Adsense Nonsense

…

A few months ago, I joined the Google Adsense program. That is where I let Google sell advertising space on my blog page and they eventually send me a small portion of their take. They have many rules. You may not click on advertisements on your own site because that is cheating. You cannot pay or induce someone else to click on your site. There were more. Many more. As far as I know, I complied with all the requirements. Then, I got this:

…

Hello,


After reviewing our records, we have determined that your Adsense account poses a risk of generating invalid activity. Because we have a responsibility to protect our AdWords advertisers from inflated costs due to invalid activity, we've found it necessary to disable your AdSense account. Your outstanding balance and Google's share of the revenue will both be fully refunded back to the affected advertisers.


Please understand that we need to take such steps to maintain the effectiveness of Google's advertising system, particularly the advertiser-publisher relationship. We understand the inconvenience that this may cause you, and we thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation.

…

Cooperation? They went on to say I could appeal their expert’s decision if I chose, but they could not tell me what they found suspicious because the formulas they use for detection are proprietary.

I found it difficult to defend myself from these unspecified accusations. I sent an appeal that must have sounded like “WTF” to the reader, if any. It did no good. In less than 24 hours, I had my reply. I was out of the Adsense program.

I know this will be disappointing news to the throngs who relied upon my blog site as a principal source of shopping information, but I can do nothing. Worse, the pile of money I earned publishing Google’s ads was half way to paying for a mid-range dinner for two. You know, any dinner not involving a drive-through window.

Not to worry. I never intended to become a giant internet retailer. I shall look for something pleasant and possibly entertaining to fill the empty space. 



Happy 2011, y’all.

…