Can I limit ads to non-members?

Giving visitors a reason to become members

[GaryK]

I've scoured the Google AdSense FAQ and TOS plus this site via Google until my eyes are blurry (maybe that's the problem ;)).

Is there any prohibition against only showing AdSense ads to website visitors who are not members of said website?

For example, the majority of visitors to the site are not paying members, they use just as much bandwidth as members do, but I'm not compensated for it in any way.

I want a way to continue to let non-members peruse the site while still getting some monetary compensation for it. AdSense seems like the perfect solution.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

~gary.

[div01]

If you have a seperate members section then sure, you could remove the ads if you like. You just have to careful not to imply that non-members can support the site by visting links, etc.

[GaryK]

Thanks.

What about stating members won't see the AdSense ads as an inducement to get them to join?

[novice]

Google allows you to place the ad on any page that does not violate their TOS, which are login pages, error pages or thank you pages.

That should not be a problem.

[novice]

"What about stating members won't see the AdSense ads as an inducement to get them to join?"

Why not just state that members pages are ad free and not mention AdSense at all.

[skipfactor]

You could write a cookie for members, then on an AdSense page, redirect to a non-AdSense (duplicate) page when cookie exists.

[GaryK]

Why not just state that members pages are ad free and not mention AdSense at all.

My site has already been approved for AdSense and I want to be certain I don't do anything to specifically get me in trouble with them.

[GaryK]

skipfactor, thanks but my pages are all dynamically generated so the AdSense code inclusion/exclusion will all be handled server-side. ;)

[novice]

"My site has already been approved for AdSense and I want to be certain I don't do anything to specifically get me in trouble with them."

That's why I said not to even mention adsense, you wrote: "What about stating members won't see the AdSense ads as an inducement to get them to join?"

I think mentioning AdSense specifically would be a mistake.

[europeforvisitors]

Yes, just say that members get ad-free pages. (Mind you, that may not be much of an incentive for people to join, since AdSense ads aren't nearly as intrusive as the interstitials and other annoying ad formats used on sites like Salon.com.)

[GaryK]

We're having a bit of a misunderstanding :)

Common courtesy dictates that I not single out AdSense. It's a good program and I don't want to disparage it in any way.

My only concern is whether using that form of inducement - even if I refer to ads generically - will get me in trouble with AdSense specifically.

[europeforvisitors]

My only concern is whether using that form of inducement - even if I refer to ads generically - will get me in trouble with AdSense specifically.

I can't imagine why it would, since it certainly wouldn't qualify as an incentive to click on ads, but your best bet is to e-mail AdSense Support if you want to be sure.