Showing posts with label adsense questions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adsense questions. Show all posts

Saturday, September 1, 2012

More AdSense Questions With Answers

Every now and then we get a spate of questions in the AdSense forum that are basically the same question (or very similar) multiple times. Some of recent questions we've noticed appear to be increasing in numbers, and while many have already been answered before some of them are worth a second look, so without further discussion, onto the questions.


Do I have to create a new ad unit for each article or page?

No, you can use the same ad unit code on each article if you don't want to use different colours or sizes. AdSense ads are targeted to the content of your article, so even if you write about different subjects in each article, the same ad unit code will show different ads on different pages.

If you want to track the performance of the ad unit on each page, you can create a Custom channel or a URL channel for each page.

Can I get my PIN sent by courier, SMS, or email?

No, that it isn't possible. The PIN is sent by regular postal services. The reason for that is because AdSense needs to verify your physical address - in other words, they want to be sure you live at the address/country that you've given in your AdSense account.

If you aren't able to receive your PIN in three tries, Adsense will make alternate arrangements with you (through a notice in your Adsense account) to verify your address that don't invovle mailing another PIN.

Does AdSense partner with PTC (Pay-to-Click) Sites?

That's a big NO.

Any site related to pay-to-click advertising or "jobs" that require you to click on AdSense ads is absolutely outside of anything related to AdSense, and AdSense  will not partner with them in any way, and any AdSense publisher who uses such a site  (ie: PTC advertising) would soon find their own AdSense accounts disabled.

Not only is advertising your monetized sites on a PTC-type site against Adsense policy, AdSense considers PTC sites to be defrauding AdWords advertisers. AdSense policy is very clear, and it can be found here:

Prohibited Content
What's the policy?
The term "pay-to" refers to sites that promise payment or incentives to users who click on ads, surf the web, read emails, or perform other similar tasks. Placing Google ads on such pages may result in invalid impressions or clicks and is therefore prohibited. Similarly, sites which primarily drive traffic to or discuss pay-to services are not permitted to show ads.

AdWords advertisers pay Google to display their ads in order for them to get some value from their ads - they are looking to advertise and sell their products, or to find new leads for their companies. They are not looking for someone to just click their ad because they've been paid to do so.

From the Adsense Help Center - Prohibited Content

Adsense ad clicks from PTC sources would be considered invalid and the publisher will not get paid for them because the advertiser will not pay for them.

If you use AdSense on your sites, then stay away from sites of this nature, and do not be taken in by any who say they have a contract or partnership with AdSense. This is a big fat lie, and the only thing a site like this will do for you is get your AdSense account disabled.


How long does the second stage of AdSense approvals take? Why is my approval taking so long?

The second stage of the Adsense approvals process can take anywhere from four business days to a week or two - usually not longer than that. (Business days exclude weekends and US holidays)

The final approval stage begins when you place the required ad code on your website. Once you have placed the code correctly, the final approval (second stage) process begins.

Note that if you applied through a YouTube channel for approval, placing the code is not required.

If you haven't had an approval email after a couple of weeks at most, you should check the status of your application using this form: Check Application Status


Adserving was disabled to my site and I don't know why.

Adsense emails generally give a rather generic reason in these sort of notices. It is up to the publisher to read through any reference links AdSense has included in the email to see if any of the policies have been violated.

Because AdSense publishers come from around the globe, some things which might be considered okay from a "legal" standpoint in their country may not necessarily be considered "okay" by AdSense Policies, sometimes making it more difficult for publishers to understand what the violation is.

The answers generally lay in the AdSense help center, which is why AdSense includes those links in many of the emails. If you are unable to determine the reason, you can ask for help in the Group Support forum.


Why is my new tech site rejected?

Ahhh. This is one question that has become more and more frequent. And one of the harder to ones to answer.

Not wanting to offend anyone here, but the easiest answer is that tech sites are "a dime a dozen" - and that's partly beause in some countries, new technology is often a hot topic.

