Banned from Google AdSense

[richardxthripp]

I was banned from Google AdSense two hours ago. The email just said I violated a program policy but did not indicate which one. I can't even access my AdSense account at all now. I submitted an appeal, replied to their email, and left a message on their corporate voicemail, but haven't received any response yet.

Has anyone here gone through this experience? Google owes me $570 for Oct. 1, 2010 - Nov. 11, 2010. They did not indicate invalid clicks, but before my account was closed it said I would not receive any payment. Isn't this thievery?

I've been displaying ads on my personal website since December 2007. I also run a URL shortener called Th8.us and I display Google AdSense in an iFrame above the redirect page with a link to hide the ads. The service has over 21 million short URLs and makes about $150 per month from AdSense. I got the idea from About.com which does the same thing using Google AdSense ads, and added AdSense to Th8.us in February 2010.

I develop a WordPress plugin called Tweet This which includes the option "Insert Google AdSense ads to support Tweet This." If checked, this inserts ads with my publisher ID on the plugin user's blog. Last month, this made $143. I added this option in February 2009.

However, I have been doing both of these things for a long time. Why would they ban me now, without listing a reason? Surely I am making a lot of money for Google -- at least $1600 if they take 32% of the revenue and I receive 68%.

Here is a copy of the email, but it doesn't say anything specific:

Hello,

We continually review all publishers according to our Terms and
Conditions and program policies, and we reserve the right to disable
publishers or sites that are not in compliance with our policies.

Our specialists have found that your account is not in compliance with
these program policies. As a result, we have disabled your account.

Google has certain policies in place that we believe will help ensure
the effectiveness of Google ads for our publishers as well as our
advertisers. We believe strongly in freedom of expression and therefore
offer broad access to content across the web without censoring results.
At the same time, we reserve the right to exercise editorial discretion
when it comes to the ads we display in our AdWords program and the
sites on which we choose to display them in our AdSense program, as
noted in our respective Terms and Conditions.

Thank you for your understanding.

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense Team

I am familiar with most of the Google AdSense rules and do not have filters in place for pornographic URLs on the Th8.us URL shortener, but have observed that Google does not display any ads on these URLs which means the advertisement iFrame is left blank. The ads are all placed with the publisher's knowledge, and I accept opt-out requests for webmasters who don't want my ads on iFrames next to their sites.

The only possible red flag is that I modified the AdSense script. I added this JavaScript parameter: google_page_url = [$page_url]. This means all the Th8.us ads were targeted at the actual page, not my frameset page. I did not know that changing the JavaScript is forbidden. EDIT: Also, I've never had a privacy policy. I didn't think I needed one since I don't collect any personal information besides whatever my server records.

Also, Google stopped serving ads on the th8.us domain in July 2010 so I have been serving the iFrame with the ads from a separate domain (daytonastate.org). And th8.us has been banned from the Google Search index for years.

I've been using Google AdSense since December 2007 and have not received any warnings until now. While it wasn't until February 2009 that I added the AdSense option to Tweet This and February 2010 that I added the ads to Th8.us, I've received the checks every month and my revenues from these two sources have been $3800. It looks like I may not be receiving the $570 I earned from Oct. 1, 2010 - Nov. 11, 2010. I can't even access my AdSense account or earnings history. It says "Account Disabled."

Google hasn't answered my emails or phone calls yet. I replied directly to their email from adsense-support at google dot com, I send in an appeal on their website, and I left a message on their general mailbox at Google Atlanta (extension #123). It's very hard to get in touch with anyone by phone. I made sure to emphasize that I am concerned about being paid the revenue that is owed to me rather than complaining about the banning. Since Google has not indicated invalid clicks and I don't click my ads or encourage others to click my ads, this probably isn't the issue.

I would really like to continue using Google AdSense, even if I have to stop displaying ads on the websites of other people. Since I've made about $5000 and their revenue share is 32%, they've made at least $1600 having me as a client. Maybe that will help my appeal.



