10 Don’ts to Help You Avoid Having Your AdSense Account Banned

AdSense account banning could happen to anyone regardless of how big or small they are as a publisher.

This was what had happened to Henry and Wilson, a twin from Baltimore who was pulling $200,000 monthly from AdSense. Then it all came down crashing last month when they were banned by Google for invalid clicks barely a few days before the next payment was supposed to arrive.

If you think this will never happen to you, think again. Here are the 10 things you should do to prevent AdSense banning.

1. Familiarise Yourself with AdSense Program Policies

   Unlike other program policies, this one is actually readable without all the technical mumbo jumbo that make your head spin.

    

2. Don’t Click On Your Own Ads

   This is obvious but many people still do it thinking they won’t get caught.

   On the other hand, you don’t have to lose sleep over accidental clicks generated and there’s no need to inform them if it happens.

   If you are interested with an ad, just type the URL manually into your browser’s address bar, or use the AdSense preview tool.

    

3. Don’t Ask Others to Click on Your Ads

   Some even go one step further asking their friends from different locations to click on their ads. If you are tempted to do this, don’t. Google click fraud system is smart enough to identify such clicks as fraudulent ones.

   Don’t ask or beg your visitors to click on your ads. Don’t exchange clicks with other publishers like holding a “I’ll click yours if you click mine” agreement.

   All this leads to inflated advertiser costs. If your account isn’t yet disabled, advertisers would probably stop advertising on your blog.

    

4. Don’t Put Images Next to Your AdSense Ads

   Some publishers discovered that they could improve their CTR when images are placed next to the AdSense ads. This setup tricks the visitors into thinking that the images are somehow related to the ads.

   This practice is prohibited by Google. If your site contains elements that increase CTR without increasing conversion rates for advertisers, your clicks may be considered invalid.

    

5. Don’t Use Pop-up or Automatic Software Installations

   Avoid using pop-up (or pop-under) at your blog where AdSense is displayed. If you are purchasing traffic from other sites, make sure that they do not display your site in pop-ups.

   In addition, make user your site do no prompt users to install software on their machines.

    

6. Don’t Alter Your AdSense Code

   You are not allowed to change your AdSense code for any reason unless specifically authorized to do so by Google. If you need to change the ad unit layout, colour or format, generate new code from your account.

    

7. Don’t Reveal Your Click Through Rates (CTR)

   While you can tell people how much you make in a month from AdSense, you are not allowed to reveal how much you earn per click.

    

8. Don’t Integrate AdSense code into a Software Application

   This is mainly for software developer who’s thinking they could make money by integrating their AdSense code into a software application.

    

9. Don’t Not Display Google AdSense on Sites Primarily in an Unsupported Language or With Unsuitable Content

   If your site is written in a language other than English, make sure it’s primarily written in one of the supported languages.

   So if you have a blog written primarily in Malay for instance, you are not allowed to place AdSense because it’s not one of the supported languages.

   In addition, Google don’t accept AdSense on pages that promote or sell:

   Violent content, racial intolerance, pornography, adult, or mature content, hacking/cracking content, iIllicit drugs and drug paraphernalia, excessive profanity, gambling or casino-related content

   See the full list here

    

10. Don’t Display Competitive Ads and Services

    This doesn’t mean that you are not allowed to use other ad programs, contextually or otherwise on your site. You may display other advertising programs on the same page as AdSense as long as they don’t resemble the look and feel of AdSense ads.

    In addition, even though the competing ad units share the same size and styling, you won’t be breaking AdSense policy as long as other elements such as the colour schemes differentiate the look and feel of each ad unit.

    Therefore, ads like YPN, Chitika, Kontera, and AdBrite are allowed provided that they don’t mimic AdSense. However, you have to make sure the competing ad policy allows AdSense on the same page.

     

There are other don’ts that you need to observer; again the AdSense Program Policies is a good place to start to learn whether your are in full compliance with their policies. Finally, if you are unsure whether you are entering into the “grey area”, just shot an email to Google and ask them about your ad placement.
Problem solved!