Is it against Google's TOS policy to put ads near the websites navigation bar? I am building three sites and I have stopped building in order to search the web and see if I was breaking Google's TOS policy. Does anyone know? Should I put a barrier between the sites navigation bar and the ads.
it is not in the TOS per se,but where you put the ads shouldn't be where accidental clicks can happen. accidental clicks = invalid clicks invalid clicks = ban just ask yourself,would people click on that by mistake?if so,don't put the ad there.
In all honesty, Google has written theit TOS to their advantage and if they want to ban you for something, they're going to ban you. That's why I recommend avoiding adsense as a primary income source. It will only bite you in the rear.
Doing this will likely trick your users, and they will either hit the back button or close the browser. The high bounce rate will likely flag, and you put yourself at the risk of being banned. I agree with Bryce, using adsense as your primary income source is extremely risky at best, and even an accidental mistake that gets you banned will crush your business. It should be thought of more as a supplement to pay for overhead in my opinion.
Good point CodeMonkey. Also, when using Adsense, use this method : "When in doubt of the TOS, don't do it" - don't give them a reason to ban your account and confiscate all of your earnings. this is how they shore up their bottom line for investors. It's not worth the heartaches.