invalid traffic affecting  electronics channels on Youtube - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: strawberry
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2023, 01:02:13 pm
content: I think it is permanent and wont expire

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2023, 07:39:05 pm
content: Could you briefly summarize the issue please? I watched the beginning of the video, but the guy keeps referring to "the invalid traffic bug", assuming that everybody already knows what that is about. (In which case, why would one watch yet another video about it?)

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2023, 10:01:17 pm
content: I found thishttps://support.google.com/youtube/answer/10285842?hl=enIt seems youtube will demonetize channels which seem to receive "fake" traffic but some smaller channels are being charged with this when they are in fact innocent.yeah, I'm not watching a video.

author: strawberry
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2023, 11:16:21 pm
content: only way around is to start fresh 0does Youtube have support people for each category of content. that could bring help for niche category in some way

author: Cliff Matthews
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 24, 2023, 02:06:51 am
content: Another one.

author: EPAIII
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2023, 10:23:32 am
content: What exactly is invalid traffic?

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2023, 10:29:18 pm
content: Quote from: EPAIII on September 25, 2023, 10:23:32 amhttps://support.google.com/youtube/answer/10285842?hl=enQuoteKind of a classic issue where you can pay bots to view someone you hate and get them banned. More of an issue on smaller channels, as the cost to hire bots would be lower.Whether that is the case here, who knows.Turning off monetization might be an option but then it will also tank your views.

author: Veteran68
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2023, 01:38:44 pm
content: It's unfortunate for the smaller creators, many of whom depend on monetization for their livelyhood. Soren has stated that this has basically cost him his rent money (not that he'll be homeless, just a reference as to how much its costing him). He started another channel to start re-monetizing and it hit him on that new channel almost immediately (within days). LER was then hit shortly after, and now there's a flood of repair-related channels getting hit with this. I'm not fully bought into the conspiracy theory, but Soren is thinking it's an anti-repair movement either directly by Google, or a concerted effort by a 3rd party to sabotage repair channels. The latter seems more believable to me than a Google conspiracy. He just mentioned trying to rename his remaining surviving (so far) channel to remove any notion of "repair" from the channel name in case it's a targeted thing and see how long it stays monetized.Basically the creator is responsible for the bot traffic,even if they have no knowledge of it. So if I want to take down a channel for whatever reason (competition, politics, personal vendetta,...)? Point a bot network at the channel. Or DIY my own bots if I have the skills or resources to do so.YT's position on this so far has been extremely cold. They're defending their "analysis" of each channel but it makes no sense, and is coming to a head I think. At some point YT can't exist without the creators so it will begin to hurt their business model. I think they need to take this issue more seriously and give creators a bit more benefit of the doubt. At least give the creators an opportunity to respond to such a finding before taking action -- I'd say most guilty parties aren't going to make a big case of getting caught, because they know they're guilty and can just create a new channel and try again. These creators that have spent YEARS building a big following know not to risk it by cheating, so at least hear them out.

author: ledtester
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2023, 02:51:43 pm
content: Lon.TV offers that the following are likely related to the invalid traffic issue:- Google may have misled advertisers are about TrueView skippable in-stream ads:https://lon.tv/trueviewandhttps://lon.tv/trueviewanalysis- Kids are being tracked through "made for kids" videos:https://lon.tv/adcoppa- Youtube Shorts has done a lot to harm Youtube's ad revenueThe Likely Cause of Invalid Traffic Demonetization & YouTube's Silence with @FamilyTech​https://youtu.be/xGo0DqhHoEA

author: strawberry
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2023, 07:44:42 pm
content: If those extra views were from people that usually watch cat videos . there is not engagementdont they verify accounts (Youtube basically collect all data) ?? there must be some hundred deleted bot accounts , righttwo types of bots: earn cents per view and software (cluster of devices or plain code)some time ago interview about X(twitter) bot problem. some million troll bots attacking every day to overload servers or something like thatthis cat and mouse game is getting harder ( wont be permanent solution if it doesnt hurt pockets)

author: Cliff Matthews
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 30, 2023, 10:44:34 pm
content: Follow-up -> Richard (Learn Electronics Repair) seems to have worked this out.https://youtu.be/-GMohdc1GDw

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2023, 11:06:17 pm
content: Quote from: Cliff Matthews on September 30, 2023, 10:44:34 pmYeah, sorry, but the title says ihat he worked out what was happening, while the conclusion is just that he has noticed that his revenue has plummeted analyzing his stats and that he still has no clue why exactly nor how to fix it.So that's back to square one.

author: Cliff Matthews
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 01, 2023, 07:35:54 pm
content: Richard added more feedback today from consultation with viewers..https://youtu.be/YbcyQ3NuECo.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 01, 2023, 07:52:41 pm
content: At the end of the day, you as a creator use YouTube's services for free, and in return they give you money. So basically, you are not paying for anything, and they do not owe you anything, including loyalty.Put simply, this is a mug's game, and considered rationally, being a YouTube content creator is nothing more than a speculative venture, like gold prospecting or drilling for oil. You have no reasonable expectation that the oil will continue to flow.You should never expect to make your living from YouTube, nor even an important part of your income. It's just a bit of extra pocket money, a bonus that is nice while it lasts.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 01, 2023, 08:11:59 pm
content: Quote from: Cliff Matthews on October 01, 2023, 07:35:54 pmJust tried watching it but could only handle a few min. This guy has incredibly boring presentation style. Maybe his loss of revenue has to deal with his poor style more than anything else.

author: Veteran68
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 01, 2023, 09:53:04 pm
content: Quote from: Bud on October 01, 2023, 08:11:59 pmNah. This is happening all across YT at a pretty big scale. In fact Rich's views and subs are increasing while his revenue is decreasing. His channel has been steadily growing for some time. By this point I seriously doubt Rich is losing revenue due to viewer disengagement. It's almost certainly due to ad revenue loss because YT is demonetizing his videos due to the invalid traffic thing, as is happening with others.Rich does come off a bit awkward sometimes. Especially when he laughs, lol. But then so do a number of other popular creators. I still cringe through most of Eddie's videos from Kiss Analog. Eddie has far more engineering education and experience than Rich but is much more awkward in front of the camera IMO.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 01, 2023, 10:02:08 pm
content: The question I have is whether the ad revenue that is not redistributed to the Youtuber in this "invalid traffic" case still gets into YT's hands. This all looks rather opaque for now.But if this is the case, then it would look like scam.