvy and swift.

Clicking on ads (your own or  your friends’) with the intention of increasing income is considered click fraud.   Click fraud is serious, and can result in suspension of your account.  One of eHow’s top earners lost his own private Adsense account when he had his mother (who lived in another town) clicking on his ads.    eHow and Google share the view that click fraud is stealing.  Protect your career and residual income by being an honest writer and person.

How Can Google Tell?

The truth is, nobody knows how Google knows if you ask a friend to click on the Adsense ads that appear under and alongside your articles.   But they do know.   Google has secret algorithms that enable them to know how many ads the average internet user clicks on, on any given day, week, month and year.   That isn’t how many ads on eHow, but how many ads over all, while using the internet.

Some people who think they can out-smart the Google machine have suggested clearing your cookies or changing your IP address each time you log on to click ads.  Google already thought of that.  They are able to pinpoint which computers are generating clicks (yes, even if you change your IP address or clear your cookies).  (Google didn’t become the powerhouse they are by being sloppy and letting people cheat them out of money.)

eHow Ad Clicking Groups and PMs

There are “ad clicking” groups on eHow, asking/requiring members to click on one another’s ads, to increase everyone’s income.   Stay away from these groups.  Don’t let members suck you in with promises that they’ve beat the system, and nobody will get caught.  Many have already gotten caught, and it’s just a matter of time before the others are caught.

You may receive PMs (private messges) from members asking that you read, rate, comment, and click on their article ads.  (Some abbreviate this “RRCC.”)   If you receive one of these, ignore the message.