It's widely known that most publishers are familiar with Google AdSense, and do everything they can 'not' to upset them, but they behave so unfair (dominate) they need humbling.
Google AdSense Are A Problem!
Before we explain why we've decided to write this, this isn't an attack on Google, as OneFoxx Ltd (Tanizzle's parent entity), remains a die-hard (pro-tech) ally of the tech community.
Why is Google AdSense a problem? Hmm, let's see, Google AdSense is a problem because... umm... they... ok, it's not that easy to tear them apart let alone give you a reason, but there's an explanation for that.
What Happened To Tanizzle's AdSense Account?
During our daily checks of Tanizzle operations, we found an email from Google Payments with the subject line: "Google AdSense: Your account was cancelled". Not only did the email take us by surprise, it truly disheartened us because it didn't provide an explanation.
Assuming we were "cancelled" by what that they consider "invalid traffic", we appealed, but we couldn't necessarily explain why we were filling out their form due to "not understanding" the consequence of termination. Did we say that we've been here before? We'll explain.
FYI: Tanizzle once had an AdSense account that was terminated. We easily accepted it's loss due to an unfortunate misunderstanding with associates who "may have" clicked on ads, like there wasn't a tomorrow - calling it support. Eventually, we disciplined them and moved on with new management.
What Is Invalid Traffic?
If it wasn't obvious already, "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," Google says.
Adding: "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."
Seems straightforward right? Wrong. This is where they take the actual piss. Before our account was terminated, we were hit with "limited ads" due to invalid traffic concerns. This is when Google's robots monitor the quality of traffic (AKA visitors), to determine whether visits were artificially inflated or not.
Although we didn't appreciate it, this was fine to endure because the protocol's usually temporary - so we thought - but on this occasion it lasted for months, appearing and disappearing whenever it liked (as a notice). The worst part, we've worked hard to grow our social media following, and Google can consider such sources invalid traffic.
It's no joke, and you read that right. It's suspicious to have an abundance of users coming from places like Facebook and Twitter. For clarity, Twitter is our secondary source of visitors after organic traffic from search engines, ironically from Google, who sends an abundance, thankfully.
Tanizzle Is Not Alone, Obviously!
After doing some research, we found an user who shared their experiences with a Google community, and we resonated with every part of one's argument. Taking to Google's AdSense help community, the user said: "This account is limited due to 'Invalid traffic concerns'".
Continuing: "This does not make any sense since my only sources of traffic are my Facebook and Instagram pages and groups with thousands of followers. In addition to this, my AdSense account is linked to my Analytics account, so Google can easily analyse what I am saying by crossing data."
That's it. Google has "cancelled" our f*cking account because of traffic considered "to good to be true for an independent site", fairly young, working day-and-night to bring awareness to its brand. A different kind of brand that isn't trying to be like the rest, in fact, our baby, Tanizzle BAE was born after we lost our last account - hold the thought.
After we lost our first account with AdSense, we went back to the drawing board to devise a way to compensate for the potential loss of revenue. Sometime later, Tanizzle BAE (Baddie and Elite), a feature promoting models was established. Although it was bound to happen, Tanizzle BAE was forced into existence to attract users to the site. It worked.
If you haven't familiarised yourself with the home of the finest baddies, the content is considered NSFW. We receive dozens and dozens of visits to posts each day, therefore, giving us the reason to believe it triggered this predicament. However, Google is too stubborn to acknowledge this, sadly.
Dear Google and AdSense
We haven't done anything wrong. It's incredibly hard to explain invalid traffic when you ask. This is because our traffic comes from social media platforms by users intrigued by our content. We haven't even ran any ad campaigns for months, so don't force the idea. What on earth do you want us to do, terminate our social media accounts?
Furthermore, you're not as helpful towards the publisher community as you think, especially when it's so hard to speak to a human on your side. If the BBC slid into your DMs (direct messages), you'd probably answer without blinking. We're going to do exactly that, but we're not expecting your PR machines to message back.
This is how villains are made, but we prefer competitive disruptors opposed to anything deemed "irrational". Google, we still adore.
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