Google AdSense ad serving has been disabled

Not what you want in your inbox...

[m0thman]

I received one of these emails tonight. My site covers a wide variety of topics and has user forums. As it happens the URL they gave me was a visitor post that hadn't been caught by the filters or picked up manually. The page in question was perhaps borderline and did attract some stupid comments but the question is, how can you be sure that there isn't something else lurking out there that will get you into trouble one day. With thousands of comments posted every week it's difficult to catch them all and the 'mature content' thing is quite a grey area. For example, is talking about alcohol free beer a mature subject?

I've been in the AdSense business since about 2005 and always tried to make sure things are clean and this time I got burnt. Interestingly enough, ad serving hasn't been disabled site wide yet - perhaps that takes time to kick in. Anyway I've completely removed the page and all related comments and can't think of anything else that might be a problem. Here's hoping.... I'd hate to have to get a 9-5 again.

[zoltan]

How much you were making? Hundreds, thousands? Sorry about your trouble.

[m0thman]

I'm not sure if you're allowed to say, needless to say I could live on what I made. Had to be a bit careful, but I could eat, provide a roof and to some degree enjoy myself without going to an office (or a warehouse) every day.

[m0thman]

Why is it when ad serving has been disabled that your traffic goes throught the roof?

[fearlessrick]

I just got the same notice and fixed what I believe was the issue (one stupid little ad) and posted to the thread in the Google help section. I must admit to being a bit upset at Google just going ahead and disabling adserving without any prior notice.

I have been doing roughly the same thing for five years, and today they decide that I'm not in compliance? It's really unfair, and me, being no big fan of Big Brother-type companies am not going to just sit back and take it. Fortunately, I have other streams of income, though Adsense is the largest. If they don't reinstate me shortly, I will find a suitable replacement.

I mean, seriously, is that any way to treat a customer in good standing with a 5+ year track record? Maybe this is my wake-up call. If so, I'm more than ready to move on.

If it's a bad policy decision on their part, I'd like them to move quickly to correct it, but I'm by no means holding my breath.

And, of course, I'm having a record month for traffic and revenue. Why do people have to screw with you when everything is going just fine?

[Lapizuli]

fearlessrick,

I see a Google ad near the top of your site. Have they reinstated it or just not turned them off yet?

[fearlessrick]

Not turned off yet. And I'm having a banner day. Probably crediting all the ads they blocked. I'm pissed. Been doing the same thing for five years and today they just shut it off. BS. Not going to take it. Tomorrow I will be firing off emails to every Google address I can find and posting my complaints on their forums.

What about this month's earnings? Will I get those? Why should I have to wonder? I will be on their case early and often until this matter is resolved and I either have adsense running on my site as it was or I'm through with them. I have paid advertisers in the "gambling" space and there are adwords ads galore for "free picks", "best info" (wink, wink) and so forth. It's a totally hypocritical attitude and without any warning is unconscionable.

I can't see doing anything but hounding them until it's resolved one way or the other.

[fearlessrick]

And why don't we have an AdSense Advisor. Can't the "Don't be evil" company afford to have some people dedicated to publishers. Do we not count for anything?

I am so sick and tired of having big corporations dictate to us, I want to puke all over my keyboard. It's not just G, it's Time Warner cable, your utility company, the telcos, the taxing authorities, the government. No wonder the US and global economies are in the sh--ter, the greed knows no bounds and they're squeezing the life out of the middle class.

I've had it.

[m0thman]

Fearlessrick, I'd calm down a bit there a bit. Shouting the odds at Google ain't going to achieve anything and might just cause heels to be dragged. No one owes an AdSense publisher a living.

Feel for you though, it's been nearly two months now for me and lifestyle changes have been made whilst I patiently wait. Make sure you've ticked the boxes and submitted the appeal form, then take a number and hang in there.

[fearlessrick]

Kenny, maybe you have the patience to wait two months while some corporation determines your future. I don't. I'm not about to cower from the Google god because they serve ads to my site and pay me a pittance.

