If you’ve finally gotten Google AdSense approval, congratulations! ๐ But now comes the hard part: keeping your account in good standing.
Thousands of bloggers and site owners get banned from AdSense every year, often without fully understanding why. The worst part? Once you're banned—especially for "invalid activity"—it's incredibly hard to get reinstated.
๐ So if you want to protect your blog and income stream, here’s your ultimate guide on how to avoid an AdSense ban.
๐ 1๏ธโฃ Follow Google’s Program Policies Religiously
It might sound obvious, but many bans happen because site owners never fully read the AdSense Program Policies. Even a small violation can trigger penalties or a permanent ban.
Quick checklist:
- No adult, violent, or copyrighted material ๐ซ
- No clickbait or misleading content
- No selling illegal goods/services
๐ก Pro tip: Bookmark the AdSense policies page and check for updates regularly.
๐ซ 2๏ธโฃ Never Click Your Own Ads
Yes, even “just testing” is strictly forbidden. Google’s algorithms are sharp and can detect patterns of invalid clicks, even if they’re accidental.
- Don't ask friends or family to click ๐ โ๏ธ
- Don’t use VPNs to fake clicks
- Never incentivize users like “Click this ad to support us”
๐ฅ 3๏ธโฃ Avoid Traffic Exchange and Paid Traffic Schemes
Not all traffic is good traffic. If you're using traffic exchange programs, bots, or buying cheap clicks, you're setting yourself up for a ban.
Instead, focus on:
- Organic search traffic (SEO)
- Pinterest, Twitter, and Reddit traffic
- Email newsletters
๐ 4๏ธโฃ Watch Your Traffic Sources
Google expects quality visitors from legitimate sources. If your traffic is coming mostly from suspicious or non-relevant sources (like shady forums or click farms), that’s a red flag.
โ Regularly check Google Analytics to monitor:
- Bounce rate
- Average session duration
- Traffic source quality
๐ 5๏ธโฃ Keep Content High-Quality and Original
Duplicate or AI-generated spammy content is a major violation.
- Always add value to your posts
- Use AI tools (like ChatGPT) responsibly: rewrite, fact-check, and humanize content
- Check for plagiarism using tools like Grammarly or Copyscape
๐ป 6๏ธโฃ Optimize Ad Placement (But Not Aggressively)
Yes, you want to maximize revenue, but overloading your pages with ads can result in a "bad user experience" penalty.
Best practices:
- Balance content and ads (at least 60% content vs. 40% ads)
- Avoid accidental click zones
- Make sure ads don’t interrupt the flow of reading
โ ๏ธ 7๏ธโฃ Don’t Violate Copyright
One of the fastest ways to get banned is to use copyrighted material—especially images and videos—without permission.
- Use free image libraries (Unsplash, Pexels)
- Always credit sources
- Consider using your own photos or graphics
๐ 8๏ธโฃ Keep Your Site Mobile-Friendly
Google wants users to have a good experience across all devices. If your site is clunky on mobile, it might hurt your AdSense standing.
Action steps:
- Use responsive themes (like Astra or GeneratePress)
- Test your site on mobile with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test
๐ 9๏ธโฃ Regularly Review Your Site
As your site grows, old content might become outdated or problematic. Regularly audit your site for:
- Broken links
- Outdated claims
- Irrelevant or thin content
๐ก๏ธ 10๏ธโฃ Set Up Alerts and Stay Proactive
Don’t wait until you get a scary email from Google. Set up Google Search Console alerts and watch your AdSense dashboard for:
- Policy violation notices
- CTR spikes (could indicate click fraud)
- Traffic anomalies
โ Conclusion: Play the Long Game
Google AdSense is a legit and sustainable way to monetize your blog—but only if you follow the rules closely.
By:
- Keeping your content valuable and original,
- Avoiding shady shortcuts, and
- Staying informed about policy updates,