How to get unbanned from Adsense when you've clicked your own ads

So...

I have a website since the year 1998, and it was going pretty good, got around a hundred or so unique visitors daily, I put Adsense ads on it back in 2002, but when I changed the layout of the website etc. I removed them, then some time later (around early 2006) I put the ads back in.

Some days went by and suddenly I realized that I wasn't making much off the advertisements, which I wanted to be a major source of my income. I also came to know that it were the clicks which really mattered in getting money.

So, after a few days of extended patience, I finally resorted to clicking my own advertisements in order to increase my income. I used to click about 10-20 times a day and made a few dollars off my clicks, which I was very happy with.

This went for a week or so, Google Adsense also sent me the verification letter, I thought I had pulled a fast one right under their supervision, but alas, I was wrong.

Towards the end of the month, I was informed by Google Adsense via eMail that my account had been banned for invalid clicks. I was completely shocked at the outcome of my actions and felt very bad about it. I tried to lie to Google that it wasn't me, I was using a public computer etc. But folks at Google seemed way too experienced to stuff like this.

After a few months, September 2006, due to not being able to contain myself being away from Adsense, I made another account, with another name and got approved, I put advertisements on some of my new websites now, and left the old ones behind.

Two-three months went by, I was earning great, my payments were not being released since I hadn't verified my address yet, but I received their mail eventually, one evening. I thought I'd verify my account the next day.

Call it co-incidence or whatever you would, but when I woke up to check my email, I was banned yet again, this time I hadn't done any fraud clicks, but due to my association with the previous account, I had been banned again.

I tried to lie my way through them again, and failed considerably. At this moment of time, I gave up on Adsense and told myself that my business with them was over since I looked up on the Internet and not one web page or website told me that anyone could be unbanned after committing the offense themselves ie Clicking on their own ads.

Everywhere I went, I was told that I could only be unbanned if indeed the clicks weren't done by me. Otherwise I would NEVER be unbanned, this was simply the blatant answer told to me by EVERYONE, the sufferers as well as the advisers. So yeah then I was convinced that me and Adsense weren't going further.

I concentrated on my websites and built up great traffic to them (Averaging at 10,000 pageloads per day combined) I was really happy with all the progress, but I still made no money off the websites, and it was something that kept pestering me.

I tried Adbrite, which worked decent on one of my websites, but sadly it was not as good as I was expecting. So I then turned to other networks like clicksor etc. But time and again, I was disappointed. At this moment of time I decided to give my last shot to Adsense, and wrote to them an email.

The email outlined everything I did, right from the start when I clicked on my own ads to make money, to making a new account and running it honestly until getting banned again, to turning to other ad networks and earning pennies off them.

My email also had a promise which told Adsense that I'd be one of the publishers they'd be proud to have in their network if they unbanned me, I also gave them my traffic stats and the URL's of all the domains I had used Adsense with, from my first account as well as from my second account. I confessed to everything I did. I also wrote that I understood they must have got in a lot of troubles because of me with the advertisers for invalid clicks but I was deeply sorry for that.

After two weeks, I received a reply from them, they told me that they were looking into my application for reinstatement with the additional details I had supplied them. I wrote back to them with a Thank you note and told them that I knew that their is no justified reason they should unban me, but it is just a request from me which I'd be very happy and grateful if they complied with.

After a month of no reply, I sent them a friendly reminder. After another month, I began feeling that I wasn't going to be unbanned, but still had my hopes high due to the three liner response they had sent me two months earlier.

Then one day, lousily going through my emails, I stumbled upon an email sent by them some hours ago, my heart started beating two times faster as I opened it.

The Adsense employee writing, apologized to me for the delayed response to my application and informed me that my Adsense account had been reinstated. She wished me good luck with my websites and told me to follow the rules at all times.

I was overjoyed! Put Adsense back in, verified my account with the code they had sent me months ago, I still was kind of nervous that I was going to get banned again (paranoia) if some other Google employee saw my websites unbanned, but today has been a month and my first cheque by Google is going to be dispatched soon! I'm totally sure I'm not getting banned again now (unless of course I break the rules, which no matter what I never will)

This must be the rarest of rare cases where someone who clicked on their own ads got unbanned, but this has taught me that Google is not as bad as I used to think of them, they too are a company and want more publishers for their program, more publishers for the better. So if you've been banned for something you did, don't worry, work hard and build your websites in a way that they'd be willing to advertise on them.

Prove yourself to be worth their program, swear to yourself to never break the rules, work hard and for sure you will be unbanned one day.

Never lose hope.
IT

P.S.: Please comment

 

moral of the story: Always be honest with google and first of all yourself.

this is for all the noobs who dream about making money online by clicking their own ads.

Great honest review and congrats on getting the account back.

 

They have superb method to track click frauds , even one click may put your account at risk ..

 

Please do not spread wrong message to the newbies. Its time for you guys to LEARN how adsense work.

If you are not aware, please read Accidental click policy

One click wont do anything to your account. However just be honest to yourself first and follow the TOS.

 

Nice story, Now remove your signature before you lose your account again.

There are a lot of idiots out there that will read your story, visit your link and click bomb you.

 

wow.. I never knew that could happen. thanks for sharing!

 

Wow congratz on that, they rarely reinstate banned accounts ..

 

Yes.. First time i came to know about this type of incident.

 

hey is this possible.....

anyways thanks for sharing this.

 

Hey, what a story. We should digg it.

 

You know this is the first time someone has said this for something I wrote. Thanks man!

Also, thank you everyone for your comments over here!

IT

 

Cool dude
someone did somethings others have never heard
being honest pays
congrats

 

Very interesting story. I actually read the whole thing
Hopefully you have learned your lesson, and I wish you luck and a lot of money with adsense

 

Great story. Hopefully others can make amends and get reinstatements.

 

Great post, great story.
congrats on getting unbanned.

 

you was honest to admit all this!
never cheat google! they are more clever than you!
well,they are more clever than everybody! lol

 

Sometimes Google banned with a poor reason.. On of my friend got banned because got many click from same country.. Its true because he has own forum use local language & mostly use dynamic IP...

That Google rules..they no prejudice..

 

interesting story i have read it completely which i didn't do it before. you are lucky but you tried it for few months , so the new Adsense publishers never click your own ads and don't waste your valuable times ..... !!!

 

wow nice story, I got banned and I moved about a month later and I re-applied with my new address and phone number and they approved me. I am still in and already getting my second check.