I've always felt that I was getting less than what my site was worth from G, so maybe now it's time for them to either stop the nonsense or hit the road.

This situation is just another example of what's wrong with this world. Too many people falling under the thumb of the corporate-government complex.

It's absurd to think that they have the power to just shut you down whenever they see fit without warning and without recourse. If any of us tried operating that way, we'd be out of business within a month.

Personally, I've had about enough of corporations and governments dictating how we should run our lives. The sooner we break free from the shackles which bind us, the better.

Google scrapes our sites for content, makes $$billions off the ads surrounding the SERPs, offers us a small share in return and holds a gun to our heads all along. I'm sorry, but I simply can't live that way.

Obey the rules, follow the herd. That road leads right to the slaughterhouse. Somebody needs to stand up for the publishers. Without us, there would be no Google, no Bing, none of this nonsense.

I did nothing wrong. I've been doing the same thing for five years, but yesterday, Google just feels like I've violated their terms. It's unfair, and very poor business practice.

If they don't fix this today, I'll start making changes to improve MY lot. I'm sure they'll get along fine without me.

[fearlessrick]

Hey, I had an ongoing conversation with Gracie over on the "help" site. All she did was point out numerous instances which she felt were violations. What an absolute waste of my time. Obviously, she's drunk on the Google Kool-aid.

With all her comments hanging out there, I'm convinced my account will be suspended or cancelled, so, after five+ years, I guess all I can say is that it was a nice ride.

Lesson learned, again. Big corporations could give a rat's behind about you or your business. I am still waiting for the ads to begin disappearing and then I can start selling those PRIME SPOTS for REAL MONEY and keeping ALL the revenue, and not having to wait for Google to pony up the dough.

Like it says in the Bible or somewhere. When a door is closed, a window is opened. I'm actually comfortable with whatever decision they make, though I'm not waiting 10, 30 or 60 days to find out. They'll do whatever they see fit, and I'll be fine with it, expecting the worst.

The truth of it is that Google provides about 1/5th of my revenue. I can probably replace that with about two days of solid marketing. Yes, I know it's work, but maybe Google was making me fat and lazy, just like animals being led to slaughter. Oh, the irony.

Quoting Martin Luther King, "Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

[fearlessrick]

Well, just to update, spent most of my morning dealing with this, and ads are still running. My main cncern is whether or not I'll receive payment for September ads as I was having a banner (no pun intended) month.

Whatever the case, discovered that I am already signed into another network (and probably a few more which I've forgotten), with which I can replace ALL of the AdSense ads. Sure, they won't be textual or targeted, but it also means people won't be leaving my site so readily.

Income will probably decline by about 1/2 from what Adsense was paying, but I can easily supplement that from other sources.

Nice knowing you G-men. You will not be missed.

[ThatsBoBo]

What is it they said you did wrong?

Ad placement?

[Swanny007]

fearlessrick, it's my understanding that they usually do pay you earnings up until the ads stop, I wouldn't worry too much about that.

For me, AdSense makes up 60%+ of my revenue, it's definitely a good fit for my niche. The alternatives are not so good. So maybe that's for the best then. If you can find an alternative that pays OK and it's not the GORG, good. It sounds like you're ready to move on anyway ;-)

[netmeg]

I believe Google has gotten somewhat hinky about ad blocks right below the header/logo, thinking that they could be mistaken for site navigation.

(Your mom was really really pretty, fearlessrick)

[jinxed]

I have some adlinks on the left hand side of my pages, above the site navigation. Its cleary seperated, though, from the left navigation links and underneath the horizontal top navigation links.

Is this frowned upon?

[fearlessrick]

Netmeg, thanks for the kind words. My mom was a really nice, sweet person, from NJ. My dad had excellent taste - a lucky man. He really missed her after her death and has gone on to join her now, 2 1/2 years later, July 2009.

My friends tell me that now that both parents have passed away, I'm supposed to grow up, but I keep resisting ;-)

The ads are still running, so I'm just kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop. The issue is gambling, I believe, but, I don't link directly to any onliine gambling sites or casinos.

