We understand that you might have questions about your account and the actions that we've taken to protect our advertisers. Below are answers to some of our most frequently asked questions about accounts disabled for invalid traffic.
Why do I have invalid activity deductions in my AdSense account?Why was my account disabled?
Because we have a need to protect our proprietary detection system, we're unable to provide publishers with any information about their account activity, including any pages, users or third-party services that might have been involved.
Google treats invalid traffic very seriously, analysing all clicks and impressions to determine whether they fit a pattern of use that might artificially drive up an advertiser's costs or a publisher's earnings. If we determine that an AdSense account might pose a risk to our Google Ads advertisers, we may disable that account to protect our advertisers' interests.
Learn more about the common reasons AdSense accounts are disabled for invalid traffic.
Lastly, as outlined in our Terms and Conditions, Google will use its sole discretion when determining instances of invalid traffic.
Can my account be reinstated after being disabled for invalid traffic?
We're willing to work with you to resolve any issues that you might have. If you feel that this decision was made in error, and if you can maintain in good faith that the invalid traffic wasn't due to the actions or negligence of you or those for whom you're responsible, you may appeal through our invalid activity appeal form.
When we receive your appeal, we'll do our best to inform you quickly and will proceed with appropriate action as necessary. Note that there's no guarantee that your account will be reinstated.
After we've reached a decision on your appeal, further appeals may not be considered.
What are some tips for writing a successful invalid traffic appeal?
Here are some tips that you might find useful when writing your appeal:
- Review the common reasons why AdSense accounts are disabled for invalid traffic. Do any of these reasons apply to you or your content? Did your friends click on your ads too many times? Did you purchase traffic that led to a surge of invalid traffic? Can you make content and/or behavioural changes to prevent the invalid traffic from happening again?
- Review the ad implementations on your desktop site, mobile site and/or mobile app. Think about what your typical user journey would be and check if the ad implementations might cause users to accidentally click on your ads.
- In the appeal form, provide the email address that's associated with your disabled Google AdSense account. This will help us locate your account and reduce delays in processing your appeal.
- Tell us what changes you’ll make for the future. What systems or behaviour have you put in place to ensure that this won't happen again? For example, tell us how you've adjusted your ad implementations, evaluated your traffic sources, etc.
My account was disabled and my appeal was denied. Can I rejoin the programme or open a new account?
We understand your concern about the actions taken against your account. Our actions are the result of careful investigation by our team of specialists, taking into account the interests of our advertisers, publishers and users. Though you might be disappointed with our decision, we're unable to reinstate your account.
Publishers disabled for invalid traffic aren't allowed any further participation in AdSense. For this reason, these publishers may not open new accounts.
Google reserves the right to disable an account for any reason, including invalid traffic from any source.
My account was disabled for being related to another disabled account. Can you tell me more about this relation?
As with invalid traffic, we're unable to provide publishers with any information about relations that we find between publishers' accounts. Please understand that we take this precaution with all of our publishers to protect our proprietary detection system.
If we determine that an AdSense account might pose a risk to our Google Ads advertisers, we may disable that account to protect our advertisers' interests.
Will I still be paid for my AdSense earnings?
Publishers disabled for invalid traffic and/or violations of our publisher policies may be eligible for a final payment of the portion of their revenue that has not been identified as invalid. Upon account disablement, a 30-day payment hold is put in place to enable calculation of this final payment (where applicable). Following this 30-day period, please sign in to AdSense to view your remaining eligible balance (if any) and arrange for payment. Deductions from your final balance for invalid traffic and/or publisher policy violations will be refunded to affected advertisers where appropriate and possible.
I've just received my PIN. What should I do with it?
You can disregard this PIN, since publishers disabled for invalid activity don't receive any further payment.
I want to let another AdSense publisher place their ads on my site. Will this create a problem for their account? Is my site disabled as well?
AdSense publishers are allowed to place their ads on any site that complies with the AdSense programme policies and Terms and Conditions. A publisher's account status may be separate from a specific site's compliance with our policies. However, if we determine that another publisher's account may pose a risk to our Google Ads advertisers, we may disable it to protect our advertisers' interests.
If someone related to me creates an AdSense account, will their account be disabled as well?
If we determine that a related publisher's account might pose a risk to our Google Ads advertisers, we may disable it to protect our advertisers' interests.
Will I still receive tax forms for the payments that I've received?
If you’ve received a payment from us in the past, or if you have a payable balance remaining in your account, you’ll still receive a tax form from us if necessary. Learn more about paying taxes on your AdSense earnings.
My account was reinstated. Why aren't ads showing up on my sites, apps or videos?
After your AdSense account has been reinstated, it may take up to 48 hours for all of our servers to be informed of the change and ad serving to resume. We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.
If you're a YouTube publisher, you might need to re-associate your YouTube channel with your AdSense account. For instructions, refer to: Set up an AdSense account for payments.
