I was talking to SEO Idiot (a very cool chap) at the very cool Think Visibility and one of the things we discussed was getting banned by Google from it’s Adsense advertising program and getting your account reinstated.

If you do get banned for “invalid click activity”, it’s not necessarily the end.

In my case (some time ago now) I had a  good case – decent content rich sites and no funny business going on whatsoever, and when I pointed this out to Google, I got back in quite easily and quickly.

Here’s the response from Google:

Hello Shaun,

As you know, Google treats instances of invalid click activity very
seriously. We have reviewed your circumstances and have reinstated your
account, effective immediately. However, there will be a delay before ads
start running on your website. It may take up to 48 hours before all of
our servers are informed of the change.

Based on the findings of our investigation, we have deducted xxxxxxxx from
your account. This amount represents the earnings previously credited to
your account from invalid clicks. The deduction should occur in your next
scheduled payment.

If, in the future, you suspect that invalid clicks may have resulted from
a visitor to your site, we suggest that you review your site’s logs for
any suspicious activity and notify us with your findings at
https://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/request.py?contact=invalid_ clicks_contact.
This information can help us in resolving any issues, although as outlined
in our Terms and Conditions (https://www.google.com/adsense/terms), Google
will use its sole discretion when determining instances of invalid clicks.

If you need help logging the traffic on your site, please try these Google
search terms:

Webmaster resources
Website tracking and logging
Site traffic analysis

For your reference, you can also find tips and guidelines for keeping an
AdSense account in good standing by visiting our Help Center at
https://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/answer.py?answer=23921.

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense Team

I see a lot of people complaining about getting booted out of Adsense, and some wondering if it’s common practice. Google wants partners for a long time and if you are trying to stay within the guidelines you shouldn’t have a problem.

If you do get banned by Adsense, it is worth appealing. If you’re not screwing about, you can get your account reinstated and funds returned. Just don’t do anything stupid. :)

And be lucky, perhaps.

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