Protecting your AdSense account

There are many reports of AdSense publishers being banned by AdSense and often not given the cause of the suspension. They are also not given only limited chances for appeal. This post is about my own experience and the experience of others who have their account suspended.In my case, I have not had my account suspended, but have came close to it. I received warning letters that my account have been receiving invalid clicks or impressions (can't remember which one, or if it had been specifically specified). Anyway, I used to be a member of an auto-surf program, and although I have stopped using it for a long time, somehow, I was still receiving hits from that site (I have statcounter installed in all my blogs, so I can tell from where my traffic is coming from. It will be good for you to install a traffic counter for your site.) For instruction on how to install statcounter, see How to track visitors to your blog.) I immediately wrote to the owner of the auto-surf program to ask them to remove me from their service. I never got a response. Luckily, I managed to find out how to disable my auto-surf account myself. I replied to the warning letter, saying I have disabled the auto-surf program, and asked if there is still anything that may not be in compliance with the TOS. All I receive was what seem to be a canned reply. But anyway, my AdSense account is still active.Once your account is suspended, the chances of it being reactivated again is very slim, but not zero. Here are a few links to sites that detailed the experiences of those who got their account back, and how they did it, and also some sites which offer some good tips on how to appeal. Hope it help you."How to Bring Google AdSense Down" Or "You are Guilty but We will not Tell You Why" and "How to Resurrect Your Google AdSense Account".It is a first hand account of someone who had his account suspended, and how he had to appeal twice to get it back.You too can get banned from AdSense with no money down (Enquire Within)Another who got banned, and not only got back into the program, but had all the money due to him reimbursedGeek TalkGeek Talk, a forum. A thread where there was one very good reply from a poster Larwee where he detailed what why the situation is like this and what a publisher should try to do to get his account back.What to Do if Google Wrongly Bans You from AdSense, By Paul Middleton A personal account of how Paul Middleton got banned and how he got his account back.How to ensure your AdSense account will not be cancelledIt is a list of the top 10 list of what to do (and not to do!) to ensure your AdSense account remains in good standing.15 Common Mistakes by Google AdSense Publishers that Violates Terms of Service A good list of thing to avoid or to do to stay in good standing with Google AdSense.

AdSense BowlingAn account of how an enemy can get you banned from AdSense. If you are an AdSense publisher, try not to make enemies. Example of how an enemy can get you ban. Get your AdSense scripts from the source codes of your sites, including your Google AdSense identity, place it on sites that violates AdSense TOS, etc. Sometimes, it is not even necessary to go to that length. All he has to do is to go to one of your sites and click on the ads repetitively. Moral of the story: DON'T MAKE ENEMIES.If your account was disabled for invalid clicks, here is the contact form for you to appeal for reinstatement: Appeal
Contact Form for reporting AdSense invalid clicksThis is for those whose account have not been suspended but have accidentally clicked on their own ads or have reasons to suspect that there are invalid clicks being generated. In such cases, it is always better for you to let AdSense know first rather than for them to find out about it later.

Here is the contact form for reporting invalid clicks:

Reporting AdSense Invalid Clicks (close new window to get back to this page).

Written by Peter Chen

What can I do to ensure that my account won't be disabled?

Above all, Google recommend that you familiarize yourself with the AdSense program policies and ensure that all sites on which you display Google ads remain in full compliance with these policies. Additionally, following these simple rules will help keep your account in good standing:

• Don't click on your own Google ads.
  
  Clicking on Google ads on your own site for any reason is strictly prohibited. If you'd like more information about one of the advertisers appearing on your site, please type the URL of the ad directly into your browser's address bar, or use the AdSense preview tool.
  

• Don't ask others to click on Google ads.
  
  Users should click on Google ads because they're interested in the services being advertised. Encouraging users to click on your Google ads, either directly or indirectly, can lead to inflated advertiser costs and can cause your account to be disabled.
  

• Don't employ pop-up prompts or automatic software installations.
  
  Google is dedicated to improving the user experience on the Internet, and promoting responsible software principles is part of that effort. Sites showing Google ads may not prompt users to install software on their machines. Publishers must also not attempt to change users' browser home pages automatically or via pop-up prompts.

• Be aware of how your site is promoted.
  
  Pages showing Google ads may never be loaded in an unrequested pop-up. This means publishers need to be very careful when purchasing traffic or setting up ad campaigns with third parties. Before contracting with any ad network, you should ensure that they will never display your site in pop-ups or as a result of the actions of any software application.
  

• Don't place Google ads on sites that contain prohibited content.
  
  Google ads may not be displayed alongside any type of content prohibited by our program policies, including adult or mature content, gambling-related content, or drug content. It's your responsibility to ensure that all of your pages adhere to these policies.
  

• Respect Google trademarks.
  
  Framing or mimicking Google pages is strictly prohibited by our Guidelines for Use of Google Brand Features. In addition, publishers may not use any Google Brand Features such as Google trademarks, logos, webpages or screen shots, without prior consent from Google.
  

• Don't tamper with the AdSense code.
  
  AdSense offers a wide variety of approved formats, colors, and features in your AdSense account. Once you've generated your code, however, Google ask that you do not alter any portion of the code or change the layout, behavior, targeting, or delivery of ads for any reason, unless specifically authorized to do so by Google.
  

• Provide a positive user experience.
  
  Sites that contain excessive pop-ups, use sneaky redirects to obtain traffic, or otherwise attempt to interfere with normal web navigation aren't permitted in the AdSense network. Please make sure your site doesn't deceive your users in any way. Also, every AdSense publisher is required to adhere to the Webmaster Guidelines on quality to ensure that their site provides a positive user experience.
  

• Provide a good environment for advertisers.
  
