Adsense account disabled while awaiting initial approval?

[DiscoStu]

So we're developing a rather large project, and recently applied for an Adsense account. Currently our website just has our logo and says "Open Beta Coming Soon", and all of our content resides on a dev server as we're still coding etc. So today we received an "Adsense Account Disabled" email saying it "posed a significant risk to our Adwords advertisers". How could this be when we don't even have an account yet? Is it because the website wasn't fully launched yet? I also heard this email was part of a a phishing scam in October, but this looks legit (the sender is [e-mail])

[martinibuster]

Maybe it was triggered because there was no content.

[incrediBILL]

The sender isn't the problem if it's phishing, it's the reply-to address or links in the email.

[netmeg]

I suspect it's because your site had no content yet. A friend of mine had a very new site take off suddenly and he applied and got turned down, because he submitted the first page of his site (which said Coming Soon) and not the blog page which was loaded with content. Once he re-applied with the blog page, he was fine.

[DiscoStu]

Once he re-applied with the blog page, he was fine.

OK I will def try to do that, we should have it up very shortly. But what's worrying me is that the email did not say "Application Denied" as if the website wasn't up to par, it said "Account Disabled" citing that we're posing a significant risk to advertisers. That sounds like a bit firmer than a simple denial of our application, but I don't know...


The reply to address is also [e-mail] and there were no links other than to official Google Adsense support

[Lame_Wolf]

[e-mail]

Depending where you live, you may have to alter .com to whatever your Google is.

[DiscoStu]

[e-mail]

Thanks, that was just to show that the email seems to be a proper google email and not part of a phishing scam like the ones in October

[Lame_Wolf]

No problem, DiscoStu.
I've no idea why they bothered to send out something that we already knew. I guess one of the engineers went postal. ;)

[Green_Grass]

Why did you apply without a proper website up and running.. Shooting yourself in the foot..

[DiscoStu]

Why did you apply without a proper website up and running.. Shooting yourself in the foot

Because we need the adsense code to finalize the development. The page has a professional look, explaining that the open beta will launch soon...had a top notch designer create a logo and design the holding page. To get disabled for something like that is f-ing ridiculous - saying your application has been denied makes more sense. I have doubts that not having a finished website is the reason, an unfinished website is a threat to their advertisers? I think that's just the Google Paralysis talking...like how Adwords advertisers are afraid to log in to their accounts in fear of getting banned.

[netmeg]

The page has a professional look, explaining that the open beta will launch soon...had a top notch designer create a logo and design the holding page.

I can find a hundred MFA pages like that in Google in about a New York Minute. I'm sure it's very nice, but without content, it's just like all the others. So you probably fit the profile of a hundred million scammers and spammers that apply for AdSense every day. Finish your site and re-apply. And if I were you, I'd have a backup plan for monetization just in case.

[HuskyPup]

Because we need the adsense code to finalize the development.

Why? Create your own appropriately-sized boxes where you intend to put the ads.

Make sure you have a Privacy Policy, this is important.

I'm not a GoogleFanBoy however re-read and understand their T&Cs and remember this, it is their programme, not mine or WebmasterWorld's, therefore if you don't want to adhere to their, I feel, very easy to implement programme, then maybe it's not for you?