What is incentivized traffic, and when is it a problem for advertisers?
Part of MFA avoidance
The short answer
Incentivized traffic is visits, ad views or clicks people make because they were offered a reward, such as points, game currency or extra articles. Disclosed, opt in rewarded ads are an accepted format. Google's AdSense policies prohibit paid to surf and paid to click schemes. For buyers the test is disclosure: who was rewarded, and whether it was declared.
Key takeaways
- The Media Rating Council counts users compensated for visiting as purchased traffic, which measurement firms must report separately where it is known.
- Disclosed reward programs are valid ad activity under MRC rules, while organized incentivized activity meant to manipulate measurement is sophisticated invalid traffic.
- Google allows rewarded ads only with clear disclosure, an opt in and limits on rewards, and bans paid to click and paid to surf programs.
- A site whose audience arrives mainly for a reward elsewhere shows the paid traffic trait the trade groups tie to made-for-advertising inventory.
What is incentivized traffic?
Definition
- Incentivized traffic
- Visits, ad views or clicks produced because a person was offered something of value for them, by the publisher, an app or a third party, rather than because the person sought out the content.
The Media Rating Council's June 2020 invalid traffic addendum (opens in a new tab) addresses the subject directly. It defines purchased traffic as traffic redirected from properties other than those owned by the entity acquiring the traffic or otherwise incentivized activity (users compensated for visiting). In the MRC's scheme, then, a visitor paid in points to open a page is purchased traffic even if a real person clicked.
Incentives reach advertising in two different places. Some reward the ad itself: a person agrees to watch a video in exchange for an extra life in a game or access to an article. Others reward the visit: a third party pays people to open pages, and the pages happen to carry ads. The first is a disclosed ad format. The second changes who is on the site and why.
| Form | What the person is rewarded for | How standards and platforms treat it |
|---|---|---|
| Rewarded ad formats | Choosing to view an ad, for an in app or on site benefit | Allowed by Google with disclosure and an opt in; flagged in OpenRTB bid requests with the rwdd field |
| Disclosed reward programs | Visiting or engaging, with the reward stated up front | MRC: a subset of valid ad activity, reported apart when known |
| Paid to surf, autosurf and click exchanges | Viewing pages or clicking ads to earn credit or money | Prohibited under AdSense policy as artificial impressions or clicks |
| Click farms and directed human activity | Organized clicks or views on instruction | MRC: incentivized human invalid activity, a form of sophisticated invalid traffic |
How is incentivized traffic different from fraud?
The line runs through disclosure and intent, not through whether a human is involved. The MRC addendum lists incentivized human invalid activity among sophisticated invalid traffic, with a footnote naming click farms where non-robotic activity can be determined to be organized and directed across multiple users or machines. The same footnote excludes disclosed self-directed activity without the express purpose of manipulating measurement such as reward programs, and says such activity when known, should be considered discretely for reporting as a subset of valid ad activity.
Google draws a similar line for publishers. Its AdSense page on traffic exchange programs (opens in a new tab) says the policies strictly prohibit any means of artificially generating ad impressions or clicks, naming paid-to-click, paid-to-surf, auto-surf, and click-exchange programs, because these programs offer incentives for users to view pages or click on ads. Google's list of reasons accounts are closed for invalid traffic (opens in a new tab) includes using an incentivized traffic source as its own heading, separate from bot traffic.
Why does incentivized traffic matter for site quality?
A visitor who arrives to collect a reward is there for the reward. The page's articles may never be read, and the ads beside them reach someone waiting for credit to land. That is a quality problem even when the impressions are valid. The trade groups' 2023 definition of made-for-advertising sites (opens in a new tab) lists a high percentage of paid traffic sourcing among its five traits and states that buying paid traffic is the primary cost driver of operating an MFA business.
Incentives are one way to buy that traffic. Our page on traffic arbitrage covers the wider practice of buying visits through sponsored links and search ads. What sets incentivized traffic apart is that the visitor is paid, directly or in kind, so engagement numbers such as time on page can look healthy for reasons that have nothing to do with the content.
How can a buyer detect incentivized traffic?
No single test finds it, because the reward can be offered somewhere other than the site that receives the visit. Detection combines the bid request, the measurement report, the site itself and questions to the seller.
Five checks for incentivized traffic on a candidate site
- Read the rewarded flag in the bid request. The OpenRTB 2.6 specification (opens in a new tab) defines rwdd in the Imp object, which indicates whether the user receives a reward for viewing the ad, where 0 = no, 1 = yes.
- Ask the measurement partner for the purchased traffic segment. Under the MRC addendum, where purchased traffic is known, measurement organizations must present it as its own segment at least at campaign level granularity, and report unknown sourcing where a determination cannot be made.
- Ask the publisher for traffic by source. Google describes a traffic segmentation plan (opens in a new tab) in which publishers set up ad units and custom channels and use analytics to compare sources, so a serious publisher can answer the question.
- Open the site the way a rewarded visitor would. Look for reward prompts, point counters, timers that unlock credit and links back to reward portals.
- Search for the domain on reward and paid to surf offers. A site listed as a task in an earning program is receiving visitors who were paid to arrive.
