Common Violations and How to Avoid Them

Many AdSense account problems stem from common, often unintentional violations. This lesson identifies the most frequent policy violations and provides specific strategies to avoid them.

Invalid Click Activity

Invalid clicks are the most dangerous violation.

What Constitutes Invalid Clicks

Direct Invalid Clicks:

• Clicking your own ads
• Asking family/friends to click
• Paying for clicks
• Using click bots

Indirect Invalid Clicks:

• Traffic from click farms
• Incentivized clicking
• Click exchange participation
• Purchased traffic that clicks

Why Publishers Violate

Unintentional:

• Testing if ads work
• Curious about ad destinations
• Friends "helping" without asking
• Bot traffic from poor sources

Intentional (Never Do):

• Trying to boost earnings
• Testing competitor ads
• Frustration with low earnings

How to Avoid Invalid Clicks

For Yourself:

• Never click your own ads—ever
• Use Google Ads Preview tool to see ads
• Test ad loading, not ad clicking
• If you accidentally click, document it

For Friends/Family:

• Don't tell them about your ads
• Don't ask for "support"
• If they know, explicitly tell them not to click
• Consider blocking known IP addresses

For Traffic:

• Use quality traffic sources only
• Monitor traffic for anomalies
• Block suspicious referrers
• Don't buy cheap traffic

If You Suspect Invalid Activity

1. Review your traffic analytics
2. Look for unusual patterns
3. Block suspicious sources
4. Consider pausing ads temporarily
5. Document everything
6. Report to Google if significant

Misleading Ad Placement

Ads designed to get accidental clicks violate policy.

Examples of Misleading Placement

Navigation Confusion:

• Ads that look like menu items
• Ads between navigation links
• Ads that appear to be buttons

Content Confusion:

• Ads styled identically to content
• Ads within download instructions
• Ads near "click here" text

Interactive Element Confusion:

• Ads near form submit buttons
• Ads near video play buttons
• Ads in image galleries

How to Avoid

Clear Separation:

• Visual distinction between ads and content
• Adequate spacing around ads
• Labels when helpful ("Advertisement")

Placement Rules:

• Don't place near interactive elements
• Don't place in ways that suggest clicking
• Don't place where accidental clicks likely

Testing:

• Use your site as a real user would
• Watch for areas where mistakes could happen
• Get feedback from others

Content Quality Violations

Thin or problematic content triggers violations.

Low-Value Content Issues

Thin Content:

• Pages with minimal text
• Pages that are mostly ads
• Pages with no real information

Copied Content:

• Scraped from other sites
• Duplicated from your own site
• Spun/rewritten automatically

Auto-Generated:

• Template-based content
• Search results pages
• Feed aggregation

How to Create Compliant Content

Quality Standards:

• Original content you created
• Substantial length and depth
• Genuine value for readers
• Professional presentation

Before Publishing:

• Check for uniqueness
• Ensure adequate length
• Verify factual accuracy
• Review for user value

Audit Existing Content:

• Review old pages
• Update or remove thin content
• Improve or delete low-quality pages
• Consolidate similar pages

Traffic Source Violations

Where your traffic comes from matters.

Problematic Traffic Sources

Prohibited:

• Traffic from adult sites
• Traffic from illegal content sites
• Bot-generated traffic
• Traffic from click incentive sites

Risky:

• Purchased traffic (in general)
• Traffic from low-quality networks
• Traffic from social media spam
• Traffic from misleading promotions

Safe Traffic Sources

High Quality:

• Organic search engines
• Direct navigation
• Quality content partnerships
• Legitimate social sharing

Building Safe Traffic:

• Focus on SEO
• Build genuine audience
• Use legitimate promotion
• Avoid shortcuts

Monitoring Traffic

Regular Checks:

• Review referrer sources
• Watch for traffic spikes
• Monitor geographic patterns
• Check engagement metrics

Red Flags:

• Sudden unexplained increases
• Traffic from unusual countries
• Very high bounce rates
• Near-zero time on site

Ad Implementation Violations

Technical mistakes can violate policy.

Code Violations

Never:

• Modify AdSense code
• Add tracking parameters
• Change ad behavior
• Frame ads in iframes (without approval)

Correct Implementation:

• Copy code exactly as provided
• Place in allowed locations
• Use responsive units correctly
• Follow async implementation guidelines

Ad Density Violations

Too Many Ads:

• More ad space than content
• Ads obscuring content
• Excessive ad stacking
• Multiple overlapping ads

Proper Density:

• Content should dominate
• Reasonable number of ads
• User experience priority
• Better Ads Standards compliance

Mobile Violations

Common Issues:

• Ads covering content on mobile
• Accidental click-prone placement
• Pop-ups on mobile devices
• Ads in scrolling containers

Mobile Compliance:

• Test thoroughly on mobile
• Use responsive designs
• Avoid anchor ads that obscure content
• Follow mobile webmaster guidelines

User-Generated Content Risks

Content you don't create can violate policy.

Comment Section Risks

Comments can contain:

• Spam with prohibited links
• Hate speech
• Adult content
• Policy-violating promotions

Protection Strategy:

• Moderate comments
• Use spam filters
• Review before publishing
• Disable if can't moderate

Forum and Community Risks

User contributions may include:

• Prohibited content topics
• Problematic images
• Policy-violating links
• Spam and abuse

Managing UGC:

• Clear community guidelines
• Active moderation
• Reporting mechanisms
• Automated filtering

Multi-Account Violations

Account rules are strict.

What's Prohibited

• Multiple AdSense accounts per person
• Creating new account after termination
• Using fake identities
• Sharing account credentials

What's Allowed

• One account per individual
• Family members can have separate accounts
• Business accounts (properly structured)
• Authorized user access

Avoiding Account Issues

• Never try to bypass bans
• Keep account info accurate
• Use proper authorization for team access
• Report unauthorized access

Recovery from Violations

If you receive a warning or suspension.

When You Get a Warning

1. Don't panic: Warnings are often recoverable
2. Read carefully: Understand the specific issue
3. Act quickly: Address the problem promptly
4. Document changes: Keep record of what you fix
5. Request review: If applicable, submit appeal

Appeal Process

When appealing:

• Be honest about what happened
• Explain what you've changed
• Show you understand the policy
• Commit to compliance

What not to do:

• Lie about violations
• Blame others
• Ignore the warning
• Continue violating

After Recovery

• Monitor more carefully
• Implement prevention measures
• Regular compliance audits
• Stay educated on policies

Building a Compliance Culture

Long-term success requires systematic compliance.

Preventive Measures

Checklist Before Publishing:

• Content is original
• Topic is allowed
• No misleading elements
• Proper ad placement

Regular Reviews:

• Monthly content audit
• Traffic source analysis
• Technical implementation check
• Policy Center review

Team Guidelines

If working with others:

• Document policies
• Train team members
• Review process for content
• Clear responsibilities

Key Takeaways

• Invalid click activity is the most dangerous violation—never click your own ads
• Misleading ad placement (accidental click traps) violates policy
• Content must be original, valuable, and policy-compliant
• Traffic sources must be legitimate—avoid purchased or incentivized traffic
• Implement ad code exactly as provided without modifications
• Monitor and moderate user-generated content
• Only maintain one AdSense account per person
• Respond promptly and honestly to policy warnings
• Build systematic compliance practices
• Prevention is much easier than recovery

What's Next

The final lesson in this course covers troubleshooting revenue drops and common issues you may encounter with your AdSense account.