NOTE: Sorry that some of my post repeats itself. I wrote it for this forum, and I copied it here because I know you guys are all interested in passive income so this would be a highly relevant topic. If you rely on Google, your passive income can be cut off at any time. I don't think I can trust Google -- even if I'm reinstated I will always need a backup plan.

[Lil Chris]

I wonder if it was caused by your plug-in and inserting your ads on other peoples sites (which is a great idea by the way), but may violate terms?

I'd like to see what Google has issues with, they are notorious with telling you there is a problem but not mentioning what that problem is (initially anyway).

[richardxthripp]

I'd like to know too, but they haven't answered my email. I'd have more luck communicating with a company in Nigeria...

I would be surprised if it was Tweet This, since that's opt-in. The user of the plugin has to click a checkbox in the options to show my ads on his/her blog. Th8.us is opt-out (you have to email me to be removed), and I show ads in an iFrame... that may violate the spirit of the rules.

Either way, I'm going to need a new income stream. Any suggestions? I put AdBrite up but it hasn't started working yet.

[Curtis2011]

Originally Posted by richardxthripp

The only possible red flag is that (1) I modified the AdSense script. I added this JavaScript parameter: google_page_url = [$page_url]. This means all the Th8.us ads were targeted at the actual page, not my frameset page. I did not know that changing the JavaScript is forbidden. EDIT: Also, (2) I've never had a privacy policy. I didn't think I needed one since I don't collect any personal information besides whatever my server records.

You just answered your own question.

1) Google forbids changing the script they give you.

Originally Posted by Adsense Terms & Conditions

...including without limitation by not modifying the JavaScript or other programming provided to You by Google in any way, unless expressly authorized in writing by Google...

2) Google requires all Adsense users to have a privacy policy.

Originally Posted by Adsense Terms & Conditions

You must have and abide by an appropriate privacy policy that clearly discloses that third parties may be placing and reading cookies on your users’ browser...

Source: https://www.google.com/adsense/localized-terms


I don't see where the misunderstanding is. You breached two of their primary rules and thus they turned off your account.

[richardxthripp]

But they've audited my account before and never said anything about this. I've been breaching their rules for years. Why have the checks kept coming?

If you ask me, I think Google just wanted to steal my $570.

[Lil Chris]

What was your purpose for modifying the code? Do you need to modify the code for it to function?

It's easy enough to put up a privacy policy to satisfy Google's requirement.

I'm curious, do you make a profit on the plug-in you created? From Donations, paid version, etc...

[richardxthripp]

No profit. In two years I've only received $50 in donations. It's free and open-source. Steve Pavlina uses it on his blog.

I had to modify the code because the ads were being displayed in an iFrame above the external page. By setting the google_page_url variable to the URL in the iFrame, the ads would be targeted to the page below. Otherwise, they would be completely irrelevant.

About.com does the same thing with Google ads, but I've been told on another forum that they are much more important than me so obviously they can do whatever they want and I have to play by the rules...

[ellie]

Originally Posted by richardxthripp

But they've audited my account before and never said anything about this. I've been breaching their rules for years. Why have the checks kept coming?

If you ask me, I think Google just wanted to steal my $570.

I don't think $570 would concern them.

Maybe they didn't realise what you were doing in the last audit.

Flip it into a postive, you had years earnings, which you weren't meant to have.

[richardxthripp]

We both don't know that. They haven't told me the specific reason I was banned yet -- only that I violated their policies, which could be anything.

If I were to guess, I would guess an advertiser saw his ads on one of my sites and complained. But everything is speculation until Google responds to my appeal.

[Curtis2011]

Originally Posted by richardxthripp

If you ask me, I think Google just wanted to steal my $570.

That is an incredibly ignorant thing to say, considering the fact that they would make even more profit in the future by allowing you to continue using Adsense, also considering that anyone at a multi-billion dollars company would give a crap about your $570.

The jist of it is that you broke the rules they have established. It is quite common knowledge that you are not supposed to modify the scripts they give you. I don't even know how to write Javascript, but I still know that it is against their rules to modify it. Also, "get a privacy policy up" is usually the first thing anyone says to someone who is banned/ disabled/ cannot get an Adsense account.


