Scary email from google

"Ads blocking your content"

[mcavill]

perhaps a bit of a paranoid post - my main site was initially rejected from adsense but later accepted.

I've just got an email saying they had received some complaints stating that the ads were covering my content, they don't want that (and nor do I) and please reply once i've corrected this problem - i've tested it in IE / Firebird / Netscape / Opera - it complies to HTML 4.01, and even with 150% or 50% text size it still look OK (well at 50% you can't read it but who sets their browser up like that?! ;) ) - I repied saying: very sorry - i guess it was just a problem as i was testing code (not a good practice on a live site, i know) but it all looks OK now.

Has anyone else had similar emails? and any responses from google? should i be worried?

[Blue_Fin]

Unless there was a specific threat of termination in the email for future non-compliance, no, I wouldn't be worried.

[mcavill]

phew - no it was just a sort it and let us know when it's done email :)

[DavidT]

Yep, I also got one saying some of their users had complained the ads were blocking the content. I wrote back and asked which browser, etc and they said they didn't know but could I just write back once I'd made any changes so they could square their records up. Nothing to worry about I'd say.

[HughMungus]

I don't know that much about adsense and this might be a stupid answer but what about tables overlapping each other such that the ads are overlapping the content? I was doing some HTML work yesterday and somehow got a floating column that covered other content on the page. The problem might also not appear unless you're looking at the page at 3/4 or 1/2 width of the screen (I browse websites at 3/4; don't ask me why I don't know, haha).

[mcavill]

that was exactly it - i'd tested in loads of browsers - but could not see anything wrong - them 3/4 sized the window and it overlapped! - so i've just force the width of the cell and it's all OK now.

[DavidT]

The only problem I could see when browsing at 3/4 screen width was that the adsense 120x600 in a right floating div outside of a 75% width table to the left forced the main content completely below it. But the content still actually appeared.

[stevenha]

I received the same email from google, about adsense blocking the content. And I'm still working on fixing it. I'm trying to use a liquid layout, with a skyscraper in a right-hand div. It annoys me actually, that users whose window is rather narrow, complain to google. After all, they should really complain to me, because the other table-based elements in my site also start to go wonky inside narrow windows and an ad covering a wee bit of content is the least of the unpleasant effects of narrow windows. (But I digress). My temporary solution was to put a z-value: -1 into the div, so now at least the ads go behind other content.. but it still isn't as nice a solution as I would like, and Google hasn't responded yet to say whether its OK now.

If any of you have a solution to this problem, could you post it here, or sticky-mail me with a few example sites using CSS that works better?

[Kinitz]

If any of you have a solution to this problem, could you post it here

I propose simply to put a "white separator" graphics that would be wide enough so that your AdSense banner even couldn't cover the content. When somebody will try to make the browser window narrower - it will have such an effect that AdSense banner will never overlap your content.

[mcavill]

I ended up just fixing the TD width and added a nowrap - that seems to have sorted it for my situation - I agree though - why would a normal user write to google when my email address is at the bottom of every page - makes me half think its a competitor, but maybe thats a bit paranoid....

[Blue_Fin]

why would a normal user write to google when my email address is at the bottom of every page - makes me half think its a competitor, but maybe thats a bit paranoid....

That's a valid concern, but again, I don't think you have anything to worry about if you fix it. Google just isn't going to terminate someone because of this, especially since it appears to be a fairly widespread issue. Google should address this in their FAQs.

[dougb]

why would a normal user write to google when my email address is at the bottom of every page

Hmmm, they probably clicked on the "Ads by Google" link that appears in every AdSense ad, which brings up a comment form. I think a lot of users prefer the perceived anonymity and convenience of a feedback form to writing email, especially when what they have to say is negative.