Having your Google AdSense account disabled is not something you want to experience. It happened to me, and I talked about it in Episode 19 of the podcast. Here is what went down and what you can learn from it.
What Happened
Google suspended my AdSense account for what they described as “fraudulent activity.” The details were vague, which is typical of how Google handles these situations. They do not give you a detailed explanation. You get a notification, a form letter, and very little recourse.
I do not know the exact cause. It could have been click fraud from a bot, a competitor clicking my ads maliciously, or some other violation I was not aware of. The frustrating part is that Google does not differentiate between intentional fraud and being a victim of it. If suspicious activity happens on your account, you are the one who pays the price.
What I Tried
I appealed, of course. Google has an appeal process for disabled AdSense accounts, but in my case it went nowhere. The response was polite, prompt, and entirely unhelpful. Standard form letter. Account decision final. Have a nice day.
This is a common experience. Google processes millions of AdSense accounts and their enforcement is largely automated. Individual circumstances rarely get meaningful human review.
Lessons for AdSense Publishers in 2026
AdSense is still a viable monetization method for content sites, but it comes with risks that every publisher should understand.
- Diversify your income. If AdSense is your only revenue stream, you are one algorithmic decision away from zero income. Combine display ads with affiliate marketing, digital products, sponsored content, or other revenue sources.
- Monitor your traffic sources carefully. Unusual spikes in clicks from a single IP address or geographic region can trigger Google's fraud detection. Use Google Analytics to watch for anomalies and report suspicious activity proactively.
- Never click your own ads. This seems obvious, but it extends to asking friends or family to click, or participating in any click exchange scheme. Google's detection is sophisticated and they have zero tolerance.
- Consider ad management platforms. Services like Mediavine and Raptive (formerly AdThrive) act as intermediaries between you and ad networks. They provide better RPMs than standalone AdSense and add a layer of professional management to your ad operations.
- Read the terms of service. Actually read them. Google updates their policies regularly, and ignorance is not a defense.
The Bigger Picture
Losing my AdSense account was annoying, but it reinforced something I already believed: you should never build your entire business on a single platform you do not control. Whether it is AdSense, Amazon Associates, a social media platform, or any other third-party service, these companies can change their rules, suspend your account, or shut down entirely. Build on your own platform, diversify your revenue, and treat every third-party service as one piece of a larger puzzle.
Other Topics from Episode 19
That episode also covered my ongoing experiment with a niche affiliate site about corn shellers (yes, farm equipment) that I built using keyword research tools. The site was generating steady organic traffic and had earned about $12 at the time. It was a proof of concept that even obscure niches can generate revenue with the right keyword targeting and content.
I also discussed Fiverr as a micro-outsourcing platform, which was a newer concept in 2012. In 2026, freelance marketplaces like Fiverr, Upwork, and specialized platforms have become essential tools for solopreneurs who need to delegate tasks without hiring full-time staff.
Mark, Good podcast. Since you’re now on schedule, I refreshed BeyondPod on my phone before leaving leaving work for the drive home and there you were ready to rock.
Sorry to hear about the adsense ban. I’ve read of other people who got back in through setting up new accounts (but you need a new Tax ID).
Regarding the stinger, it does kind of annoy me from a volume perspective. It may just be my ears. I listen in my car and turn up the volume so I don’t miss a thing. Then the stinger comes in and blasts my speakers/ears. I find myself anticipating it so I can turn down the volume before hand.
The only other show I can think of that uses it is IBM or maybe PodcastAnswerMan (hope I’m right on this). I believe they usually only have a couple breaks in 45 minute episode.
I don’t think it adds to the production value of the podcast. But if you keep it, my suggestion is to cut its peak level below your voice. If you’re running at -6db, try the stinger at -10 or -12. Just my suggestion. Definitely not a deal breaker, I’ll be back for every episode. Keep up the good info/motivation.
@LazyBastardLife Really appreciate the feedback. I plan to change up the audio in episode 20. I think it will make the show better. Still working through the best way to do post-production. Right now, my post production process does leave the audio too hot, but I know how to fix that. Thanks again.
Mark! I heard the podcast today. I think the stinger without the vocals was much better than the previous version with the vocals. I just think the vocal versions, which are great by the way, are suited best for the beginning and end of the podcast. That stinger w/o vocals seems to fit nicely between segments. Sorry to hear about your Adsense account. It would be nice if the was a more understanding policy regarding appeals on banned accounts. Glad to hear you didn’t have all your eggs in the Big “G” basket.
