Getting shutdown for 'thumbs down's

1. 57

   desert blondieposted 15 years ago

   Hello everyone...It's Desert Blondie...
          After 60 columns, and trying to be a diligent HubPage writer (citing columns that were 'adult content,' or blatantly 'selling") I've been shut down by Google for inappropriate clicking!  I'm stunned!  All my work...the research, the writing, etc. Hubpages still makes it's money from my columns....I average just at 200 views a day...Google makes it's money from my columns...I've seen some great advertisers on my column pages.  Me...I get zip, nada, nothing.
          I've heard rumors about 'robotic' software that 'inappropriately clicks ads' on columns that the director of the software doesn't appreciate....i.e., the writers of trashy columns I've cited as not-for-hubpages.
         Weren't we all asked to be diligent surveyors of columnists here?  It's not like I'm a phobic 'thumbs down' person...after all, I do have a life!!!
         So here I am...60 columns later....columns I enjoyed writing...columns I hoped would produce a tiny bit of income...and I'm shutdown by Google.
        Anyone else out there suffering from this?
        I've applied to Google...but to no avail.
         I've applied to the hubpages team...but to no avail.
         Anybody out there got any idea as to how I make whatever income there is to be made from my columns?
         I look forward, rather desperately, to hearing from other hubpage writers!
         BEST TO ALL WHO WRITE AND TO THOSE WHO CREATE THE VENUES FOR THE WRITING!!   Desert Blondie

   replyreport
   1. 66

      relacheposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I don't know where you got the idea that using HubPages' thumbs up or thumbs down feature was somehow tied to Google, but it's a HubPages feature and has absolutely nothing to do with Google. 
      
      Inappropriate clicking has to do with advertisements served by Google to your pages.

      replyreport
      1. 57

         desert blondieposted 15 years agoin reply to this

             What I thought I learned was that those whose hubs I sighted with 'inappropriate' content took revenge, if you will, and that there is a robotic software that will break-the-rules and inappropriately click the ads all over my  hubs, which makes Google 'mad' at me.  Hubpages does not have anything to do with this, as you say. BUT as noted earlier in this thread of comments...they're not stepping up to intercede at all on behalf of hubbers who do write appropriate content and who bring them lots of readers each and every day (believe me, I've written to team hubpages and nada from them).
         
              so sad that there are these good hubbers noted here on this thread of comments who have been shut down and there's so little response or alternatives.  A real shame.  BUt for h ubpages, guess there's always someone else who dreams of writing on the internet, so they're pretty set with their business plan.  Sure wish I was still writing for hubpages, I did enjoy it!

         replyreport
         1. 87

            Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Well, I hope you now understand that what you thought you learned was wrong.  Yes, some Hubbers were targeted - by human beings! - because they left critical comments on "inappropriate content" Hubs.  But when you leave a comment, your identity is obvious. When you flag or thumb a Hub, the owner of the Hub never knows.
            
            So you see, because it has nothing to do with HubPages, there is nothing HubPages can intercede about.

            replyreport
   2. 63

      EYEAM4ANARCHYposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Not that I want to encourage you to leave HubPages, but if you can't get things sorted out with adsense, you could unpublish your Hubs and republish them on Triond. They pay you through the site itself rather than by way of adsense. I don't know how they compare in terms of income potential and personally I think HP's format is much better, but if it's a choice between that and writing for free, it's probably the better option.

      replyreport
   3. 59

      mandybeauposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Well I tried to reply to you in this comment box, and then after reading, I decided to check my account, and they have done it  to me also. Well they could not have picked a bigger pain in the proverbial to try that on than me......So they are going to get their monies worth full $60.00 plus, last time i looked. trouble is i cant figure how to get their crappy ads of my site.
      Look at third party advertising and  heaps of  Ebay and Amazon.
      I had no probs, until i went to answer, so if thats any help.

      replyreport
2. 64

   Mishaposted 15 years ago

   I feel for you...
   
   Well, adsense is not the end of the world, but definitely the biggest player. What other options do you have? I took a look at your "columns" list, and I don't have any idea for most of them. Two categories did catch my attention though - fashion and travel.
   
