Drastic drop in AdSense click through rate (CTR) from "Visit Site" button on mobile ad clicks

Question

Google suddenly started showing a "Visit Site" button when a user clicks on my ads on my mobile site. This forces the user to click a second time to leave my site via the ad.

Google has said that they are doing this to prevent accidental clicks. Google is identifying sites with AdSense that need this button and applying it to most if not all mobile clicks on ads from the site.

When Google implements this, CTRs drop drastically. Even most users that want to click on an ad don't want to have to click twice. I experienced a 79% drop in mobile CTR on June 5, 2018 when Google decided to put this button on the mobile ads on my site. I've removed the actual numbers from the following graph per AdSense policy about not sharing stats about your ads.

There are lots of other people that are having this issue as well. Many others started seeing the problem in February 2018.

• Google Product Forums: Sudden Drop of CTR 90% in 3 days
• WebmasterWorld Forum: "Visit Site"/Double Click"

What can be done about this? How can I change my site such that Google doesn't think it needs this second click on mobile ads?

Answer 1

I think my response is little late:)

For all people who faced the double click penalty, sudden drop on page CTR, sudden drop on earning; you must change ad placement and ad block with new one because the google robot has detected a fraudulent click on your website.

What to do after changes, nothing ! Just wait from 1 to three weeks and your website will be recovered.

Good Luck.