The problem itself doesn't lie in the fact that it's a site related to technology, the problem seems to be that for the most part, tech sites aren't all that original. While a publisher might write large parts of their own articles, they tend use images from the web or from the company's website, and they repost standard technical details taken from the manufacturer's website. These aren't considered original contents. Then there is the fact that almost every tech site will be covering the same product, and usually in the same way.

Because AdSense is looking for sites that add some sort of new value to the internet, more tech sites with similar contents aren't of that much interest to AdSense right now. Most of these new sites don't add anything new to the world of tech-blogs because their subject matter has been covered "ad nauseum" by hundreds or thousands of similar sites.

To get a tech blog approved, it would have to be spectactularly different and unique - in it's presentation, and in the way it covers new technology. The same tired articles and reviews aren't going to cut it for AdSense at this point in time.


Is there a human to contact at Adsense?

Well, there are in fact many humans that work at Google, including the AdSense product staff but for the most part, there is little direct contact between staff and publisher without going through some troubleshooting.

Many of the troubleshooter's have direct contact forms if the troubleshooter doesn't resolve your issues. Asking for help in the forum can also get you contact with a staff member when the situation warrants it, but even in cases where issues are escalated you may not always get direct contact with the staff if the issue can be corrected without any interraction.

This page in the Adsense help center contains troubleshooting links, and contact links for publishers:


This isn't necessarily because they don't want to offer support, but because they receive thousands of requests daily, and the AdSense staff are limited in numbers. They also don't just handle escalated forum complaints - these are only a small part of the job they do so while it may seem to some they aren't doing enough, their responsibilities are much more than just dealing with publisher complaints.

And no, there is no telephone support for publishers. We often see questions that ask if there is an Adsense telephone number. I'm sure there is, but it isn't one that a publisher would ever get an answer at. All calls to Google are routed through very well trained receiptionists - polite, but tough as nails. You won't get past them, even if you do have a phone number to use.

There is an Advertisement on my site that interests me can i click it?

Absolutely NOT.

AdSense publishers may not click on any AdSense ads on their own websites. That is one of the first things you are told when signing up for AdSense. Please be sure you read and follow the instructions.

Program Policies - Beginner's
Don't click on your own Google ads.
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.

AdSense policies forbid publishers and family members or friends living in the same household from clicking ads on your site(s), so make sure that this does not happen.

If you truly are interested in the product or website listed on an ad on your own site, note the URL given on the face of the ad and visit the advertiser's site that way, not by clicking on your own ads.


Will I be approved?

Even if the forum volunteers review your website, none of us can say for sure if your site would be approved or not. That's something which is entirely up to AdSense.

Some of the reasons a site may not be approved are:

  • duplicate contents (you've posted your articles on more than one site)
  • copied/scraped contents (you've copied contents from other places)
  • copyright infringements (using images with no authorization or license, linking to or hosting copyright infringing contents like free online movie sites or free music sites)
  • hosting or linking to contents that contain hacked/cracked/pirated/warez downloads or similar offerings.
  • not having enough content (one or two posts/pages isn't enough, you need about six months worth of your own original work to qualify)
  • you've had a previously disabled AdSense account (which means you can't have another account at all)
  • you are under 18 (publishers must be 18 or over to qualify)
  • your site is written in a language AdSense doesn't support
  • you have an aggregator site
  • your site is only a search bar

There are many other reasons, but those above are the ones we see most frequently. If your site contains or is similar to any of those mentioned, we can tell you that you probably won't get approved, but none of us have an actual say in what gets approved and what doesn't.

Only AdSense has the final say.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Using the AdSense Help Forum Effectively

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If you want to get answers that help resolve your problems or questions in the AdSense Help Forums, there are some things you can and should do before you start posting to the forums.

First, you need to read the AdSense Support Forums Terms of Service. You shouldn't post profanity, or advertising. You also must not use your website address as a signature. This is considered advertising. You can, however, use your Google Profile to list your websites if you so choose. Posters can access your Google Profile from your nickname on the forums. (You may post your website url in your question if it's necessary to the question, just not as a signature.)

Next, at the Help Forum "home page" you'll see a list of discussion categories. These links will bring up questions in each category, filtering out other categories. It's helpful to read through other postings, because often your question will already have been answered in someone else's post. On the right side of the page is a listing of "popular" discussions that may already answer your question as well.


