adsense violation

can't contact Google

[surnames]

I received my first ever adsense violation from Google today. I haven't touched the adcode on my sites in over a year. I tried to send an email to Google asking to be specific about my violation. It just keeps rejecting the email submission (problem with publisher number)

[surnames]

>>>Post removed. Please don't ask for site reviews.<<

[edited by: martinibuster at 1:08 am (utc) on May 31, 2016]
[edit reason] Site review requests not allowed. Thanks. [/edit]

[robzilla]

What's the violation?

[jbnz]

I've received a couple of violation notifications from Google. They are usually quite specific in saying what the issue is or at least point you in the direction of the part of their policy you have violated. Can you confirm you received the violation notification in your Adsense account? You should get an email AND be notified in your account - or at least I was.

[surnames]

received an email and was notified in my account:

here is a part of the email:

Our program policies do not permit any alteration to AdSense code which artificially inflates ad performance or harms advertiser conversions. Your publisher account offers a number of options when generating the ad code, which we hope will allow you to create an ad layout that fits in with your site. It is also not allowed to place ads on mobile optimized sites so that they cover any part of the site content or implementing parts of a webpage to cover any portion of the ads. Please be aware that if you have a responsive website design that ads may shift into non compliant positions as the format of the screen changes.

In order to remain fully compliant please ensure that your site and ad layout remain compliant across all devices. For more information this policy can be found on our help center and this short video.

[surnames]

I have one 728x90 and one 160x600 ad unit on each page (above the fold) would that be in violation?

[jbnz]

Did you alter the code at all when you implemented it?

If not, check the way the page resolves on mobile.

If the 'short video' is the same as I the one they sent to me (#AdSense101 - Monetizing for Multiscreen) then, in my case, it referred to an issue with ads on mobile.

[surnames]

My site does not serve different pages for mobile. It serves the same page for all visitors, including the 728x90. Could that be the problem?

[surnames]

here is another possible violation mentioned in the email:
placing 300x250 or larger ad units above the fold on a mobile optimized site.

But this is not a mobile optimized site.......

sure would be nice if I could find from Google exactly what I have done wrong. Maybe they have blocked me communicating with them because I am in violation..

[ember]

Are you responding to the email that they sent you? Maybe it's going to a no-reply address. Have you tried contacting them through the support pages? I'm not sure how much you have to earn a week to have email support, though. You might try contacting someone through the google forums, too. They are monitored, I believe.

[surnames]

I'm going to pull all adsense code until I can get some communication from Google

[surnames]

"Are you responding to the email that they sent you? Maybe it's going to a no-reply address. Have you tried contacting them through the support pages? I'm not sure how much you have to earn a week to have email support, though. You might try contacting someone through the google forums, too. They are monitored, I believe"

earnings in 6 figures

[netmeg]

You have to earn $25/week to get email support. And you can't just send them an email unless you have a direct-to-rep email address - you have to go through the support form.

It doesn't matter whether or not you've created a "mobile optimized site" - your ads have to render properly and follow all rules for ALL devices. That's the world we live in in 2016. You can't ignore mobile anymore and run AdSense - you have to be compliant.

So yea, if your 728x90 is a fixed width ad, and someone (anyone) visits your site on a phone, whether you intend them to or not, you're probably out of compliance. Replace your ads with Responsive units and let them resize to the device. And if your ad is above the fold, then it has to be no bigger than 320x100 on mobile. Or get rid of the AdSense.

[surnames]

thanks Netmeg, good advice. I will look into the responsive units, but later. Iam pulling google adsense for now

[jbnz]

Yeah, my guess is that it's because you're still showing large ads on your site for mobile visitors. I was pinged for exactly that last week.

My response would be to remove (or replace) the ads for mobile visitors. I think the video suggests a 320 x 100 just above the fold, then 300 x 250 ads below the fold with only one ad viewable at a time.

[ember]

I see some sites belonging to people in here that are designed so that in the horizonatal view on a little iphone, the ad looks like a 728x90, stretching across the width of the site. Mostly the view is all ad, with a little room to scroll down without tapping the ad. Is this okay because the view is horizontal? Every example I see of how not to place ads above the fold on mobile shows the vertical view as the example, not the horizontal.

[netmeg]

Is this okay because the view is horizontal?

Well I wouldn't do it. But I suppose one could try to get clarification from support. I think the bottom line though is that they're not going to accept any situation where the ad either doesn't fully load and/or fully display, no matter what the orientation.

