Unofficial Google Products Help Centre

After our many weeks of policy posts on Thursdays, you're probably intimately familiar with all of our program policies . So we can imagine your surprise when you woke up today, got your morning coffee, and settled in for your daily re-read of the policies -- only to find they were different ! To help lessen the shock, we've highlighted the two notable changes below: We're now requiring AdSense publishers to comply with the spirit of our Page Quality Guidelines . If you're an AdWords advertiser, you might already be familiar with these guidelines, which are intended to provide a better experience for users, advertisers, and publishers alike. If you use any kind of online advertising, know that these guidelines encourage publishers to, among other things, create sites with simple navigation and substantial, useful content. This new policy requirement doesn't mean that you can't use online advertising; it simply means that if you do, you need to be sure that the w...

As most of you know, our program policies state that publishers are not permitted to click on their own ads for any reason. For this reason, we've received many emails from publishers letting us know that they've accidentally clicked on their own ads. If you're one of these publishers, we truly appreciate the efforts you've made to monitor your account and keep it in good standing. However, we do understand that an accidental click may occur from time to time, so there's no need to contact us each instance this occurs. Because we closely monitor all account activity using engineering systems and thorough human analysis, chances are we've already detected your clicks on your ads and discounted them. While these clicks still show in your reports, we filter out their associated earnings so that advertisers aren't charged. However, please keep in mind that we don't ignore the clicks completely; if it appears to us that a publisher has been clicking on his o...

In this week's 'Policy Thursday' post, we'd like to follow up on one of Mike's previous posts to highlight a more specific example of encouraging clicks that we often receive emails about. Many publishers have asked if they can place text on their sites which states that all or a portion of the earnings generated through AdSense will be donated to charity or another third party. While we do appreciate your charitable efforts, this practice is not permitted by our program policies. We want users to click on ads because they are interested in the products or services offered by the advertiser, not because they are interested in supporting a site or a charity. Using this type of language can draw undue attention to the ads, and we aren't able to verify whether earnings are actually donated to the third-party mentioned on each site. As a result, we don't allow publishers to offer these types of incentives. However, please know that once you've received you...

We understand that there's been some confusion surrounding our recent post about accidental clicks . Specifically, many of our publishers feel that we've been sending mixed messages about placing ads near navigation controls, particularly where site optimization is concerned. For those of you concerned about our optimization tips, we still recommend integrating your ad units and link units with your page content or navigation, in order to offer your users relevant ads in addition to the content they normally see. Here are a few examples of acceptable implementations: However, in some instances we've found that publishers have placed their ad units so close to interactive (clickable) content that users accidentally click on the ads instead of the site content. While this type of ad placement may not inherently violate our program policies, it could increase the risk of invalid clicks being generated on the ads, which would be in violation of our policies. You can understand ...

As you may know, our tips and guidelines mention that "users should only click on Google ads if they're interested in the services being advertised". While there are many precautions a publisher can take to avoid encouraging clicks on their ads, we've found that some implementations of the ad code can lead to accidental clicks that the publisher may not have been able to predict. Some implementations that could lead to accidental clicks include placing your ads: - In close proximity to Macromedia Flash games - Under pop-ups or download prompts - Near site navigation controls on your pages, such as drop-downs or menu links Generally, we ask that you not place your ads near features of your site that your users may interact with by clicking. If your site contains elements that increase the number of ad clicks without increasing business results for the advertiser, we may consider these clicks to be invalid. "Business results" can range from an online sale to ...

Many of you may remember our December post on the placement of images near ads . In that spirit, we'd like to remind you of a general policy issue: encouraging clicks. As many of you know, our program policies prohibit any means of encouraging users to click on Google ads or bringing excessive attention to ad units. For example, sites may not contain phrases such as "click the ads," "support our sponsors," "visit these recommended links," or other similar language that could apply to the Google ads on your site. In addition, publishers are not permitted to label the Google ads with text other than "sponsored links" or "advertisements." In light of this policy, you may be wondering if you're allowed to recommend your referral products to your users. As explained in Dan's post from February, unlike with AdSense for content ads, you can endorse your referral products by calling attention to the button or text link. If you bel...

