  We analyze the properties of the contact process with long-range interactions
by the use of a kinetic ensemble in which the total number of particles is
strictly conserved. In this ensemble, both annihilation and creation processes
are replaced by an unique process in which a particle of the system chosen at
random leaves its place and jumps to an active site. The present approach is
particularly useful for determining the transition point and the nature of the
transition, whether continuous or discontinuous, by evaluating the fractal
dimension of the cluster at the emergence of the phase transition. We also
present another criterion appropriate to identify the phase transition that
consists of studying the system in the supercritical regime, where the presence
of a "loop" characterizes the first-order transition. All results obtained by
the present approach are in full agreement with those obtained by using the
constant rate ensemble, supporting that, in the thermodynamic limit the results
from distinct ensembles are equivalent.
