When Google takes action, they really take action.
The forums have been buzzing recently with news that Google is in the middle of a content "quality initiative." There's nothing about it in the AdSense blog, but Jennifer Slegg of Jenstar.com has reported that a number of publishers have received emails telling them that they have "an unsuitable business model" and that their account will be closed within two weeks. They will be allowed to keep everything they've earned so far, but that's it.
Some of those publishers have been earning five-figure monthly incomes, so it seems that no one's exempt.
What did those publishers do wrong?
They had either built their site specifically for AdSense or they'd been practicing AdSense arbitrage (buying traffic cheaply from one place then selling it on to Adwords advertisers through their AdSense units.)
What both those practices have in common is that they put the ads ahead of the content.
That's just wrong. Google is making a good move for advertisers in drawing the line.
I'm certainly fed up clicking search result and finding myself on a page full of ad links instead of the content I want. And advertisers are fed up paying for clicks from people who aren't really interested in their services.
Google's initiative might mean a short dip in our earnings, but if it brings more advertisers back and fewer wasted clicks on the network, then that's good for all our futures.
It also means though that if you want to keep your account open, you need to focus on content.
This has been my message now for three years.
AdSense is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It's an opportunity. To make that opportunity work for you, you have to produce content that people want to read. If you can't do that, you'll need to pay someone to do it for you. If you can't -- or won't -- do either of those (and anyone can produce interesting content if they're prepared to put their mind to it), then publishing isn't for you.
Get the content right and you'll get to keep your AdSense account open. You'll also be making the most of a golden opportunity.
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