Questions for a seller about incentivized traffic
- Does any share of the site's traffic come from reward, loyalty or earning programs, and is it declared?
- Are rewarded ad placements flagged with rwdd = 1 in bid requests, and offered in separate deals?
- Can the publisher show traffic by source for the last full month?
- Does the seller's measurement partner report a purchased traffic segment for this inventory?
- Will the seller agree to remove undeclared incentivized traffic from the deal and say so in writing?
Should incentivized traffic be excluded?
Disclosed rewarded formats are a choice, not a violation. Google's AdSense rules for rewarded inventory (opens in a new tab) require clear, accurate and conspicuous disclosure of the action(s) required and reward(s) offered, an opt in before the ad for all formats except rewarded interstitials, which need a visible no option, and an ad that does not oblige users to interact with it. They also say direct monetary items may not be offered as rewards under any circumstance, and discounts or vouchers for physical items must not exceed 25% of the item's value. Ad Manager's guide to rewarded ads for web (opens in a new tab) says the experience allows users to voluntarily opt in to an ad experience in exchange for a reward, and that the display must be in view for at least 7 seconds for a reward to be granted.
Buyers can choose either side. Display & Video 360's user-rewarded content targeting (opens in a new tab) offers User-rewarded content and Not user-rewarded content as options, for video ads. Undeclared paid visits are a different matter: they hide the reason people are on the page, and they belong out of the plan under the written policy set out on the MFA avoidance hub.
| What the review found | Suggested action | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Opt in rewarded video, flagged in the bid, reward stated on screen | Include or exclude by campaign goal, as a separate line or deal | A disclosed format; the brand decides whether it fits |
| Declared reward program traffic, reported as its own segment | Review with the client; cap or exclude if the goal is reaching readers | Valid activity, but the audience came for the reward |
| Site listed on earning or paid to surf offers, nothing declared | Exclude the domain and record the offer found | Undeclared purchased traffic should be considered for filtration |
| Reward prompts that hide the opt out or pay cash | Exclude and tell the seller | Outside Google's stated rules for rewarded inventory |
What does an incentivized traffic review look like on a real brief?
Fictional example
A window replacement company's display plan in Illinois
A fictional window replacement and patio door company serving Chicago, Naperville and Peoria asks its agency for English display beside home improvement, energy saving and local news content. The brief asks for readers, so the planner screens the candidate list for incentivized traffic before the deal is built.
One home tips site carries deep engagement in the seller's sample report. Opening it, the planner finds a point counter in the corner of each article and a banner linking to a reward portal. A search for the domain shows it listed as a daily task in an earning program, with no mention of this in the seller's materials. The site goes to the exclusion list with the offer recorded.
A regional home magazine on the list runs an opt in rewarded video that unlocks a premium buying guide, flagged as rewarded in its bid requests. The client accepts the format but wants it reported apart, so the planner keeps the magazine and asks the seller for a deal without rewarded placements.
How does PlacementGraph look for paid traffic on a site?
Frequently asked questions
Is rewarded video the same as incentivized traffic?
Not quite. Rewarded video rewards the ad view inside a site or app the person chose to use, and OpenRTB flags it with rwdd. Incentivized traffic in the MRC's sense rewards the visit itself, so the person may have no interest in the site. A buyer can accept the first and still exclude the second.
Does Google allow cash rewards for watching ads?
Not on AdSense rewarded inventory. Google's rules say direct monetary items may not be offered as rewards under any circumstance, and rewards must be non-transferable. Indirect or non-monetary items are allowed when they are redeemable only within the publisher's own platform, website or app.
Who has to declare incentivized traffic?
Several parties carry part of it. Google requires publishers to disclose the action and reward before a rewarded ad. The MRC requires measurement organizations to segment purchased traffic where it is known and to report unknown sourcing. Buyers can add the duty to declare reward traffic to their deal terms.
Can a well known publisher still receive incentivized visits?
Yes. A third party can list a site as a task in an earning program without the publisher arranging it. The MRC rule concerns the traffic: undeclared purchased traffic should be considered for filtration. It does not judge the publisher, so ask the seller before excluding an established site, and record the answer.
Sources
- Invalid Traffic Detection and Filtration Standards Addendum, June 2020 Update (Final) (opens in a new tab)Media Rating Council
- About traffic exchange programs (opens in a new tab)Google AdSense Help
- Top invalid traffic and policy violations that lead to account closure (opens in a new tab)Google AdSense Help
- Policies for ad units that offer rewards (opens in a new tab)Google AdSense Help
- Traffic rewarded ads for web (opens in a new tab)Google Ad Manager Help
- User-rewarded content targeting (opens in a new tab)Google Display & Video 360 Help
- Set up a traffic segmentation plan (opens in a new tab)Google AdSense Help
- OpenRTB 2.6 specification (opens in a new tab)IAB Tech Lab
- Leading Trade Groups Define “Made For Advertising” Websites (opens in a new tab)ANA, with the 4A's, WFA and ISBA, September 26, 2023
Researched and written by PlacementGraph Research. Read how we research, source and update these pages. Corrections: diana@placementgraph.com.