I honestly don't know what the big deal is. Gambling in America - well, the whole world, for that matter - is pretty pervasive, plus, look at the ads G is serving on my site, touting free picks, NFL picks, college Picks, etc.

I cleared all of this with the big G years ago, so I think it was one ad that was actually linking to a sports book, which has since been removed. Didn't think it was a big deal, never earned a nickel from it AFAIK, whatever...

I do think it's ludicrous for them to just cut you out without warning. It was probably a pretty dumb bot that did the deed. Also, waiting on them to make up their mind about whether to suspend the whole account or not is really annoying.

Anyhow, I have gotten over the initial shock and am just planning now. Having been a newspaper publisher in a previous life, I'm pretty well plugged into the ad world. There are lots of options, and honestly, G made me lazy.

Considering the prime real estate they (apparently no longer want) had on my site, I should be making triple or six times what they were paying. It's just a logistical problem now, replacing their ads with others. If I sold them directly, i could probably make major bucks. Maybe time to get cracking on wealth beyond just making ends meet.

Thanks to all for advice/support. The people who frequent WebmasterWorld are among the most decent and honest I know.

[fearlessrick]

Just wanted to update. Received the evil notice on 9/28, at 8:50 pm ET. It is now 9/30, 6:00 pm, and ads are still showing.

Not only that, but I'm on pace for a record month and having what may turn out to be the best day of the entire YEAR so far.

Did Google reconsider, is it just a bad joke or a nightmare, or are the bots toying with my emotions?

[Swanny007]

fearlessrick, I think they give you 3 days' to fix things up. So you probably have another day until they come back to check whether you've fixed things up.

[fearlessrick]

Nope, they're starting to disappear as of this hour. Mostly gone on some pages, showing on others. Well, I guess I know when I'm not wanted.

I'll be running new ads in some spots and offers for advertising in others. G had prime spots on my site, now they'll have none. I wonder how many other webmasters they've pissed off?

Lousy way to do business, if you ask me. Change rules on the fly, no human interaction, wham, "we are no longer partners." even the mafia kisses you before they let you go.

My criticism of them shall never end. I do hope they understand karma.

[Lame_Wolf]

Nope, they're starting to disappear as of this hour. Mostly gone on some pages, showing on others. Well, I guess I know when I'm not wanted.

Don't give up yet. All is not lost.

There was a site a while back that had adsense on it (not a premium account).

This site was asking people to click on their adverts. (directly above every advert).

They are also having links from other sites, and were asking people on those sites to click on the adverts. (and even to this day, some are still there).

They also had 21 adsense blocks on some pages.

It took two months for Google to pull their finger out of their butts to stop the adverts from showing.

For months the site were still asking people to click on the (now non-existant) adverts.

Then, the text disappeared. A few weeks later, adsense was back!

This time there were two accounts on the site - with five adsense blocks per page.

It was reported, and within 12 hours the extra two advert blocks stopped showing adverts.

Within 36 hours, it went back to one adsense account with 3 or less adverts.

And to top it all off, the cached pages of the site were still asking people to click on adverts !

Now, there is nothing more serious than fraud in the eyes of adsense.

These non-premium guys were allowed back in after so many serious breaches of the TOS.

[paparoysan]

i got same email 2 days ago (28.09.2010)- Google AdSense ad serving has been disabled to my site. this is what they said :

While reviewing your account, we noticed that you are currently displaying Google ads in a manner that is not compliant with our policies.

It is important for a site displaying AdSense to offer significant value to the user by providing unique and relevant content, and not to place ads on auto-generated pages or pages with little to no original content.

Your site should also provide a good user experience through clear navigation and organization. Users should be able to easily click through your pages and find the information they are seeking.

Ads are not showing since yesterday (29.09.2010)

I don't know what to do now - how to work out what is wrong with my site and what to change?! the site is online with same/similar layout since 2005...

thanks for any suggesiton

[Lame_Wolf]

paparoysan, what was your CTR ? and did you have auto-generated pages or pages with little to no original content ?

