The Internet abounds with horror stories of people losing their Google AdSense accounts and even being banned for life. This program is the single most lucrative advertising program for niche websites, so an AdSense ban can be a critical hit for your business. You must always abide by the program policies and follow the rules. If you don’t, you will regret it!
Here are three mistakes you should never make with Google AdSense – NOT EVEN ONCE – or you could end up with the dreaded AdSense ban.
NEVER CLICK ON YOUR OWN ADS! Do not encourage others to click on your ads, either! Don’t test it. Don’t try it. Don’t encourage anyone else to click ads on your behalf. Don’t tell your Mom how you make money. Don’t let your drunk best friend go slap-happy on those ads, either. Your well-intentioned friends and family can and will cause an AdSense ban if they commit click-fraud on your behalf. Never, under any circumstances, EVER click on your own ads or encourage anyone else to do so. Just don’t do it. I cannot say that enough. DO NOT CLICK ON YOUR OWN ADS.
DO NOT OVERWHELM YOUR SITE WITH ADS. Remember, Content is King! Google only approves quality websites for their Google AdSense program. If your website is gaudy and plastered with advertisements, you will be removed from the program. AdSense has very strict guidelines for advertising placement. Among these guidelines, you’ll find rules like these:
- You cannot place ads in a location or style that encourages accidental clicks. For example, you cannot place ads in the navigation menu, download links, drop-down menus or other deceptive locations.
- You cannot call unnatural attention to the ads with flashy animations, arrows, or sticky locations.
- You cannot place ads under a misleading header or label.
- You cannot align images with ads in any way that may confuse your users.
- You cannot place ads in a layout where ads push content below the fold.
- You cannot place ads near flash games because frantic gameplay may result in accidental clicks.
- You cannot place ads on thank you, exit, login or error pages.
In 2016, AdSense removed a policy that limited publishers to three ads per page. The new policies are designed to protect the user experience while encouraging publishers to create compelling, quality web content. Your first and primary focus should always be creating a valuable, content-heavy website.
NEVER USE ADSENSE ON A SITE WITH PROHIBITED CONTENT. Google AdSense does not allow publishers to use their ad program on websites that include certain types of content. If you’re blogging in one of these niches, you cannot monetize your site with Google AdSense. Doing so will result in a ban, which could block you from using the website on other sites in the future.
Prohibit topics include:
- Adult content, such as pornography or content that promotes weapons, alcohol, tobacco or drugs
- Dangerous or derogatory content, such as discriminating, hateful or threatening content.
- Drug-related content
- Gambling content
- Prescription or healthcare content
- Hacking or cracking content
- Horror or shock-value content that includes gruesome, gory or violent material
- Illegal content
AND THAT’S NOT ALL…
Of course, these aren’t the only things that can result in a total AdSense ban… but they are the most common. If you’ve had a bad experience with Google AdSense, share it in the comments!
Got an AdSense ban? Check out these AdSense alternatives!