I see that you are angry that you are not being paid your earnings. You may be able to take Google to small claims court and win your $570 if you care about it that much; I have heard of someone doing something similar in the past.

However, given that you actually modified their scripts, which is a pretty serious offense, I doubt they will reinstate your account in the future. Usually if the only problem is lack of privacy policy, you can put one up and ask for re-admition. I have heard of some people being able to rejoin Adsense after being banned because of this.

Originally Posted by richardxthripp

About.com does the same thing with Google ads, but I've been told on another forum that they are much more important than me so obviously they can do whatever they want and I have to play by the rules...

Any website with 2,000,000 unique monthly visitors or higher gets access to many special features that allow them to modify Google's Adsense ads in ways that regular users cannot. That is why some big name websites often have very peculiar-looking ads. This is probably the case with About.com.

Also, it is highly probably that a representative from Google actually talks to representatives of these big-name websites in person/over the phone. It is a business relationship after all, and these businesses are often earning millions of dollars for each other, thus warranting special attention that someone earning Google a few thousand dollars is not worth spending the time for.

[richardxthripp]

I don't even know why I was banned. It could be the lack of a privacy policy, it could be the modifications, it could be displaying ads in iFrames. It could be a combination of these things or something else entirely. But I'm going to write a privacy policy now.

As for Google, you give big corporations too much credit. They often are short-sighted and do very dumb things. I'm obviously making Google money, so the very fact that they banned me without giving me a warning shows they do dumb things.

For now, I've switched to AdBrite.

[Curtis2011]

Originally Posted by richardxthripp

I don't even know why I was banned. It could be the lack of a privacy policy, it could be the modifications, it could be displaying ads in iFrames. It could be a combination of these things or something else entirely. But I'm going to write a privacy policy now.

As for Google, you give big corporations too much credit. They often are short-sighted and do very dumb things. I'm obviously making Google money, so the very fact that they banned me without giving me a warning shows they do dumb things.
For now, I've switched to AdBrite.

If they allowed every user to modify their scripts, it would inevitably lead to users modifying them in such a way that a huge number of people are mislead into clicking on Adsense ads by mistake on websites using modified code to "milk the users" for all they're worth in paid clicks.

This would lead to a deterioration of the value of the clicks that Adsense provides. Eventually, many Adwords publishers would stop using Adwords altogether if they were paying for so many invalid clicks.

So, Google is being very smart by having a policy which isn't even really that strict. All they are saying is "this is how our ads work, these are the rules for using them" and if you can't follow along with that, then you are not allowed to use them. I don't see what the misunderstanding is here.

[richardxthripp]

Do you even have an AdSense account? google_page_url is an official variable supported by the AdSense API. In fact, furl.net has modified their AdSense code in the same way as me.

Modify google_page_url?! - AdSense Help

[Lil Chris]

Originally Posted by richardxthripp

Do you even have an AdSense account? google_page_url is an official variable supported by the AdSense API. In fact, furl.net has modified their AdSense code in the same way as me.

Modify google_page_url?! - AdSense Help

Then perhaps that is not the issue...

[Daffy Duck]

Originally Posted by richardxthripp

the option "Insert Google AdSense ads to support Tweet This." If checked, this inserts ads with my publisher ID on the plugin user's blog.

Only Google knows for sure, but I have a feeling this had something to do with it. I don't think they want people doing stuff like that. They may have only noticed it now.

Hope it works out for you!

[richardxthripp]

Well, I got a vague email one hour ago saying I contacted Google AdSense through the wrong channel:

Hello,

Thank you for your message. Our policy support team will not be able to
assist you through the channel you've used to contact us.

To contact us, please visit our Help Center:
https://www.google.com/adsense/suppo...tc=aspe-ai4-en.


You can also view information on our program policies:
https://www.google.com/adsense/suppo...tc=aspe-ai4-en.

Thanks for your understanding.

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense Team

Apparently, I used the invalid clicks appeal form and they wanted the much simpler "account disabled" appeal form which only requires my name, email, publisher ID, website, and an essay on why I should be reconsidered.

I submitted this, hope it helps...

