Forum Moderators: martinibuster
I did a search to see if it happened to anyone else and this forum turned up.
I did some research, turns out google was right. A friend of mine clicked on ads on my computer while he was using it to "help me out".
Several people I know who live here on campus clicked ads on my site as well.
I made the mistake of checking my account several times a day from any computer I could find.
As far as I can tell, my site was responsible for invalid clicks, but they occurred without my knowledge.
I understand that google bans accounts to protect advertisers, but do they have an appeal process?
I sent an email about my discoveries to them (replying to the email they sent). I am hoping that I get a second chance, but I doubt it.
Just wanted to share my story...thanks.
Unfortunately, they don't have an appeals process. You can email them but don't be surprised if you get a canned reply.
There are one or two alternatives to Adsense that you could try but both your site and you are tagged at the 'plex and they are unlikely to reopen an account in the near future. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
However, it is great to see someone NOT flat out blaming google.
It is a breath of fresh air - I hope for your sake you get your account back. :)
After reading alot of these threads, it seems like many users get banned.
The funny part is I wasn't even making much money off of adsense. I won't violate google's TOS, but I will tell you it was barely worth my time.
I respect google's point of view, but I think we can all agree they are quite Draconian in their approach. I guess that have to be to keep their system intact.
Thanks again guys...if I get an appeal I'll let everyone know.
it seems like many users get banned.
No, you just only see threads like this when it happens that's all. Relative to the scale of the program I'm sure the bans are a tiny percentage.
Your honesty and objectivity is refreshing though. Something we rarely see on these types of thread. I would say you have exactly the right attitude to get you reinstated and wish you luck with that, if it's at all possible.
TJ
You are probably right.
I have to say that Google does a great job instilling fear into people. I mean think about how many of those threads you see and about the amount of people who assume it can happen to them.
What are alternatives to adsense?
Can anybody give me some input on them?
Ditto to everyone's 'breath of fresh air' comments. I have never used AdSonar myself, but I know many who have and their experiences vary. Some report a fraction of AdSense earnings, others swear it has a much higher yield than AdSense. Like with Overture vs. AdSense, this will depend on how competitive your site's topic is on Sonar. You would be surprised how much it can differ between the two. I am not sure if Sonar has a research utility like AdWords for you to check what bids are, but I know someone on here will have more info.
