Forum Moderators: martinibuster
Here's my long story --> short:
Signed up with Google about 7 or 8 months ago. Accepted. No problems. I ran the google adsense ads when one of their people emailed me and asked me to take down the pop-ups. I believe they call this "obscuring" the ads. I did so, but since Google's ads didn't bring in nearly as much money as my pop-ups/invue ads (from Fastclick), I brought them back and took out Google.
Recently (yesterday, in fact) I went back to Google, signed in, to see if they had cancelled my account or what. Surprise, surprise. I'm still a member! This, after I haven't used their ads in about 5 months! Then, by accident, I ran across one of those webmaster affiliate reviews pages, and it had a Google ad, but it also had tons of pop-ups! I then read a review for Google on the site, and the guy mentioned that you just have to disable your pop-ups when you signed on, but that you could put them back later afterwards.
So I've done this. Reinstalled the Google codes with pop-ups still running in the background. (Pop-ups aren't really aggressive; they run once every 12 hours per person.)
What do people think? Will I get caught? Or has Google gone easy on pop-ups lately? I know their TOS is always changing as they evolve. I figure I'll use it until they tell me to take it down or whatnot.
You're mitaken if you think you can put the popups back once you're accepted? What kind of silly theory is that?
I had a few focusin popups that I had to get rid of to get accepted into google. And they accepted me saying - Google periodically checks sites for their quality guidelines... which means if they see your site with all those popups they're not going to be nice :P
BTW they told me the max popups were 2 per session but I think they've now increased it to 5!
Quote:
Pop-ups, pop-unders or exit windows that interfere with site navigation, obscure AdWords ads, change user preferences, or are for downloads. Other types of pop-ups, pop-unders, or exit windows may be allowed, provided that they do not exceed a combined total of 5 per user session
G
Suffice it to say that if you DO get caught, you may not get an advance warning. And if you get booted you may have lost the opportunity to use AdSense forever. That could conceivably end up being a very very very very expensive mistake.
My advice is to simply read the TOS and the Program Policies and the FAQ (all three!). Popups are allowed but there are limits to how many you can run.
I had a longer reply written out, but frankly I don't see why I should help you if you're blithely ignoring the terms of the program and asking "will I get caught?"
Why the combative tone? I'm just exploring an option and wished to get feedback from fellow webmasters who wishes to provide feedback. I certainly don't need feedback from someone who will take such great offense to my question.
You're mitaken if you think you can put the popups back once you're accepted? What kind of silly theory is that?
As I said, this was the theory on one of the websites, and he's had his adsense/pop-ups in place for months now. That's why the question was put -- to see if the theory held water -- i.e. if anyone else has done this.
I had a few focusin popups that I had to get rid of to get accepted into google. And they accepted me saying - Google periodically checks sites for their quality guidelines... which means if they see your site with all those popups they're not going to be nice :P
They did likewise to me. Told me to get rid of them when I signed up. But even if they were to cancel my account, it's just an account. I won't exactly run out, buy a gun, and shoot myself over it, if you know what I mean. :) I put it in to earn some extra money in addition to Fastclick and other affiliates. I wouldn't miss it if it went tomorrow, since it doesn't generate that much revenue for me.
BTW they told me the max popups were 2 per session but I think they've now increased it to 5!
So there you go! If this is true, then my lousy 1 pop-up/1 in-vue per 12/hour/person should in no way contradict their regulations, right?
Why the combative tone? I'm just exploring an option and wished to get feedback from fellow webmasters who wishes to provide feedback.
While I can't speak for jomaxx, AdSense revenue means so much to so many of us that we do our best to make sure it will be around for us as long as possible. Seeing someone openly contemplating violating their ToS is like watching someone brag in the high school hallway about the cheatsheet they used on their algebra test...after you worked your ass off the past few nights studying.
My personal feedback: Students who study get A's. And nice fat checks from Google.
EDIT: By the way, instead of asking us, why not ask Google? They won't kick you out for asking and at least this way you'll have peace of mind knowing you're safe.
While I can't speak for jomaxx, AdSense revenue means so much to so many of us that we do our best to make sure it will be around for us as long as possible. Seeing someone openly contemplating violating their ToS is like watching someone brag in the high school hallway about the cheatsheet they used on their algebra test...after you worked your ass off the past few nights studying.
"Cheating on Algebra in high school?"
It really pisses me off that you and jomaxx are treating me like I'm trying to sneak into your house, steal your lunch money, kick your cat, and throw your grandma out the window. I spent hours and days and weeks and months and going on years now building my website from the ground up, with 100s of pages of content, just like the rest of you.
And all I asked about was PUTTING ONE LOUSY POP-UP ON A PAGE WITH ADSENSE and the two of you turn it into some master criminal activity.
To hell with it.
A final thought: if you and jomaxx live with such utter mortal terror of losing your Google account, I'd suggest getting a back-up plan. God knows you both might jump out the window if they took away your precious account. Jesus H. Christ on a stick. Grow some balls, why doncha.
Perhaps they're using the combative tone because they (along with the vast majority of online surfers) hate popups. You may be getting a higher response rate for your page, but surfers probably have a lower opinion of sites with popups than sites without them. Monetary gain in the short term might mean monetary loss (i.e. fewer people willing to visit your site again) in the long term.
1. Think through the longterm consequences of your actions.
2. Read the program policies firsthand and try to bring your site into compliance, rather than relying on strangers to speculate on whether you'll get busted.
I spent hours and days and weeks and months and going on years now building my website from the ground up, with 100s of pages of content, just like the rest of you.
If you've 100s of pages of content I think google will work much better for you, if you give it time and proper tweaking.
When you signup and get accepted into Google you're getting into an agreement with them. It means you have to stick to their rules when you put their ads on their pages. Moreover google clearly states:
We also monitor sites after they begin running AdWords ads under this program. If a site is found to be in violation of our policies at any time, we will warn the publisher or suspend or terminate the account.
But since you're the kind who doesn't throw himself out of the window coz he got terminated from google I guess that doesn't matter much rite :P
G
