QUICK TIPS AdSense Prohibitions, Mistakes and Problems

Google is very protective of its AdSense program and is a pretty strict ad provider. It has a relatively long page of Terms and Conditions (www.google.com/adsense/terms) and monitors sites pretty closely. While YPN usually sends a warning to sites that it believes have broken its terms and conditions, Google has been known to cut people off right away. And that can be pretty painful. I do recommend that you read the AdSense Terms and Conditions. I realize that they’re not much fun and they’re hardly a gripping read, but they are important, especially when you start really pushing your ads to their limits. To make it easier for you though, I’ve gone through those terms and pulled out the most important restrictions contained in them. This list is not a replacement for reading the Terms page — you’re still going to have to do that. They just might make it clearer so that you’re less likely to make a very costly mistake. 

One individual or entity cannot hold more than one AdSense account; all accounts will be closed.

This is important if you have many sites covering different topics and are worried about the effects of Smart Pricing. You might want to open a separate account in a spouse’s name or open more than one business.

You cannot modify the JavaScript or other code provided in any way.

Google is pretty strict about this. Cut into the code and you risk the axe.

Web pages cannot contain solely ads, a Search Box or a referral button.

Blank pages with nothing more than AdSense ads are pretty rare; pages which contain only ads of different types are much more common. Google is working against these sorts of things and you’ll probably find yourself if not banned, then almost certainly Smart Priced out.

Ads cannot appear on pages that are “under construction,” used for registration, chat, contain adult, objectionable or illegal content. And they can’t be used in emails either.

If you have a site that’s in any way morally objectionable, then AdSense isn’t for you. That’s the bottom line. More relevant for most people though is the idea that you can’t put AdSense on every page of a website. There are all sorts of pages on many people’s sites that really don’t contain any content, like password pages or error messages. You can’t use them as places to put ads.

You cannot generate searches, clicks or impressions by any method other than genuine user interest.

So no automatic bots or clicking your own ads or any of that nonsense. That’s just fraud and Google will spot it in a second.

You cannot display

anything on your Web page that could be confused as an AdSense ad.

That’s an interesting rule that prevents people from putting up affiliate links that look like ad units to try to cash in on Google’s brand. In theory, this rule could cause a problem for someone who blended the ads into the page by making link lists that looked similar to ad units. As long as those links aren’t ads though, and as long as you don’t write “Ads by Goooogle” on them, I doubt if Google would have a problem with them.

You cannot put related images right next to an AdSense unit.

The old strategy of using images related to the ads to draws to ad units has gone. Google doesn’t want any picture next to an ad unit that looks like it’s part of the ad. There’s no clear definition of how far the images should be or how it defines ‘confusing’. The best bet is to use common sense, and if you’re going to put an image near ad unit, make it a logo, unrelated to the content of the ad unit or some part of the site.

you’re using a Google Search box, you cannot use any other search service on the page.

Again, Google wants a monopoly of services on your site. You can’t offer your users the option of searching through Google or Yahoo; it’s either-or, not both-and.

You cannot put anything between the ad link and the ad site.

So if you were thinking of trying to capture your lost traffic by redirecting ad clicks to another of your sites, think again. But who thinks of that?

You cannot communicate to advertisers directly concerning the ads on your site.

That would have been quite useful. You could have written to an advertiser and suggested ways in which they could make their copy more effective for your users. Of course, you could also suggest they advertise directly on your site and cut out the Google middleman... Interestingly though, you can do all of this on your “Advertise on this site” landing page.

You cannot change the order of the information in an ad unit.

This is pretty well covered by the ban on changing the code. But again, it might have been nice to put the ads that are most likely to get the most clicks at the top of the list, even if they pay less. But putting the ones with the highest bid price there though isn’t a bad idea either.

• You cannot reveal your click-through rates or any other information about your site performance.

Which is why I haven’t quoted my own CTR figures in this book. But you can reveal the amount of Google’s gross payments to you, which I have done. These rules are all pretty straightforward and for the most part, easy to follow. Usually, if someone has been banned from AdSense it’s because they’ve clicked on their own ads and Google didn’t believe that it was an accident. That’s just rotten luck.

The Biggest Mistakes That AdSense Publishers Make... And How To Avoid Them

Clicking on your own ads isn’t the only bad luck AdSense publishers have run into. There are lots of different ways that you can make a mistake when using AdSense and while some of them Google will be pretty quick to tell you about, others you’ll only feel in your pocket.