   You can use amazon and ebay capsules on your fashion hubs, this should work. On your travel hubs Travelocity or Expedia may be a hit, you need to sign up for Commission Junction ( cj.com ) affiliate account to get them.
   
   Don't think any of those can compete with adsense, but you never know, and at least it is something instead of nothing. Hope others can bring in more ideas.
   
   Good luck!

   replyreport
3. 59

   darksideposted 15 years ago

   Were you using your Adsense Publisher code anywhere else? At a blog or some other site?
   
   Have you ever clicked on your own ads?
   
   Do you click much on other Adsense ads?

   replyreport
4. 87

   Marisa Wrightposted 15 years ago

   First thing - I assume you've written to Google several times?  I'd keep hammering on their door. 
   
   Second - as I said on the other thread, I can't see how thumbing someone's Hub could cause retaliation, because the Hubber can't see who thumbs.  There has to be some other explanation.  Have you looked at your Analytics reports  to see if you had any unusual spikes of traffic?   Have you signed up at any traffic exchanges (a lot of people don't realise they can get you banned)?
   
   I hate to see anyone leave HubPages, but have you tried applying to BellaOnline (click on the Become an Editor link at the bottom).  You can monetize that any way you want.  I'm not sure how places like Travellerspoint.com, About.com, eHow or Suite101 pay, but it would be worth checking out.  Remember that unlike some other sites, you always have the right to delete your Hub content and take it with you - which is one of the (many) reasons why I prefer Hubpages!  But then I still (touch wood) have my Adsense account.
   
   Good luck!

   replyreport
   1. 59

      darksideposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      From what I've heard, you only get one chance to plead your case. The chance of success is very slim, but after that it's non-existent.

      replyreport
5. 91

   gamergirlposted 15 years ago

   Blondie, keep emailing them.  I fell victim to having my publisher ID copied and pasted onto a very ugly, poorly formated Desi girl website and Lord only knows where else, and received thousands of clicks invalidly in the course of two days.
   
   Google finally got back to me, we put our heads together, and they revealed to me where my Adsense ID was being used, then I told them which sites were mine and which were not.
   
   They reviewed it.. took a while (I think a couple of weeks) during which I got discouraged.. got mad at the Desi-girl jerks.  Then, magically, they reinstated my account.
   
   Just mind the rules, if you haven't broken any of them, fight for your account to be restored - but remember that Google has that provision stating they can shut your account down at any time and don't have to tell you why.

   replyreport
6. 67

   DJ Funktualposted 15 years ago

   I too have no idea why but lost my adsense.  Totally frustrating. I never thumbs down OR up!  I do about 2,000 a day and 200,000 total and never made a dime.   Good luck Blondie, you are one of my favs.
   
   
   Apparently my adsense just stopped adding on September 28th and there doesn't appear to be a reason why.   I earned little over $59 up to then and nothing since........?
   
   Does this match the same time gamergirl and several others got screwed?
   
   I have no problem with hubpages getting rich off me (which they are) but why can't I earn as promised?  It smells funny to me on google's part.  If my ID was stolen and posted I'd be the last to know cause I don't even know what that is. 
   
   Based on the last paragraph of gamergirl's entry above it seems like the perfect scam.  Get lots of writers excited, build up a portfolio and then right before they get paid...ZAP!  You are history.   I am an internet rookie so I may be waaaay off base here but c'mon.
   
   I'm a New Yorker.  We can smell it from two blocks away.  Thoughts?

   replyreport
   1. 87

      Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      No, I don't think there's anything fishy going on.  If Google doesnt pay you for the clicks on your HubPages, then they have to pay HubPages instead - so they don't benefit by banning you. 
      
      If you think HubPages is up to something, then remember that you can delete all your Hubs and take them elsewhere any time you want - start your own website or blog, or join another paid site.  So they'd be cutting off their nose to spite their face.
      
      Now, if you were talking about a site like Helium, where they can ban you and keep everything you ever wrote....

      replyreport
      1. 67

         DJ Funktualposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         I don't think hubpages is up to anything, they aren't google adsense, but it's just disappointing and why aren't we hearing from the staff on this?  Paul always shoots straight, where is he?

         replyreport
   2. STAFF

      pauldeedsposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Did Google send you any emails?  Have you tried contacting Google?   I can't speak first hand, but I believe if there is an issue with your AdSense account Google will send you an email broadly explaining the problem.
      