My notification email only says "Our specialists have found that your account is not in compliance with these program policies," so I don't know the specific reason my account was disabled.

However, I have reviewed the AdSense program policies and found I did not have the required privacy policy. I have added the page to my site at Privacy Policy and have added a link to it in the footer of every page, so I would like to request my account status to be reconsidered. In the past three months, I've received about xxx,xxx page impressions and my earnings have averaged $xxx per month. I've been a Google AdSense user in good standing since December 2007 and have been proud to be part of the program.

If there are any other issues with my account or ad placement, please let me know and I will correct them promptly.

Thanks,
Richard Thripp

[RomanHD]

Sir, take that picture down. You are not supposed to publicly display your Google stats, other than your total earnings. If Google finds this, you might be done for good.

Here, from their AdSense TOS:

Originally Posted by Google

7. Confidentiality. You agree not to disclose Google Confidential Information without Google's prior written consent. "Google Confidential Information" includes without limitation: (a) all Google software, technology, programming, specifications, materials, guidelines and documentation relating to the Program; (b) click-through rates or other statistics relating to Property performance in the Program provided to You by Google; and (c) any other information designated in writing by Google as "Confidential" or an equivalent designation. However, You may accurately disclose the amount of Google’s gross payments to You pursuant to the Program. Google Confidential Information does not include information that has become publicly known through no breach by You or Google, or information that has been (i) independently developed without access to Google Confidential Information, as evidenced in writing; (ii) rightfully received by You from a third party; or (iii) required to be disclosed by law or by a governmental authority.

[goldberg]

As curtis stated by not following those two rules you can get banned. Just because another site has modified their javascript does not mean that you can as some Adsense providers get special privileges. It could also be that someone sent a bunch of false clicks to your site and reported you to get you banned.

And as someone else stated you should remove that screen shot as you are again doing something which gets your banned.

Also just because you have got away with it so far is no excuse. They do random audits and also when someone complains about your ads (it could have been a competitor of yours or some disgruntled user)

If you want any hope of getting your adsense account back then stop violating their tos. That being said from what I have read it is unlikely that your account will be unbanned, good luck.

[st33med]

Originally Posted by RomanHD

Sir, take that picture down. You are not supposed to publicly display your Google stats, other than your total earnings. If Google finds this, you might be done for good.

Here, from their AdSense TOS:

In addition, I think you need to remove that email containing your stats as well.

They don't tell you on purpose because you did read and agree to the TOS, so you must know why you have been banned. I have to agree that a) no privacy policy, and b) modifying the code were the factors in your banning. They do not have to warn you before hand because they assume you already know that you are violating the TOS.

[James81]

I think Adsense is a poor business model anyway.

Think about it, when you get the kind of traffic that makes adsense profitable, I think it becomes much more profitable to sell your own adspace than it does to get pennies from the clicks you get.

[richardxthripp]

Thanks for the ideas. Google has still not said anything, but I'm expecting an email before 2011 for sure.

As for the stats, I edited the image making all the stats except gross earnings blacked out. Press Ctrl + F5 if your browser is still loading the browser-cached image. Hopefully Google didn't look at my sites. They probably just have some control panel where they see all visitor activty without going to the sites.

"Getting away with it so far" is a good excuse, or at least a mitigating factor. It's called precedent. Google has so much information -- surely if they didn't like what I was doing they would have banned me 8 months ago when I started using iFrames and my earnings doubled. I haven't made recent changes to my AdSense usage.

As for not giving me a reason because I already agreed to the TOS, that makes no sense at all. Google doesn't give a reason because Google believes Google is God. Or they're just lazy.

However, I've read the email again and I think they disabled me for violaing the Program Policies, not the Terms & Conditions, because that's specifically what they cite in the original email. But which policy? There's no way to know for sure.

[Curtis2011]

Originally Posted by richardxthripp

"Getting away with it so far" is a good excuse, or at least a mitigating factor. It's called precedent. Google has so much information -- surely if they didn't like what I was doing they would have banned me 8 months ago when I started using iFrames and my earnings doubled. I haven't made recent changes to my AdSense usage.

