yes it's illegal because it brings attention to the ads. as we talked about in another post you shouldn't even put it on the page whether it's near it or not just to be safe. but adding it there makes it seem like they're you're sponsors and they're not and google will remove them
I remember the TOS saying you are allowed to have something like "sponsored ads" and maybe something else above them.
So I used the word "advertisment" above my ad scyscraper is that also illegal? Really it only describes what it is and it is in fact advertisment! so I dont see nothing wrong with it and I cant find anything in the TOS that says its wrong either...
It's fine to have 'sponsors' or 'sponsored links' above your Google Adsense ads - it says so very specifically in the terms of service.
This is correct - following is from the ToS: What is an invalid click? Invalid clicks are clicks generated through prohibited methods. These prohibited methods include but are not limited to: repeated manual clicks, or the use of robots, automated clicking tools, or other deceptive software. Please note that clicking on your own ads for any reason is prohibited, to avoid potential inflation of advertiser costs. All clicks must be generated as the result of a user clicking on the ads. We therefore require that Web pages do not include incentives of any kind for users to click on ads. This includes encouraging users to click on the ads or to visit the advertisers' sites as well as labeling the ads with text other than "sponsored links" or "advertisements."