Here are some of the biggest mistakes you can make when using AdSense. Be aware of them...and beware of them! Big Mistake #1: Not Being Familiar With Google's TOS On the one hand, this is an easy mistake to make. The terms of service change all the time and what’s legal one day could be illegal the next — and you could know nothing about the change. On the other hand though, if something you’ve been doing is suddenly made illegal you probably shouldn’t be doing it anyway. The bottom line is to check the TOS regularly and to make a habit of browsing the AdSense forums. Even if you miss a change, it’s unlikely that other people will. It’s a mistake not to stay informed. Big Mistake

Inviting Others To Click Ads That clicking your own ads is a mistake is pretty clear. There’s no reason to do it and no excuse for doing it. That also includes asking other people to click on the ads for you. For site owners used to asking their users to support their sponsors, this can take some getting used to. Once the ads are up and optimized, there’s nothing more that you can do to persuade people to click. If you’ve got a line on your website that asks people to support your sponsors or if you’ve been asking people to click on your ads in any sort of way, you’re making a giant mistake. That’s the sort of mistake that can get you banned.

Big Mistake : Using The Wrong Ad Blocks Those first two mistakes will get you banned. The remaining mistakes will “only” cost you money. Choosing the wrong ad blocks is one of the easiest mistakes to make. Almost any block can fit in almost any space but only one block will give you the highest revenues possible. Use this book as a guide to which blocks suit which locations best and check out the case studies to see how other people are using a similar spot. Even if you’re happy with your results so far, it’s always possible that you could do even better.

Sitting on your laurels with the wrong ad block is certainly a mistake.

 Big Mistake : Using The Wrong Colors Exactly the same is true of your choice of colors. Forget about looking for some nice contrast or coming up with some snazzy design, you want the colors in your ads to match the colors on your site. The background color should be the same as the background of your site and the font colors should match

too. Any other color is usually a mistake.

Big Mistake : Poor Page Placement Some places on your page are much more powerful than others. You want to put your ads where your users are going to be looking, not where they’ll make the page look good. That might be at the beginning of an article, in the sidebar, at the top of the page, next to an image or any one of several dozen other spots. Don’t be shy about putting your ads front and forward. As long as they’re blended into the site, they won’t be anything like as obtrusive as you think. They’ll be right in front of your users and attractive enough to click.

 Big Mistake : Not Using AdLink Units A common mistake that people make when they first start using AdSense is to assume that only the ad units are worth taking. That’s a big mistake. Clicks on AdLink units make up a serious part of my AdSense earnings. When used properly, they should be a serious part of your AdSense earnings too. Don’t overlook AdLink units just because they’re small. Put them in the right place and you’ll find that they can be very, very powerful Big Mistake : Not Checking And Analyzing Stats One of the biggest differences between AdSense publishers who get the big checks and AdSense publishers who earn pennies is that the big earners are addicted to reading their stats — and they understand what they’re reading. It’s very tempting once you’ve set up your site and put on your ads to just kick back and look at the bottom line. But the other lines tell you what’s working and what you should be doing. Read your stats carefully and regularly.

Big Mistake : Ignoring Channels If you’re not sure how to use channels, don’t let it ride. Read the chapter on channels again, build some and play with them. For some people channels can look a little scary. You have to build them from scratch, you might not be too sure which channels you should create or what you should do with the data the channels should give you. None of those is a good excuse. Channels are easy to build and they give you heaps of information about the way each of your Web pages is operating that you just couldn’t get anywhere else. If you’re not using channels, you need to start

 Big Mistake : Not Keeping An AdSense Journal When you were at school and your English teacher told you to keep a journal, you probably groaned, ignored her... and made up a month’s worth of entries the day before you were supposed to bring it in to class. When you’re trying to make a lot of money with AdSense, keeping a journal is vital. It’s the only way to keep track of your changes and what happened when you implemented those changes. Every time you use a different ad block, push a different keyword or try a new location on the page, write it down, wait a week and write down the effect. If you’re doing the same thing time and time again because you forgot what happened when you did it last time, you’re wasting your time and your money.

Big Mistake: Building Huge Sites Overnight It’s possible to go from no site to AdSense site in just a few minutes (plus the time it takes to get the confirmation letter). But it will take a little while longer to build the sort of massive site that keeps users coming back and builds a loyal base. Sure, you can use free books to fill dozens of pages and you can use already prepared content, but neither of these methods are as good as creating a huge site filled with original material. That takes time. Rush it and it’s more likely you’ll end up with a lot of trash that kills your clicks and ruins your Smart Pricing than a quality site that makes you money. It’s better to be small and good than big and bad.