As for not giving me a reason because I already agreed to the TOS, that makes no sense at all. Google doesn't give a reason because Google believes Google is God. Or they're just lazy.

Well the thing is, Google is not a government entity. "Precedent" has nothing to do with them. Also, that is generally a poor excuse in legal matters anyways. If you try to tell the cop that you are jaywalking because everyone else is jaywalking, you are still breaking the law and he can still give you a ticket, even if 100 other people around you are doing the same thing. It is still illegal.

Also, Google probably has hundreds of thousands of Adsense users. They probably don't send out personalized emails to everyone they disable simply because it would take a lot of employee hours to do so. If they simply send out a standard copy & paste email, they save themselves a lot of time that would have been wasted on writing out individual emails.

If someone called you "lazy" because you didn't want to write personalized emails to tens of thousands of individuals, would you agree that you are lazy? I don't think so.

[richardxthripp]

Well, this is different. I'm a Google AdSense publisher -- I should not be in an adversarial relationship with Google. And I'm sure they don't have to send out tens of thousands of ban notifications per day, especially not to people getting a check every month like me. Most of the bans are probably made during the first audit, after the publisher reaches $100.

As for your example with the cop, the Supreme Court's crede is "Equal Justice Under Law." Equal justice means uniform enforcement, not selective enforcement.

Let's say I posted an affiliate link on the Steve Pavlina forums, breaking the rules. Would it be wise for a mdoerator to immediately and permanently ban me? No. What if I just signed up and had 0 posts? Yes. Different treatment for different people is fine outside of government, as long as it doesn't violate civil rights laws (which don't even come into play in my AdSense case). I think I deserve a personal reply from a Google employee.

[LostMyMap]

I do think it's somewhat lame that they don't tell you why they are banning you. Seems like they could be better serving themselves by instructing, rather than just banning out of the blue and not even stating a reason.

But legally, you are not entitled to anything outside of the legal contract you had with them. If it allows for them to ban you without warning, and not pay you anymore, and you accepted that contract, you have no case.

Also Curtis is absolutely right. The precedence argument isn't worth the keystrokes to type it out. You will never win anything with that. Any judge in this country would laugh at you if you tried to use the Supreme Court credo as a defense. "Getting away with it so far" is not a defense, or a mitigating factor. Your best bet here is to try to figure out exactly what they didn't like and not do it again.

[richardxthripp]

Well, I never mentioned taking them to court. I don't have a case anyway. Read Aaron Greenspan's Why I Sued Google (and Won) and Why Google Bothered to Appeal a $761 Small Claims Case (and Won) articles in the Huffington Post. I will be near Mountain View next summer, but the best I can do is go to the Google headquarters and humbly ask to be paid without threatening legal action which would be groundless anyway.

[GrigoriySidelnikov]

I understand your disappointment, and perhaps fear for the future of your online income. I wish I could be sympathetic, but it's difficult, for the following reasons:


1. The front page of your website looks worse than some of the spam sites I have seen.

2. The content of your website is unreadable, you pay no attention to how easy it should be to read your site. You clutter the website with things that distract the visitor, instead of focusing on providing easy access to one thing at a time. There is a lot you can learn from StevePavlina.com, which receives 4 page reads per average user - which is a significant number for this statistic.

3. The biggest problem I see here is that you believe that your website is alright. But it appears that you have not read the agreement you entered as a contractor with Google. There is information that is available that explains what type of webmaster guidelines you should follow, in terms of aesthetic appeal of your website.

All these things get in the way of AdSense optimizations, something that Google started to pay much more attention, especially during the past 2 years.

They did not indicate invalid clicks, but before my account was closed it said I would not receive any payment. Isn't this thievery?

It's not. Remember, that you have received exclusive rights to display Google AdSense on your website. Before that happened, you made the choice, nobody else did this for you, you made the choice to agree to the terms that state that Google holds no obligation to pay you your AdSense earnings, and that you furthermore agree that your AdSense relationship can be terminated for any reason, if Google decides to do so.

Please explain to me, how is this thievery?

[richardxthripp]

You joined just to say this? You obviously haven't even visited my site since you know nothing about it.