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On internet marketing forums, you can often read people claiming that they got banned from Google AdSense without any reason. But does that really make sense? Isn’t it Google’s business model and own interest to have active publishers?
Well, I can’t fully answer this question. I truly believe that in some occasions people get banned from AdSense by accident, e.g. their visitors trigger the click fraud detection system. That being said, I believe that the majority did indeed violate AdSense’s policy, maybe without even knowing. Therefore, I present you 15 reasons why your AdSense could have been banned:
1. Clicking on your own ads
It’s not allowed to click on your own ads, even if you are “just testing”. It might be tempting to make a quick buck with just one click, but you have to consider the long-term value that comes with having an active AdSense account.
2. Automated or bot traffic
Fake traffic generated by bots, other software or scripts is not tolerated. Be extremely careful when you are buying traffic. Maybe you don’t use these tools, but the person you are buying traffic from does.
3. Incentive traffic
Click exchange, paid-to-click and similar programs that generate clicks or views against incentives are forbidden.
4. Manipulating how ads are displayed
You are not allowed to place ads into IFRAME code. Additionally, some people might feel the urge to use JavaScript for opening the ads in a new window etc. Better don’t do it. Just use the editor und then copy & paste the code from your AdSense account into your website’s code.
5. Encouraging visitors to click on ads
“Support my site by clicking on these ads”, “Click on this ad! 50% is donated to charity”. Stuff like this is strictly forbidden. Don’t beg visitors to click on your ads. They will click anyway if you have a good website that displays ads related to the topic.
6. Tricking users with ad placement
It’s not permitted to make the ads look like they would be part of the navigation or other website structure. This will lead people to click without knowing that they are clicking on an ad. Also, the ads must be clearly visible (no white text on white background 😉 ) and have a standard size.
7. AdSense ads in software
It’s not allowed to include AdSense ads in your desktop and mobile applications. If you are developing mobile applications and want to include ads, you can use Google AdMob.
8. Adult content on your site
Google states AdSense is a “family-safe” network. Nudity, pornography and even “sexually suggestive” (e.g. people posing in lingerie) content is forbidden. You are not even allowed to link to these kind of sites. Don’t think that you can get around that with using texts, erotic stories and descriptions are forbidden as well.
9. Sexual health advice
Dear Google, please don’t make me rank for the keyword phrase above. Thanks. 😀
I did not put this under “adult content” as I, in contrast to Google, don’t think that it is obviously belonging there. Google does not want your site to give “sexual health advice related to pregnancy, childbirth, or family planning“. Additionally, you can’t discuss STDs or provide advice on improving sexual activities. How sad is that!
10. Crude language
Crude or profane language is not acceptable. Well, this means ProfitArmy.com will stay AdSense-free forever 😀
11. Copyright infringement
Hurting copyrights could get you banned. Make sure you have the rights for the material (pictures, videos, texts etc.) on your website. It’s also a violation if you just IFRAME another website instead of copying content from there. Be careful, it is also not allowed to link to sites hurting copyright.
12. User-generated content that violates the policy
Maybe your content does not violate any rules, but you let users contribute content to your site. You have to be careful with publishing such content automatically, as it could break the rules and get you punished.
13. Quality of content
Make sure you provide content of good quality. Don’t overuse keywords or try to use unrelated keywords for tricking AdSense ad display (e.g. stuffing keywords of the financial niche in your text about rabbits). In general, AdSense wants your site to fulfill the Webmaster Quality Guidelines.
14. Giving the ads a wrong label
You are not allowed to write something like “Our Partners:” above an ad block. The advertisers are not the partners of us publishers! Most won’t even know our websites.
15. Prohibited website content
Besides adult content, content about the following topics is forbidden:
- Violence/Racism
- Weapons
- Gambling (forbidden in some countries, fine for others)
- Counterfeit goods
- Illegal Drugs, Alcohol, Tobacc
- Hacking, Cracking
However, there are many exceptions. Most of the time it is okay to provide general information about these topics. If you are operating in one of those niches I highly recommend you to check out the prohibited content policy in detail.
Banned from Google AdSense! What should I do?
Every AdSense user is scared of seeing this appearing in the inbox:
Getting Google to reopen an AdSense account is not impossible, but very hard. If you want to try it, you have to fix the issue that got you banned and then try to convice Google to reconsider their decision. You can appeal a policy violation here.
If you have no idea why you got banned it will be much harder, but in this case there is no other option left then expressing that you don’t know what mistake you made. This blogger could get his AdSense account back with an appeal.
If all this doesn’t work you could start a new website (officially) managed by someone else. This person can then register an AdSense account, receive the payment and send it to you. This is not what Google wants people to do and might leads to trouble. Therefore, I recommend switching to an AdSense alternative instead.
You could use these Google AdSense alternatives:
Your AdSense account is active (again)? You should protect your AdSense account from hackers.
Has your AdSense account been banned? Please share your story in the comments.
I see a lot of people complaining about getting booted out of Adsense, and some wondering if it’s common practice. Google wants partners for a long time and if you are trying to stay within the guidelines you shouldn’t have a problem. If you do get banned by Adsense, it is worth appealing. If you’re not screwing about, you can get your account reinstated and funds returned. Just don’t do anything stupid. 🙂