  Sites showing Google ads should not present a poor opportunity for advertisers. Sites that use tricks or deceptive practices in order to trigger inadvertent clicks on ads are prohibited.

• Be responsive.
  
  Publishers are asked to be responsive to emails sent by the AdSense team. Be sure to keep your email address up-to-date, in case Google ever need to contact you about your account. To update your email address, follow the instructions here.

We are constantly reviewing publishers for compliance with AdSense program policies and rules noted above. If you believe a site showing ads is in violation of these policies, please contact Googles.

Adsense Tips

Google Adsense is perhaps the easiest way to attract advertisers from across the globe to your blog. Just submit your blog to Google for approval. If Google likes what it sees, it will place contextual ads linking to products likely to appeal to the readers. Each time a reader clicks a link, the advertiser pays Google a small fee, and Google splits that with you.The next interesting question - How to Make Money with Google Adsense ? Here are The best Google Adsense Tips and Tricks for making more money (profit) from Google adsense program.

A Strictly follow the rules mentioned in Adsense policies. You will always earn more revenue from Adsense by playing it clean.

B Never modify the Google Adsense HTML code.

C Don't ask your friends or visitors to click on your Google ads. Do not include incentives of any kind for users to click on ads. Don't label the Google ads with text other than "sponsored links" or "advertisements.".

D Don't click on your own ads - Google is much smarter than you think. You should not reload your pages excessively. If you are testing your website layout with Google adsense, follow some precautions. Or you can use the unofficial Google Adsense Sandbox Tool that is accessible from Firefox, IE and other browsers to see what kind of Google ads will be served based on content (website address URL) or keywords.

E Don't place ads in pop-up windows, error pages or even empty pages.

F Don't start a "adsense asbestos" or "home equity loan rates" website merely to make money from accidental clicks (accidence). You will never make money out these "made-for-adsense-only" websites. Instead, write on topics what you are passionate about. Don't waste your money on high-paying adsense keywords lists.

G For short articles, CTR is best when ads are placed just above the content

H For long articles, CTR improves if ads are placed somewhere in middle of the content - visitors read the long content and then they are looking for more resources.

I Use Text Ads instead of Image Ads as users get more options. If you still want to display image ads, consider ad formats that support image ads - Choose either the 300x250 medium rectangle or the 160x600 wide skyscraper - or both, if you display multiple ad units on a page.

J Google Ads without background color and borders always perform better. Make the border color and background color same as your page background color.

K Always put ads above the main fold. Make sure that the ad unit with the highest clickthrough rate is the first instance of the ad code that appears in the HTML. Since the first ad unit is always filled before the rest, you want to make sure that ad unit is located in the best placement on your page.

L Try setting the ad link URL color to a lighter shade. If your text is black, you may make the adlink as light gray.

M Go Wide - The large rectangle is the best paying adsense format (336x280) - The Google Adsense Publisher team also feels that the best formats are the wider ones - the ad formats that contain the widest individual ads. Try using the 336x280 large rectangle, 300x250 medium rectangle, or 160x600 wide skyscraper.

N Placing images next to ads or above ads does help in attracting user attention.

O Blend AdLinks with other navigation links or place horizontal adlinks at the top of your webpage. AdSense publishers are permitted to click on link unit topics on their web pages, provided that they do not click on any Google ads on the resulting page.

P Organize an Adsense Party for your friends and colleagues - Request them to navigate your website, watch their activity - it will provide vital clues about which regions on your website draw more user attention. Try putting ads near those areas. (Thanks Darren)

Q You can put upto 3 adsense units on a page. Try putting a large skyscraper on the right navigation sidebar of your website. That area is close to the browser scrollbar. You can also add 2 AdSense for search boxes, 1 adlink unit and 1 referral button per product (i.e., 1 AdSense referral button and 1 Firefox plus Google Toolbar referral button).

R The first few lines of your content are an important factor for determining what Ads are served on your webpage. That's the right place to put keywords in bold (strong or tags) or header tags (h1, h2, etc).

S Always select the setting to open Google Adsense search box results in a new browser window, so you won't lose your visitors. Click the Open search results in a new browser window checkbox and this add target="google_window" to your form tag.

T Maximum people think the search box is on the top right corner. So you know where to put it.

U Don't syndicate full content. If people can read everything from the newsreader window itself, why would they visit your website where your ads are.

V Use URL channels to determine performance of individual pages. I track my most popular pages with Google Analytics, Statcounter and create a channel for each of the URL. You can even track Adsense Clicks with Analytics

W For low CTR pages, try changing titles or adding more content to get better focused ads

X Block low paying advertisers with Filters. Why to loose a visitor for 0.01 cents. Use Overture or Google Adwords Keywords tool to discover keywords that are less popular with advertisers.

Y The AdSense for search Top Queries report shows you what your users are looking for, by listing the 25 most common searches conducted through your AdSense for search boxes. Use this report to identify additional topics to add to your site, or to keep track of your most sought-after information. Focus and improve that content.

Z Not everyone has a RSS reader. Use RSS to Email services like FeedBlitz, Bloglet or Rmail to let users subscribe to your blog by email.

Remember, you are the best judge when it comes to choosing ad formats. Even Google doesn't offer the best advise always. For instance, in the visual heat map, Google suggests that webmasters are best served by positioning ads on the upper left-hand side of a Web page. But on the Google homepage, you will find ads on the far right.Related LinksDisplay only relevant Google Ads in BlogsGoogle Adsense Layout Tips for Maximum ClicksGuide for Google AdSense PublishersAdSense is one of the best tools you can use to draw dollars to your site. Remember that there is no easy way to make money on Adsense... it takes a lot of work. Adsense publishers on blogspot.com can integrate Adsense directly from Blogger Interface.