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Google Doesn’t Like My Ads

06 Sep 2006

Hmm. This is weird. While I was going through my email from last week (when I was away to Djerba) I noticed a message from the Google AdSense team. In that email, Google states that I violate the terms of service from AdSense by publishing ‘mature content’ or ‘adult content’. Once again it concerns a post that’s rather ‘old’, being from December last year. They point to a URL in my HTML archive (which is the old site, from before the merge to WordPress) and they ask me to take it down (or ‘make the necessary changes’, which actually means the same thing). Google vaguely mentions ‘pages such as’, indicating that there are more pages alike that also violate those terms. Now I’m in great doubt. Where is the line between ‘mature and adult content’ and approved, published advertisement from brands? Any ’sexual’ content should therefor be removed, but since 80% of all advertising is about ’sex sells’, that would mean I have to take down a lot of posts, or drop out of the AdSense program.

The old post Google refers to has been taken offline, but the merged post is over here [I censored the images so you wouldn't be shocked]. Take a look at it and tell me what you think of it. The campaign is from the 25Peaces agency and was sponsored by the European Government. Okay, I admit, it’s controversial… but it’s an official campaign that has been launched in Austria. The billboards where placed along the roads as you can read in the description of the campaign.

The HTML archive is supposed be taken offline, but I still need to adjust the dates of about 200 posts, which are now all stuffed in January 2006, because when I merged, all the content was set to the 2006 date, instead of keeping the 2005 posting dates. I still need to do a part of August and parts of September, October, November and December. After that, I take the archive offline. But that doesn’t mean the content will be gone, since it’s all merged to the database of WordPress. So the problem remains, even if Google points to the past. This is a weird situation I’m in, and I need some advice.

Hello,
While reviewing your account, we noticed that you are currently displaying Google ads in a manner that is not compliant with our policies. For instance, we found violations of AdSense policies on pages such as http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/posted/porn-for-politics.html.
As stated in our program policies, AdSense publishers are not permitted to place Google ads on pages with adult or mature content.
Please make any necessary changes to your web pages in the next 3 business days. We also suggest that you take the time to review our program policies (https://www.google.com/adsense/policies) to ensure that all of your other pages are in compliance.
Once you update your site, we will automatically detect the changes and ad serving will not be affected. If you choose not to make the changes to your account within the next three days, your account will remain active but you will no longer be able to display ads on the site. Please note, however, that we may disable your account if further violations are found in the future.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
The Google AdSense Team

Anyone?

 
15 Comments

Posted by Miel Van Opstal in Advertising, Ethics, Legal, Marketing

 

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  1. Randy Charles Morin

    September 6, 2006 at 10:26 pm

    Honestly, I don’t think this is a big deal. All you have to do is delete that one page and move on. It’s just one page.

    That page has explicit sexual content, which is not the same as suggestive sexual content. Most advertising is suggestive sexual content and therefor falls within the guidelines set out by Google.

    Of course, this is my opinion.

     
  2. Coolz0r

    September 6, 2006 at 10:41 pm

    Okay, I censored the images and hope that helps. Still haven’t heard back from Google. I’ll update the post when I get a reply.

     
  3. huphtur

    September 6, 2006 at 11:39 pm

    Time to sign up for Yahoo ads!

     
  4. » Coolz0r In AdSense Hell! » InsideGoogle » part of the Blog News Channel

    September 7, 2006 at 4:13 am

    [...] My colleague and frequent partner-in-blogging, Miel, frequently referred to as Coolz0r, is in the scariest place for an AdSense website publisher: Surrounded by beautiful women. Oh, wait, he’s in the second-most-scary place: AdSense Policy Hell. He had a post, called “Porn For Politics” (taken down, Google cache here), that featured a risque photo from an Australian advertising campaign, and received a letter from Google notifying him that he was violating the AdSense Program Policies: Hello, [...]

     
  5. Liyster

    September 7, 2006 at 7:15 am

    Maybe it was the word ‘porn’ in the page / page address that the AdSense guys didn’t agree with?

     
  6. Coolz0r

    September 7, 2006 at 7:33 am

    That would be very weird, because it’s in every dictionary around. You can’t forbid bloggers to use certain words. This isn’t China! (last time I checked I lived in a democratic country where freedom of speech was still allowed, so I’m eligible to say or write the word ‘porn’ ten times in a row, without having to go to jail)

     
  7. iqbal

    September 7, 2006 at 7:40 am

    Google is right. they have a policy and you just cannot dictate them.
    we all have to follow the rules.

     
  8. sven

    September 7, 2006 at 7:46 am

    porn, porn, porn ,porn, porn, porn, porn ,porn, porn ,porn and peanuts
    please let me know if they found out

     
  9. ::metamike::

    September 7, 2006 at 8:08 am

    muaaaajajajajajajajaja, sorry, coolz0r, but is really incredible.

    “we all have to folow the rules”, omfg iqbal, if we do it we never think different.

    u dont need google, u have something better: talent.

     
  10. Robin Wauters

    September 7, 2006 at 8:27 am

    @sven: the Google policy forbids you to use the word peanuts. Please refrain from using it or the AdSense Guaraní will pay you a visit.

    @iqbal: you’re joking, right? Right?

    @Coolz0r: Alternatives

     
  11. Hiyu

    September 7, 2006 at 10:09 am

    OH!GOOGLE AD, I losted it!

     
  12. Kris Hoet

    September 7, 2006 at 10:17 am

    So this is not a porn site? Damn! ;-)

     
  13. Coolz0r

    September 7, 2006 at 1:51 pm

    Kris, I’m surprized your company didn’t already block this URL with all the filth I put online :)

     
  14. Google AdSense Policy: Un adv troppo “Porn”

    September 7, 2006 at 3:01 pm

    [...] Per approfondire la questione sul blog di Coolz0r vai all’articolo originale. Social Bookmarking                                                   Filed by Giancarlo Catucci at September 7th, 2006 under Advertising, Internet, Google, Adsense [...]

     
  15. Bloggy

    March 6, 2008 at 12:43 pm

    I say, we plan a pin point operation of kidnapping the Queen, Bush and the other fella, tell them to screw or we’ll blow up the tea cargo’s with our catapaults.

    Then we upload the porn vid to youtube to see what they have to say about it.