@iphoneapprevguy Thanks for the feedback on the audio. I’ve got an idea about how to do the next episode based on some other feedback (including yours) that answers many objections. I also spent the day futzing with my mixer and compressor to get the levels and sound quality right to that things are more polished.
One good thing about a weekly show is that I can do lots of tweeks and try them out quickly. A month or so from now we should be in a nice stable configuration…
Thanks!Mark
@masonworld Ouch, sorry to hear about the AdSense ban! And yeah, Google’s lack of a “human element” is frustrating in instances like that. It’s a great example, though, of diversifying income and not relying too heavily on one source of revenue. I guess that’s why I still keep my day-job. haha
Congrats on the four weeks in a row! You’re doing great!
@ShaneEubanks Thanks man, appreciate that. It’s just poor business on their part. Really frustrating.
@masonworld I’ve seen a LOT of Adsense users get their accounts disabled in the past month…almost like a Google dragnet going on.
This is my completely unscientific observation, but I AM seeing a theme. It looks like a lot of the publishers that have gotten banned have websites where a large chunk of their links come from blog networks an spun articles. Google has deindexed a TON of blog network sites in the past month and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Adsense publishers are getting the boot at the same time.
Just my observation…take it for what it’s worth, but I think 2012 will be a wake up call for link builders.
@ShaneEubanks @masonworld Perhaps you are right. I have certainly done more than my fare share of experiments and other weird stuff with that AdSense ID. But the thing that bugs me is that the reason that they sited was fraudulent click activity. I have never ever done anything like that.
In any case it is true that link networks are getting hammered. Great article here on that http://www.linkbuildr.com/private-blog-networks-getting-deindexed/ — BMR was deindexed yesterday.
Thanks for the comment!
@masonworld , I agree with some of the other readers/listeners: I like the brief instrumental version better. Congratulations on all the hard work you’re doing to achieve your goals. You’ve become a regular on my pocket cast app. Just a quick question: I noticed you use Libsyn for your podcast. I have a plugin for my blog to get it ready for podcasting (I think it’s BuddyPress), but I’m concerned it may slow my blog down too much. Any words of wisdom?
@SteveBorgman Thanks Steve. I appreciate the feedback, and thanks for putting me in your regular rotation.
I do strongly recommend Libsyn.
I don’t use BuddyPress — I actually use PowerPress from Blubrry. I have not noticed any performance impact to using any of these podcast plugins (I used to use PodPress before I switched to PowerPress). Since all the plugin is doing is creating a media enclosure for your mp3 file, I would not expect a performance impact — but I have never tested it.
Thanks!Mark
I like the brief stinger better. I sent Mark an email basically saying what LazyBastardLife said below. In the car I have the volume up real high to hear the podcast well and then the stinger is super loud and I have to turn it way down and then back up after.
I just listened to this episode on my phone with headphones and it wasn’t as noticeable. I also wanted to share one quick funny story, I was walking around the house this morning and my wife asked me what I was singing. I was apparently singing the stinger without knowing it “building your business, one night…at a time”, so it is definitely catchy and gets your point across, but not I can’t get it out of my head! 😉
And Mark, definitely put me on your beta test list and I’d be glad to help you out in any way I can with your project as well. You have my email, feel free to contact me any time.
@Chris S. Thanks Chris. Got some things planned for episode 20 that should help get all of this sorted out. Thanks for the feedback — it’s very helpful.
Thanks for the offer to beta test. More info on that in April.
Regards,Mark
Your terms of use page is quite the entertainment piece :-p (Yes, I’m the dork that actually sat there and read the whole thing)
So I do have a question about the niche site and the terms and policies pages you used. I know you had mentioned last episode that you have a set of standard boiler plates you customize to each site when you’re getting new sites put together. Is there a set of these that we can download someplace and tweak to our own needs?
@LorettaOliver SO, it turns out that privacy policy came from some PLR. It is use thousands and thousands of times on the web. I need to rewrite it to make it unique, but I have never spent the time to do it. I am not sure about resources for this, but I will take an action to cover this in a future post.
ow ! it is a nice information related website. I already bookmark this website & visit regularly.I have also a website.you can also find something new information from my site http://www.articlesface.com