We know how important it is to maintain the quality of your site and the experience your users have there, and we often receive email from publishers asking about specific ad implementations. While we encourage you to tailor your ads to fit the look and feel of your sites, we'd like to remind you to only use the options provided within the AdSense Setup tab of your account. As you may know, our program policies strictly prohibit altering the layout, behavior, targeting, or delivery of Google ads or AdSense for search boxes for any reason. Some examples of these modifications include: - Implementing the AdSense ad code in a "floating box script" - Manipulating the ad targeting using hidden keywords or IFRAMEs - Altering the height or width of an ad unit - Pre-populating the AdSense for search box with specific queries - Creating direct links to AdSense for search results Once you've generated the ad code in your account's AdSense Setup tab, we ask that you incor...

We understand that our publishers are always looking for ways to attract interested users to their sites. But using third-party tools or services to increase your site traffic may lead to invalid clicks or impressions and result in your account being disabled. For this reason, we'd like to provide you with some guidance about this. As many of you already know, our program policies strictly prohibit any means of artificially generating ad impressions or clicks, including third-party services such as paid-to-click, paid-to-surf, auto-surf, and click-exchange programs. These programs offer incentives for users to view web pages or click on ads, resulting in activity that is harmful to our advertisers. We occasionally receive questions from publishers interested in using traffic exchanges to bring traffic to their site. While these services may help advertise your site, we don't recommend using them, as they may also result in similar invalid activity. We realize that you may have...

Flossing. Wearing sunscreen. Eating leafy greens. Intellectually, we know we're supposed to do these things, but it can be hard to actually buckle down and do them. The same thing is true for the AdSense program policies. You probably know the policies exist, and you know you ought to be complying with them. Still, making sure that your site stays squeaky clean policy-wise can sometimes take a little more mental effort than most of us might be willing to spare. That's why we're beginning a weekly series of posts to help bring AdSense policies to the front of your minds -- and your sites. On coming Thursdays, you can look forward to information about: - steering clear of possible invalid clicks - nurturing harmonious relationships between ads and images - why asking visitors to click your ads is a bad idea, even if you say please We believe every publisher has the potential to be a model publisher. It's our aim to get you on the right track with some helpful tips and exp...

We've noticed some confusion over the program policies associated with referrals. Specifically, some publishers tell us they don't understand why we allow "explicit endorsement" for referral ads, but do not allow the same type of "unnatural attention" for our AdSense for content and AdSense for search ads. We thought we'd clarify our referrals program's policies and explain why we do not allow the same treatment for other Google ads. First, referral ads are credited on a cost per action (CPA) basis. This means that there is a specific action such as an install for Google Pack that your visitors must complete before you generate earnings. The advertiser places a certain value on that action being completed, and is willing to pay you a percentage of that value. If you highlight the referral ad and encourage more people to complete the action, the value that the advertiser places on that action does not diminish. For example, Google is willing to pay up...

Call it getting a jump on spring cleaning: we've launched a new version of the AdSense Online Program Policies today. We've tried to make the format more readable, so those of you who start the day with a cup of coffee and a copy of the Program Policies may notice that much of the wording is new. Nearly all of the policies themselves have stayed the same, but we encourage everyone to take a look at the new version , if only to re-familiarize yourself with the details. Posted by Arlene Lee - AdSense Publisher Support

We've recently received a number of emails from publishers asking how we feel about the placement of images near Google ad units. There's been some confusion on this issue, and so we turned to our policy team to set the record straight. Can I place small images next to my Google ads? We ask that publishers not line up images and ads in a way that suggests a relationship between the images and the ads. If your visitors believe that the images and the ads are directly associated, or that the advertiser is offering the exact item found in the neighboring image, they may click the ad expecting to find something that isn't actually being offered. That's not a good experience for users or advertisers. Publishers should also be careful to avoid similar implementations that people could find misleading. For instance, if your site contains a directory of Flash games, you should not format the ads to mimic the game descriptions. What if I place a space or a line between my images...