The email mentions that I have submitted several ads for landing pages that are considered to be of a poor quality and that the landingpage does not comply with the 'landing page and site quality guidelines'. I most remove the ads. Well, no problem.
The email also mentions that it is a final warning. It tells me if they find any ad in the future that is in violation with the site quality guidelines (the product itself is not the problem) they will immediately disqualify me from participating in the AdWords program. Now, that is a problem.
A bit strange? Also because I’m using Adwords more then 4 years and then I receive an automated email in English while I have a Dutch account.
Anyway, how can Adwords ban you for submitting sites that that seems to be in violation with the Landing Page and Site Quality Guidelines while there is not a tool where can check if an URL is ok to submit?
How can you be for 100% sure if a site is in violation with the Landing Page and Site Quality Guidelines before you submit the site? That is impossible right?
As mentioned, I’m using Adwords for myself and for other companies for over four years so I know how it works. The site I submitted yesterday is nothing different from many other sites I promote.
If Google would like to ban clients for this than they should offer a tool where you can check your website for Page and Site Quality Guidelines before you submit the site. If Google does not offer a tool like this then they should not ban clients.
[edited by: engine at 1:05 pm (utc) on Sep. 25, 2009]
[edit reason] user requested edit [/edit]
As far as I can ascertain it appears to be quite a simple to decypher slap. If the main intent of your site is for the visitor to leave and go to another site - then you will be slapped. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding some of you - but is there anyone that got a slap that has a site that doesn't use either affiliate links or adsense? I don't think having one or two products for sale directly from your site, if surrounded by a plethora of affiliate adverts will cut the mustard these days. They want advertisers to be offering something different to every other site out there. Just my thoughts on it.
All that being said - I really do think that adwords should provide further information on account bans - and a lifetime ban is simply ridiculous. All that this results in is underhand activities - ie re-registering under false addresses etc that people have already said that they do, in order to get around the ban. Surely that is bad business practice for adwords. It would be far better to stop offending sites/adverts - and state why.
I also think that those of you who are spending significant amounts of money deserve better treatment than this. I appreciate that adwords, in this recent cull, will certainly have hundreds of very upset people to deal with. But perhaps getting back to those that are on invoiced payment, for example, would give them a better reputation than this very uncommunicative approach.
So their lawyers tell them to keep quiet, hide behind the proprietary information spin and let the people they want to get rid of just fade away.
The quality score is their weapon, they don't have to do anything but dump your scores in the basement and your done, no accountability.
Oh the banning thing, that's just sticking the knife in and twisting it.
Big Brother is here and Google is it.
AWA is a very interventional and proactive person, his abstinence from this thread is all the proof you need that what I am saying is true.
Without adwords I had a choice, sell my best site or sell my house. Their timing with this is disgusting. Three more months and I would have recovered.
Heartless.
Do no evil. Isn't it funny when people say something and 180 on you and do the opposite.
I don't think the PR department will be able to live this one down.
Is it safe to assume that everyone else here who got the ban had at least ONE affiliate link on their landing page/site?
Veto, contact your rep, once your account is re-reviewed, you'll get "back in".
However, dougdouge, several years back you did have an affiliate site - if you still have that site, is it in any way linked to your current sites? Did they share adwords accounts? Perhaps on same hosting company? No idea if these things are or could be related - just throwing in some suggestions.
I have done affiliate marketing before. Its a good thing.
If Microsoft get their act together and put together an advertising program similar to how adwords was 4-5 years ago, I think G would lose 15% of their business overnight.
If Microsoft get their act together and put together an advertising program similar to how adwords was 4-5 years ago, I think G would lose 15% of their business overnight.
If I'm carrying a sack full of beans, I don't much care that there's a hole in the bottom and a trail of beans behind me. But I'll be hungry one day and I'll think back to that trail of beans I allowed to slip away.
If I'm carrying a sack full of beans, I don't much care that there's a hole in the bottom and a trail of beans behind me. But I'll be hungry one day and I'll think back to that trail of beans I allowed to slip away.
huh? can you explain it with a haiku instead?
huh? can you explain it with a haiku instead?
Google Tom, tiger
Jerry spenders, clawed and poor
Microdog sees, comes smiling
There once was an engine for search,
Which left advertisers all in a lurch,
It sent automated letters,
Placed them all in their fetters,
And soon found itself knocked from its perch.
I had closed my account about a year ago because they were too expensive.
So I said what the heck, I'll give it a try on my #2 site and magic!
Bid $.50 but is giving search clicks for $.10 and position #2.
Ok, there is my knife and I'll stick it in and twist it.
How does it feel Big G ?
Maybe Ill take a look at Microsoft too.
Ah, I smell blood in the streets!
Isn't the bigger concern that all of these folks turn their hands to manipulating the serps? Thanks Google, the last thing I need is some of these crazy smart, knowledgeable, aggresive and experienced affiliate people deciding the easiest path to profit is clubbing my rankings to death like they're a baby Canadian seal.
Yeah, yeah I coming right after your baby seal rankings, wheel.
Every site I have/had is page one organic.
That's I think of unusual projects with crazy names and then trademark them.
Khensu
>> >>Isn't the bigger concern that all of these folks turn their hands to manipulating the serps? Thanks Google, the last thing I need is some of these crazy smart, knowledgeable, aggresive and experienced affiliate people deciding the easiest path to profit is clubbing my rankings to death like they're a baby Canadian seal.
I wouldn't be surprised if weeding affiliates out of the SERPs is a long term goal. Probably can't implement it yet because the collateral damage would be huge - like this adwords impact times a million - their customer service would be overwhelmed. I would think they're going to learn lessons from this though and it'll be in the pipeline - imagine the day when you don't have to compete with affiliates for SERPS (who in my experience are responsible for most of the worst type of spam)
To find what triggered the warning, do as Google suggest (well, do as they should have had the decency to suggest in their email, although an email similar to what they send for disapproved ads would be my preference):
Select the Keywords tab.
Click the icon in the Status column next to any keyword.
It should tell you if the landing page quality is poor.
(Do this for every keyword in your account...)
Or - run a Keyword Report from the Reports section, sort it by Quality Score, and then do the above for any rated 4 or less.
perhaps focusing on what we can actually do.
You can't do anything, thats the point. There is no process to get your account back. X strikes, you're out.
You can't do anything,I asked some questions to Adwords support on how to prevent it. I asked if it would help if I first ask for aproval for a specific domain before I create an new ad group. They told me that this method will not guaranty that a site will get a low quality score in the future because a site might get a new quality score each month.
In other words, when you ask for aproval you can still get a ban one month later. Even when the site did not change during that month and the (quality) guidelines also did not change you can still get your a ban or your first and last warning. So there is nothing you can do to prevent it.
In the email I also asked some other questions about this issue. I got a reply to those questions but now I have follow up questions. However, the reply I received ends with (translated):
This is all information I can give you regarding the final warning. Don't contact us any more about this warning. Further communication about this issue will be handled as not received.
I think Google is the first company in the world that can afford to 'communicate' like this with clients that pay them tens of thousands of dollars each month.
If it were me I'd be quite embarrassed.