If ads are running that way on some people's sites, I suspect it's just that Google hasn't gotten to them yet. But if they're not compliant, eventually they probably will.

[surnames]

Netmeg re: And you can't just send them an email unless you have a direct-to-rep email address - you have to go through the support form.

I have been told at the forum that no-one at Google reads that forum - Adsense Help Forum "AdSense staff don't use the forums. This is a peer forum, so it's just volunteers"

[trebuchet]

There's no point waiting on Google to get back to you. Google has got better things to do than to nursemaid you through compliance issues. You can either fiddle around trying to get a response, or resolve the problem yourself.

If you're running large non-responsive ad units at the top of pages then that's why you've received a violation notice. You need to replace them with responsive units, or implement media queries so that different ads load on mobile devices.

For the record, my 728x90s load as 320x100s on mobile. Further down the page, 336x280s load as 200x200s.

[LuckyD]

@surnames: if you're doing 6-figures per year with AdSense alone you qualify for an account rep. Contact AdSense via any contact form and ask for someone to assist you. Worked for a couple of people I know. But usually they contact you themselves. Check your inbox, maybe the email got filtered out

[netmeg]

Netmeg re: And you can't just send them an email unless you have a direct-to-rep email address - you have to go through the support form.

I have been told at the forum that no-one at Google reads that forum - Adsense Help Forum "AdSense staff don't use the forums. This is a peer forum, so it's just volunteers"

Attention to detail kind of makes a difference. I said support form and not support forum.

[surnames]

Netmeg, my error acknowledged. I have tried submitting a report form several times, it keeps rejecting sending it, "publisher ID incorrect" I have given up on reaching a human at Google.

update; I have removed all static Google ads and replaced them with one only Google adsense responsive ad at the top of the page. Earnings are now low, about 60% of before. It might be possible Google will fine tune the ads served over the next week or so and earnings may go up. Otherwise I will look at replacing Google adsense with a specific advertiser.

[netmeg]

You're submitting your ID as pub-YYYYYYYYYYYYYYY (including the pub?)

[surnames]

Yes, that is the format I used.

Looks like I might have to build a separate mobile optimized site after all. Anyone know of a good site that offers information on building a mobile optimized site?

[NickMNS]

[w3schools.com...]

[leebow]

People don't really do mobile optimised sites anymore the new buzz word is "responsive" design.

Where you main site can be resized to suite any device - without seperate css queries or pages you would usually use for a mobile site.

I don't have an account rep - or direct email. I've talked to an optimisation specialist a few times - but when I've really needed help, there's no one to talk to.

How well do google check that your showing ads that break their policies on mobile sites?

If you're showing leaderboards on desktops - then hiding them with "php mobile detect" to phone users - will google know you are ok. Or does someone just look at site on desktop and say this isn't in guidelines.

[NickMNS]

@leebow, I agree people do not generally do mobile specific sites (some do and there are valid arguments for doing so).

I should have provided more of an explanation with the link above, but it is for the w3 tutorial for building sites using Bootstrap, which is a framework to create responsive sites. It is supper simple and easy learn IMHO. It is what is used on many websites including webmasterworld.

@surnames, bootstrap should work just fine for your needs.

As for hacking a solution as suggested by leebow. It might work for a while. But really get with the program, in 2016 it is time for a responsive site. It seems like it is a small investments to ensure that you maintains the sites ability to generate revenue.

That being said, there is chance that making your site mobile friendly may negatively impact your earnings. With all due respect, a good portion of your earnings may have resulted from accidental clicks, this situation may have raised flags with Adsense and hence the policy violation. Making a site mobile friendly, with responsive ad units will eliminate most accidental clicks and this can have a significant negative impact on your earnings. Regardless, the jig is up, the policy violation means that you really have little choice in the matter.

[trebuchet]

How well do google check that your showing ads that break their policies on mobile sites?

This is a good question. I can only assume they have some kind of software that checks ad/content placement on rendered pages. The site I got pinged for is a low traffic site (<100 visitors a day). Hard to believe that it was human-reviewed, at least initially.

[surnames]

NickMNS, I have had a quick look at the Bootstrap site. They have templates there, that you are allowed to use. I am going to look at them tomorrow and see if I can modify one for my site.

thanks for your post!

[surnames]

the [w3schools.com...] is great!
I have found a template that works, thanks to you folks for your help!