      As far as we can tell through the AdSense API, your account is active and in good standing.  Since this is the case, we go right ahead and place the adsense ad code on your behalf, with your publisher id into your hubs (60% of the time).  However, I see that when we place ads for you they seem to be collapsing away -- meaning that Google isn't allowing ads with your id to appear for some reason (this means that HubPages isn't making anything more than we would if your account was functioning normally).  I haven't seen this before and I can't explain it, but I'm sure someone at Google can figure it out.

      replyreport
   3. 76

      Lissieposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Well you shouldn't be - you would be the first to know if you used the "allowed sites" feature in adsense which allows you to ONLY allow your adsense id to be used on a urls that you list - and they tell you if any other urls are using your id on a weekly basis.

      replyreport
      1. 59

         bhogeposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Hi lissie, i added to allowed sites feature, there they have been showing the sites which are using my id, is there anything that i shall do about these sites or just ignore it, most of them are some ip addresses

         replyreport
         1. 81

            ProCWposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            You might wanna add those ip addresses... i checked some of the ones out on mine --- they were google ip addresses... maybe from google's cache?
            
            ... just a thought... and not meanin' to interrupt your conversation with Lissie...
            
            ProCW

            replyreport
         2. 76

            Lissieposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            
            
            I always seem to have around 1/2 dozen - just IP addresses - cut and paste into a browser and you will find that they are various google or yahoo search engines - ie no problem
            
            Sometimes they are a new site of mine which I have forgotten to add - big problem LOL

            replyreport
   4. 57

      desert blondieposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      WOW! DJ...you too!  I haven't checked in with the hangout in awhile, so hadn't seen that this happened to you!
      To all others who were asking....nope....from as far as I can tell, I didn't do any inappropriate clicking. Tried to be a 'model' Google rule-follower. Now, March,2009, still hoping for a response...loved writing my columns...but nothing.  My columns/hubs still get really good advertisers...I have good readership stats...Google gets their $$$, hubpages gets their $$$...I get a  nice comment now and then from a fellow hubber. Not exactly a way to earn movie and popcorn money though!

      replyreport
7. 0

   multimasteryposted 15 years ago

   ATTN: It is very important for everyone to go into their Google control panel and click on 'allowed sites' and enter the urls to sites that you give permission to use your code.  This is an added safeguard when using Google Adsense.  (you'll find it by clicking on 'adsense set-up' and then right under in the blue row on the end click on 'allowed sites' and enter you urls).
   
   Hopefully you will get your account reinstated Desert Blondie.  Either way, you Own all your content which is good and there are definitely other ways that you can earn from it e.g. other pay per click networks, affiliate programs, a split-deal from someone else who has a Google Account, etc.
   
   Best Wishes to You!

   replyreport
   1. 77

      sunforgedposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      So thats what allowed sites is for...glad i read that thanks!

      replyreport
8. 69

   crashcromwellposted 15 years ago

   I had the same thing happen to me earlier last year, after an extended period of inactivity on my part, don't know if there is a connection. I reapplied with adsense, and was rejected for some nebulous reason that my site was often not online, which I highly doubt, since hubpages.com is pretty good that way. I was upset, but not tragically so, because my earnings were pretty low. I've pretty much taken the approach that I can write pieces that appeal to me and write them for the joy of it. The more of a presence I have online, I may sell a few articles, but my main gigs right now are teaching my classes for the University of Phoenix, applying for Ph. D. programs, and trying to finish the first draft of my latest novel - Antiquity Calais Ascending Olympus.
   
