Having Google AdSense Account
Disabled For Click Fraud

Google AdSense account disabled... worst nightmare for website owners!

Over the past several years many people have turned to AdSense as a way to ad a second stream of income to their website.

Some of them even look at this as the primary income from a site. It can be profitable as long as you do not get your account disabled.

This can create a big problem if you have gotten used to a significant income using AdSense. The sad part is, most of the things that caused the problem could easily be avoided.

With a little knowledge and a few precautions, you can run AdSense for years with little or no problems.

Yes, there are some instances where Google made a mistake when banning somebody from their service. Although those are the cases you may hear about, they are the exception and not the rule.

If you can show Google that it was a mistake, they will reactivate your account.

Read the Terms of Service

So, what are some of the more common reasons for why people have their Google AdSense account disabled? That is an important question because knowing the answer to that will help you to avoid problems in the future.

The typical answer is... they violated Google’s Terms of Service (TOS).

When you first sign up for an AdSense account you will have to check a box saying that you have read and agree to comply with the Terms of Service. This is not optional. If you do not agree, you will not be given an account. Make sure you read the TOS. It tells you all you need to know.

Understanding Click Fraud

One of the biggest reasons for having a Google AdSense account disabled is for what Google calls Click Fraud. This is anything that Google defines as an attempt to get clicks in an unnatural or unethical way. That is a rather broad definition, but it comes down to a few questionable practices.

The first rookie mistake some people make is to click on their own account. Do not do that... not even one time.

You may be curious about how it all works or how much a click will earn for you, but it will get you banned. Google tracks this and they will know if you do it.

Only Legitimate Clicks Allowed

The second thing that will get your Google AdSense account disabled is to offer incentives to your visitors to click on an ad. If you think about it, it makes sense. Google makes their money selling ads to advertisers. Those advertisers only want to pay for legitimately interested customers.

If you are offering incentives to your visitors to click those links the advertiser will be charged for those clicks, even though the people clicking are not really interested in what is being advertised. After a while those advertisers will get frustrated and stop advertising.

Over time, as more advertisers leave, Google would begin to see their income go down. Websites that belong to the AdSense program would also see their income decline.

In the end everyone loses. That is why Google takes a hard stance against that happening in the first place.

Another practice that Google will ban you for is disguising your links. You are not allowed to make the ad look like it is just a continuation of your website's content or pictures. You are not even allowed to have arrows on your site that point to the ad.

Google makes every attempt to make sure that the articles on your site are relevant to the content of your site. In return they expect you to offer a way for your customers to see ads for other products or services that might interest them. When done properly, the program works.

If you obey the rules and follow the TOS, you can run ads on your site for years without having your Google AdSense account disabled.

If it is disabled and it was your fault, you might as well start looking for a new way to make money. A ban from Google is a lifetime ban.

Understand the rules and follow them. When you do that, you can make money with AdSense. Do not try to scam the system, because you will get caught... and you will get banned.