contacting adsense

is it really this bad?

[diddlydazz]

jump through a few hoops and still you can't actually email adsense.

anybody have a real contact email?

cheers

diddlydazz

<added> am i missing something?</added>

[Lame_Wolf]

They have gone downhill over the last few years.
There was once a time where you could email them and have a real coversation with them.

Now, it's an automated message that never gives you an answer - rather, they tell you to go to their Google Groups - which is a waste of time as it is cluttered with people who do not read the TOS or just plain dumb.

Even the phishing dept are dumb. I forwarded them a phished email, just for them to tell me that is was a phished email. Well, Duh !

[diddlydazz]

it seems that way lame_wolf

we have earnt well over a million dollars since we joined adsense, you would think that they would at least facilitate a way for us to get in touch with them!

over all the years we have had no reason to contact them, now we do i realise it is not that easy!

i am a bit (read very) surprised at the lack of contact

cheers

diddlydazz

[Lame_Wolf]

What pissed me off most was they had a cheek to send me a "how well did we do" email a few days later. Needless to say, I did not give them high marks.

Well done for earning a million dollars. I hope that is USD and not ZWD ;

[londrum]

what bugs me is their multiple choice-type thing that they've got when you click on the help link. you drill down through all the questions only to find your answer is not there.
i emailed them once asking for further help, explaining that i tried the multiple choice thing and the answer wasn't there, and all i got was an automated reply two weeks later suggesting that i try and find the answer using their multiple choice thing. waste of time.

[HuskyPup]

These use to work, no idea if they still do:

adsense-support [at] google.com

adsense-uk [at] google.com

[diddlydazz]

Well done for earning a million dollars

that is over a long period of time! but cheers!

what bugs me is their multiple choice-type thing

hence my reference to hoops londrum, very frustrating!

HuskPup

thanks for those, will give them a try.

Diddlydazz

[IanCP]

I forwarded them a phished email, just for them to tell me that is was a phished email. Well, Duh!

I just love sites which do that especially when you think you're being a responsible netizen. Oz banks take them very seriously though ss does PayPal.

[purplecape]

Re the phished email response--I really do think that's a reasonable reply, since there are a lot of people who might contact them to find out whether a particular email IS a phishing email or is legit. Was there something else they should have said?

You can assume they made use of the email internally.

[Lame_Wolf]

Re the phished email response--I really do think that's a reasonable reply, since there are a lot of people who might contact them to find out whether a particular email IS a phishing email or is legit. Was there something else they should have said?

Er, no. I wrote to them, telling them it was a phished email and gave them the header details as well. I already knew what it was, so I didn't need them to tell me.

[johnnie]

I think google's support department is just flooded with (mainly young) people asking why their mesothelioma/phentermine site got banned.

Google's biggest mistake in my opinion is that they made the adsense program way too accessible. I'm sure we've all seen the teen trying to get clicks by obsessively demanding his visitor to 'click here!'. Or the unknowing naive guy trying to make a buck by giving people some form of credit for clicking adsense. People that join adsense often have no grasp of the responsibility they have towards advertisers and google alike. In many cases, there's not even malevolence involved; people simply don't think about or understand where the money comes from. They build a website and the money appears on their account, no questions asked. And since Google was so easy in letting them in, that's all they think they need to know. It is these people, the uneducated people that still see adsense as a get-rich-quick scheme, that are keeping Google's adsense team busy around the clock.

I for one would welcome a much, much tougher stance on adsense applicants, although even that would still leave a lot of chaff to be separated. At least, it might give G some breathing room in the future. Which in turn, might give us the support we so desire. What adsense needs, is premium status. With that will come premium support.

[purplecape]

So, Lamewolf, what did you need them to tell you? Did you want no response at all? But then you wouldn't have known for sure that you got it? Count their email as a confirmation and leave it at that. Boilerplate responses aren't all bad, if that's all the staffer has time for.

[Lame_Wolf]

So, Lamewolf, what did you need them to tell you? Did you want no response at all? But then you wouldn't have known for sure that you got it? Count their email as a confirmation and leave it at that. Boilerplate responses aren't all bad, if that's all the staffer has time for.

Well purplecape, a thank you would be enough, or nothing at all. Not a bolierplate response as you call it.

Leave it at that ?... well, I never bothered them again with phished emails. Good enough for you ?

[wyweb]

I haven't had to contact them in several years... I guess it's been about 4 years now.

When I did, they responded within days and gave me concise, accurate help.

The times they are a-changin'...

[Lame_Wolf]

wyweb, 24 Apr 2006 was the last time for me.

[Scurramunga]

Even the phishing dept are dumb. I forwarded them a phished email, just for them to tell me that is was a phished email. Well, Duh !

Yes don't you just love that. Been there, done something similar.

Google boilerplate responses remind me of a scene from one of the old Robocop movies where the haywire Robocop says: "Thank you for not smoking" after firing a barrage of shots at a smoking man standing directly under a 'No Smoking' sign.

Now, it's an automated message that never gives you an answer - rather, they tell you to go to their Google Groups

If you have been around WebmasterWorld Adsense forums for a while, I'm sure you would have heard the phrase "set and forget". It must mean they (Google) set and then they forget.

[spaceylacie]

I went to one of the webmasterworld conferences a few years back and got the email addresses for 2 Google Adsense employees. I still keep in contact with one of the googlers I met there. Any problem and I just contact him personally at *********@google.com.

Maybe consider attending a conference and rubbing a few elbows. If you are a male, also consider a gender change, get in great shape, wear skimpy clothing and you'll have all the free personal support via email that you need. ;-)

[spaceylacie]

"anybody have a real contact email?"
I do.

Simple enough answer for those who want to critique my responses to actual questions posed? I won't mention any names.

[explorador]

When I first signed up for Adsense I had real feedback in two days, human response, very kind. Since then... only automated emails (if any) and standard answers quoting things I can find on their documents online... so nothing new.

johnnie wrote:

Google's biggest mistake in my opinion is that they made the adsense program way too accessible. I'm sure we've all seen the teen trying to get clicks by obsessively demanding his visitor to 'click here!'. Or the unknowing naive guy trying to make a buck by giving people some form of credit for clicking adsense.

I totally agree. They must be too busy dealing with "I was banned but I swear it wasn't me, please please please forgive me"

[wyweb]

If you are a male, also consider a gender change, get in great shape, wear skimpy clothing and you'll have all the free personal support via email that you need. ;-)

LOL.. no doubt.

If you're a fat middle aged bald guy like me you better have a legitimate beef though...