Most common Adsense-related mistakes

Almost every webmaster has used or at least thought about using Adsense(R) to monetize traffic, however there are literally thousands of webmasters complaining everywhere that their accounts have been frozen. So this time I thought it would be good to include a list of the most commonly seen reasons of why Google decides to freeze an account.

1. Keep it legal. Piracy (warez), free porn and cracking/hacking websites can generate a lot of traffic, and therefore adding Adsense to such sites is always luring, however Google doesn’t like to have their advertising program associated with such sites. If you read the TOS (Terms of Service) carefully, you’ll see that they are actually telling you to keep from adding Adsense to such sites! However most webmasters just click the “I accept” button without reading them thoroughly.

2. Avoid using “instant website creators”. There are hundreads of scripts advertised on the net that will create “adsense-ready” websites in just a few seconds and some of those scripts use false testimonials as “proof” that there are webmasters making thousands of dollars a day just by using the script. Google doesn’t like that kind of scripts. In order for Adsense to be a valuable resouce or ad channel for advertisers, the ads should be displayed on content-rich websites that are somehow related to the products or services advertised. The scripts that try to fool Google into thinking that there’s a lot of content will most likely use the same content for all websites created using the same script or will steal content from other sources (such as RSS feeds, forums, blogs, etc.). Google doesn’t like duplicate content, so if they find that most content in your site is actually a copy from other websites, they will ban your website from Adsense and will maybe freeze your account.

3. Keep from clicking your own links. Yes, I know… you’re just about to earn your first $100.00 and you’re close… very close… but there are a few cents missing and the month is coming to an end… the link is there, it looks as if it was even flashing for you to click on it and try to “earn” those few cents that will add up to your earnings and secure your next payment by the end of the next month… The feeling is somehow similar to undressing in your best friend’s daughter in your mind… you know it’s wrong but can’t look away. However Google has some very advanced ways to know if a webmaster is clicking on his/her own links! and a few cents could bring your Adsense account to an end.

4. Don’t invite others to click. Some websites add texts that read something like “in order to keep this site free please support us by clicking on our sponsors’ ads”. This can lead to 3 different endings. The first one, users don’t mind, they don’t click and you don’t make any extra money. The second one, users care about your site and try to support you by clicking on ALL YOUR ADS, this will make Google’s systems think you’re using some fake traffic generator and will close your account. The third one, Google’s spiders will detect your text and as per Adsense’s TOS, they will close your account. In the end, it’s no good to lose your account including fair earned money just because you tried to convince your visitors to click.

5. Aways keep an eye on the website guidelines published by Adsense. Sometimes they change, and you have to make sure that your website abides by those guidelines. It includes the content on your website, what websites you link to and how you display your ads.

6. Moderate. If you’re using Adsense on a public forum or blog, you need to constantly moderate the comments posted by your visitors as some visitor could try to “spam” your blog or forum by posting several links to other websites which my infringe Adsense’s TOS/Guidelines. Keep in mind that even though you’re not the author of such comments or posts, it’s still your forum/blog and therefore you’re responsible for what’s published in it.

7. Review your website’s design. There are some websites that rely mostly on images and animations. Some graphic designers jump into web design and create full layouts entirely in image creating software, you can read text on them but it’s text within an image, so search engines (including the adsense bot) can’t read it. Adsense relies on your website’s content to “know” what ads to serve, if it’s unable to “read” your website, it won’t serve the right ads, and believe me, the right ads mean a better CTR (click through ratio).

I hope this few tips help those that rely on Adsense to monetize their traffic. Again, I don’t work for Google nor Adsense and the only relationship between those companies and myself is that I have an account to display ads. This tips aren’t endorsed by Google nor Adsense and shouldn’t be used as a proof for anything, I wrote this article based on my experience and what I’ve read in other websites.