Big Mistake: Building Throwaway Sites And if it’s a bad idea to build large trashy sites, it’s a terrible idea to build small, trashy sites. Check out the AdSense forums long enough and there’s a good chance that you’ll come across plenty of publishers who believe not in creating good quality sites but in building small garbage-y ones and trying to squeeze as much revenue out of them as possible. The advantage is that you can throw up a lot of them in a small amount of time and for little cost. The disadvantage is that the returns are small too — and most important, they’re just no fun to do. I thoroughly enjoy managing every one of the sites I’ve created. It’s because I enjoy them that my users enjoy them. That keeps them coming back and it keeps them clicking. And it keeps me coming back too. If you’re building throwaway sites just to make a quick buck, you’re working too hard... and that’s a giant mistake.

Big Mistake: Doing AdSense Halfway This was the big mistake that I made for a long time. It’s also the big mistake that about 95 percent of AdSense publishers are making. They create their site, put up an AdSense, maybe they’ll optimize it a little (and maybe not), and then they’ll wait for the checks to come in. Making a lot of money with AdSense will take a lot of work. It can make you more money than most people will make in most full-time jobs but it’s not the sort of thing you can throw up in a morning and then spend the afternoon shopping for your beach house in Cancun. You can start earning in the morning. But if you want to make real money, you’re going to have to go all the way. Anything less is a big mistake.

Big Mistake: Only Using AdSense Don’t get me wrong, I still think that AdSense is the greatest way to earn money from a website short of buying Google.com. But ever since Google changed it TOS to allow other kinds of advertising systems on AdSense pages — even other kinds of contextualized advertising systems — I’ve been happily mixing, matching and earning even more.

You should certainly use one of the text link services like Kontera. You can use Chitika’s eMiniMalls if you have a good product-related site. You can recommend affiliate products. You can mix different payment systems so that your pages are earning by impression, by click and by sale. You should have every base covered and every income stream up and running.

2 What To Do If Your AdSense Account Gets Closed

Google’s court of appeal. You don’t want to come here. Most of the mistake people make at AdSense hit them in the wallet. Some mistakes though can hit where it really hurts and get your account closed. So what should you do if you get that dreaded email from AdSense informing you that your account has been shut down? Well, the first thing to remember is that you’ve pretty much got no power at all. Google’s Terms make it very clear that they have the right to kick someone out of their program whenever they feel like it and you have to prove your innocence. But the people at Google aren’t a nasty bunch and they will listen to you if you feel you’ve been hard done by. Your first step then should be to send them an email asking why you’ve been banned.

The most likely reason will be invalid clicks. That might not mean that you’ve accidentally clicked your own ads. Google accepts that accidents do happen and takes occasional clicks like these into account. They’ll show up as clicks in your stats but you won’t earn revenue from them. Nor do you need to inform them every time your cursor accidentally lands on one of your ads. But if it’s more than occasional, you could be in trouble. It’s possible that someone else might have been clicking ads on your site repeatedly — perhaps a competitor hoping to hit your earnings or a family member who didn’t know it was forbidden. It’s also possible that someone has stolen your AdSense code and placed it on their own site. It sounds strange, but publishers have been concerned about this so Google now lets you create a list of Allowed Sites. Only those click on those sites will count towards your income. And at least one publisher has been banned because the previous owner of the domain had clicked his own ads before the domain was sold.

Whatever the reason, the next step is to appeal. Google has an official appeal form. It’s available at https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/request.py?contact=invalid_clicks_appeal Be sure to fill in all the fields in the form and provide as much information as possible. Be polite. Remember, Google’s system has detected a strange pattern in your click rate and is acting to protect its advertisers from paying for nothing. When advertisers start to feel that Google isn’t looking after their budget, none of us will make money. If Google has made a mistake, you want to help the company correct it, not annoy it so much it won’t want you back. Someone will read your form, and you want to stay on that person’s good side. Provide proof of your innocence if you can and show that you’re genuinely trying to help them get to the bottom of the problem. If you spotted a click spike in your stats, tell them when you saw it and what you think might have caused it — if you have any suspicions. If you happen to know the IP address of the source of the multiple clicks, block it, supply it to Google and tell them you’ve blocked it.

And remind Google that you think its service is great and that you’d like to keep using it. There are plenty of stories around about publishers who got banned but were reinstated after appeal. If you can produce a good explanation of the events that led to your site being banned, there’s a good chance that you’ll be allowed back in. And if all else fails and you find yourself cut off, there’s always Yahoo! Publisher Network combined with Chitika and Kontera ads. It’s unlikely you’ll make as much as you did with AdSense, but you will still make som