   But I feel for you Desert Blondie. A while ago I got word that Amazon had instituted a policy where they would only sell POD books on their site that were printed by one of their POD operations. I felt they were trying to corner the market and use their position as the 800 pound gorilla in on-line book sales to run other POD operations out of business. I feel sort of the same way about adsense. They are definitely the preeminent online advertising source, but that doesn't mean they should have the right to push their weight around and indiscriminantly close out accounts for no apparent reason.

   replyreport
9. 62

   donreedposted 15 years ago

   Well Desert Blonde, I can totally relate because I was shut down by Google also. The worst part is they won't tell me the exact reason why, or even what pages were inappropriatley clicked on what website. I sent an appeal, but they still denied me. I still write on hub pages, and now I also use Squidoo and Ezine Articles .com. For as much as you write you should be able to make it up. I also signed up for Adbrite which compares to Google. I am hearing of more and more people getting shut down by Google. It wouldn't be so bad if they would just explain the exact reasons for their decision. And I don't do the thumbs up or down often, but perhaps that's why they gave me the slap.

   replyreport
   1. 87

      Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      As Relache said, Google couldn't care less about thumbs up and thumbs down.  There is some suggestion that giving the "thumbs down" to a Hub caused the owner of that Hub to sabotage the thumber - which is impossible, because there is no way the Hub owner could know who thumbed them.  So there's no way that could be cause of someone getting banned by Adsense.
      
      The main reasons people get banned by Google:  because Google thinks they've been artificially creating traffic, or clicking on their own ads, or inducing friends to click for them - or they've put Adsense on an adult site. 
      
      I know several people who've been banned because they signed up for traffic exchanges, not realising the risk.  Traffic exchanges look pretty much like blog directories - the difference is that members click on each other's blogs in exchange for credit. The result can be big spikes in traffic which will upset Google.

      replyreport
10. 67

    DJ Funktualposted 15 years ago

    Still wondering why gamergirl and I were banned.

    replyreport
    1. 59

       darksideposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Have you asked Google? Because us and HubPages staff would only be guessing.

       replyreport
11. 59

    bhogeposted 15 years ago

    Thanks ProCW yes most of them are from google cache and some of them got site names also, should i ignore it

    replyreport
    1. 81

       ProCWposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       i wouldn't add the site names if you haven't given them permission to use your adsense id... but the google sites -- i'm not tellin' you what to do -- but i added them...
       
       

       replyreport
12. 59

    bhogeposted 15 years ago

    Confused, Some sites are displaying ads using my id which are not on my allowed sites feature in that case should i send an email to these site owners to ask to remove my id or should i just ignore it, Sorry if it sounds like a dumb question

    replyreport
    1. 81

       ProCWposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       No... it isn't a dumb question... but please know, I'm not an authority on it...
       
       From what I can tell with the adsense TOS and all that stuff, as long as they're not on your list, you won't be credited for impressions/clicks and anything that happens in a negative manner won't have a negative effect on your account. However, the ads will still show up on their site(s). I don't think it matters either way if you contact them. Now, if they have your content on their site... that's a different matter entirely...
       
       I have to go to bed now... sorry. If you have more questions, I should be up in 8 hours or so... or leave it here and someone else will probably help...
       
       Good night and best of luck!
       
       ProCW
       

       replyreport
13. 59

    bhogeposted 15 years ago

    Thanks ProCW no more questions Good night

    replyreport
    1. 81

       ProCWposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       hehe... hope you get it resolved...
       
       i've been heading to bed for a while now... and i think i'm finally gonna make it there...
       
       good night to you too, bhoge.
       
       
       ProCW

       replyreport
14. 69

    waynetposted 15 years ago

    Yeah some people try and ruin it for you and place your id's on traffic exchanges and other dodgy sites which are against the adsense policies.
    
    I've since found a few traffic exchanges trying to link to my adsense id and creatureworld hits was one of them so I just left them in the not allowed section of my adsense filters.

    replyreport
15. 67

    DJ Funktualposted 15 years ago

    Paul Deeds to the rescue!   
    Apparently since I didn't ever enter the PIN # for tax purposes, they just stopped counting the hits, so I am in good standing but just a complete idiot!   
    
    All those hits for nothing...what a jacka$$
    
    450 fans and 225,000 hits won't buy you common sense.  LOL

    replyreport
    1. 64

       Mishaposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       They just did

       replyreport
    2. 69

       waynetposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       

       replyreport
    3. 59

       darksideposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Give yourself an uppercut!

       replyreport