At the bottom of the home page is a link to "browse all discussions". When you click on this you get all the discussions and threads in the forum, including some you should check before you begin a new post. At the top of the help forum discussions are "pinned topics". These are topics posted by AdSense/Google Employees, and often will include things like current problems (ie: "Known Issues"). If there are system bugs that many publishers are experiencing, you will probably find it here in the pinned section, unless it has already been resolved. Many duplicate complaint posts could be avoided if people would check the pinned topics first.

Another thing to do before posting your own topic is to search the forums. Just think about where you are. You are in a forum hosted and run by Google. And who are Google? They're the people who are pretty well known for their search engine, which means they do "search" extremely well. You should make use of this. Type your problem into the search bar at the top and click the "search help" button.


Look through the results and see if your problem (or a similar complaint or question) is there, and if it has been answered or not.

After doing all of that, if you still have a question that hasn't been asked or that is more specific than what's listed, then go ahead and post your question. Click the "post a question" link on the left menu.

How to Post an Effective Question

If you want an answer to your question, then you need to post a question that addresses your issue as clearly as possible and contains details. Questions like "I can't get approved" or "What's wrong with my website" or "Why?" are really not going to get you helpful answers.

Don't:
  • post questions unrelated to AdSense problems
  • post the full question in your title
  • post one word questions (why? when? what? help!)
  • post the same question over and over again (simply edit your question or post a "bump" and it will move back toward the top of the forum again)
  • post "bumps" every minute
  • post without checking the help articles (link is in left sidebar)
  • post in any language except english (there are help forums available in other languages - down at the bottom of the page linked here is a drop down box with the avalilable languages for help forums)
  • post spam (this will get you banned from the forum)
  • post your email address, publisher ID or personal details
  • post your website address unless the help you are asking for is AdSense related
  • post personal insults and profanity
  • post links to pornographic websites
  • post adlinks in the forum
DO
  • use a title related to your question
  • post a full explanation and question within the body of the post. If your question doesn't make sense, we can't answer it properly without asking further questions.
  • use the search function before posting
  • read the help articles before posting
  • include your website url if you think people need to look at your site to offer help (this is necessary for questions on ads that won't display, help with disabled accounts, ad placements, ads that aren't related to your content etc.)
  • check your posts for answers instead of posting again
  • try to be patient. There are a lot of questions every day and not that many of us to answer them.
  • try not to take your anger a frustration out on the people answering your questions. Almost none of them are employed by Google or AdSense. Most of them are volunteers who are publishers, just like you. Unless a responding poster has "Google Employee" by/under their name, they are just ordinary folks trying to help others.
If you post a question and can't find it later, you can check your profile and see a listing of your questions. In the menu bar at the left is a link for "My Discussions" this will take you to your profile where all the questions you've asked are listed. You can click the link for the post you want and it will take you to that thread.

If you post a question that doesn't get answered, amend your original question to bring it back to the front of the forum where people can see it again. Posting the same question multiple times simply makes everyone annoyed. There are some types of questions that we just can't resolve in the forums, so you may not get an answer.

Please note that questions related specifically to how to place your AdSense code into your website are often more related to:
  1. the specific website creator you are using
  2. the webhosting or blog service you are using
than they are to AdSense. Unless one of the volunteers has used your specific website builder, questions of this nature may not get answered. Your best choice for questions relating to your website is to ask at the webhosting help center, or the web builder help sections.

Please try to remember that as AdSense publishers most of the volunteers have experienced similar problems and have experienced the same frustrations as you have. Please don't come into the forums with a nasty attitude towards those who are trying to help you. All this will do is make the volunteers reluctant to try and help you.

You can express your frustration, just don't make it a personal attack on your helpers. That won't resolve anything.

If your question is related to other Google services (YouTube, gmail, google search, blogger, etc.) then you need to ask your question in the help forum for the related product. You can start here at the "Getting Started with Google Help" page, or if you want to look at all the help forums and groups available for Google services and products you can do that here.