And did your site provide a good user experience through clear navigation and organization ?

I am curious as to why these accounts are being banned, when I am seeing far worse violations and nothing is done about it.

One site collects your images, displays them like Google images, even encourages the visitor to hotlink to your images!
Oh, and if you use their "search" and it brings no results, it will still show adsense.

Another site, when you click on a SERP, you are first presented with a page with no content. Just an adsense advert with a message stating that you will be redirected in x amount of seconds.

And another site will generate a popup window after so many pages - again, no content, just an advert.

Reported - nothing done. Then I hear stories like this.

[paparoysan]

Lame_Wolf, CTR for September is 4.62%.

There are no auto-generated pages whatsoever.

In my opinion site provides clear navigation. However,it has Adsense banner 729x90 directly under header whith colour that blends with links in text.

Content is mostly original although there are some press releases that are published (i guess other people published them too) in blog/news sections.

[paparoysan]

to update: just checked my CTR day by day from 01/01/2010.

CTR was steady 2.5% to 2.9% until 14/08/2010 when it started to rise first to 3.18% and then to max 5.1%

i did not change layout or anything else since June 2010.

perhaps it has something to do with changes that were applied to text orientation of 729x90 banner ?!

i remember, it used to have ad blocks that recently changed to 4-5 ads written in straight line (?)

[Lame_Wolf]

CTR for September is 4.62%.

Interesting. I thought it was going to be 20% or something. Nothing there to set off a trigger.

There are no auto-generated pages whatsoever.

Don't you just love it when they [Google] mentions something that has nothing to do with your site. No help whatsoever from their side. Sounds auto-generated to me.

In my opinion site provides clear navigation. However,it has Adsense banner 729x90 directly under header whith colour that blends with links in text.

That *may* be the problem, but that should generate a warning from them, not a ban.

Content is mostly original although there are some press releases that are published (i guess other people published them too) in blog/news sections.

It would surprise me if that were the case of the ban. Just look at the amount of blogs that have regurgitated content, hotlinked content (without the owners consent) and rarely - if ever - have a privacy policy (required by Google).

I admit, I have reported sites before, but I report serious breaches of the TOS. (Fraud, pop-up or floating adsense for example.) It does concern me that they are closing down long term sites whareas a warning would suffice.

And it really pisses me off that other sites can get away with serious breaches "just because" they are premium accounts.

[fearlessrick]

Having had a few days now to think this over and see the ads disappear, I am wondering if it might be in my best interest to move the non-offending pages to another, new domain?

G was primarily "upset" over pages touching on gambling, which is a small portion of the site, but a strong traffic generator. However, long term, most of the regular traffic, clicks and revenue come from a completely unrelated topic and area of the site.

So, I'm thinking of moving or at least putting any new pages on a different domain. I would appreciate sharing any thoughts, ideas, or actual experiences.

Thanks.

[HuskyPup]

So, I'm thinking of moving or at least putting any new pages on a different domain.

New domain crosslinked from the existing site but with non-AdSense ads on them?

If so, why not? I would.

[fearlessrick]

No, WITH adsense ads on them.

Basically, what Google is telling me is that a small number of pages are "objectionable."

Since the vast majority >90% of my site is not related to the objectionable topic, I should be able to run adsense on any other site, since they disabled it only for one domain. I have others and have been planning to update/upgrade, so this gives me a real option.

It's not like I'd be doing anything wrong. I can still run my "bad" site and have Adsense on my "good" ones. I think that's what they're telling me.

Plus, there are a couple of good domains available for my niche, which I'm sure, over time, would get awesome ranking in the SERPs.

[Rockyou]

MOTH MAN i can try to help you. Kindly tell me what kind of traffic you are getting? Is it majorirty search engine traffic or refferal, can you tell me.Further what topic is your website about.

[netmeg]

Uh, right. That'll end well.