Ads Off Due to Content

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   jansharesposted 5 years ago

   I published an article on suicide. I thought the ads were off until it gained more traffic. But I just checked it out and it appears that the subject matter falls outside of the TOS?!!?? I had no idea. Staff and veterans, please clarify.

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      chef-de-jourposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      dear Jan
      
      Is this helpful?
      
      https://support.google.com/adsense/answ … 8?hl=en-GB

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         jansharesposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, chef, very helpful. I guess exploring the notion of choice when discussing suicide falls under "Advocating Suicide" under the category of "Dangerous Content." Sigh. Not my intention, I'm so bummed. But I hope the information gets families talking and the resources help those who need it. Thanks for your help.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 5 years agoin reply to this

      When writing I always bear in mind that our articles are supposed to be acceptable for children to read.  Topics such as suicide, abortion, etc are never good choices, regardless of how helpful they may be.

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         jansharesposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Hmmm. Never looked at it that broadly for informational articles. Another lesson learned about online writing. However, I'm thinking the bigger issue with AdSense and Google is liability. Thanks, TIMETRAVELER.

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   lobobrandonposted 5 years ago

   That's sad... This is what happens when one policy has to fit everything. Not HP's fault, it's an Adsense issue.

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      jansharesposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Yup, oh well. So much work.

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   Natalie Frankposted 5 years ago

   Yep, I have two articles that are about the difference between self-harm or thoughts about suicide and these symptoms in OCD with the focus on OCD.  One of them is my second highest in terms of views by tens of thousands of views and the other one usually is about fourth or fifth with tons of views as well.  Ads off due to content = lots of lost money.  Oh well.  I had several more planned but decided not to do them because I knew it would be the same story.  Sorry your article is in the same boat but at least you only did one

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      jansharesposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks, Natalie. That's great your articles are informative. I do hope I can provide information to a lot of readers, too. I think I stocked my article with enough information so I won't need to touch this subject again.

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      jansharesposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Natalie, I looked for your articles but couldn't find them on your profile page. I wanted to know if they were accepted onto a niche site?

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         jansharesposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Nevermind, mine just got picked up for Owlcation.

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         Natalie Frankposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         There's this one https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/S … ion-in-OCD - which is always second or third in terms of views and this one, https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/W … Obsessions which is usually in the top 10 for view.  Both are on Owlcation.
         
         I never thought about it before but even though HP says they want articles to be family friendly they still put these types of articles and lots others on niche sites - they just turn off ads.  So it's doesn't seem that they're really trying to be family friendly they are just trying to appear that way to google by having these articles fly below the adsense radar.

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            jansharesposted 5 years agoin reply to this

            Yeah, it seems that way. Thanks for the links, will take a look.

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   paradigmsearchposted 5 years ago

   I thought I'd made a previous post here, but it is gone.
   
   At any rate, I no longer attempt medical articles; too many obstacles from everywhere.

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      jansharesposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, now I know the hard way. Now I'm curious about how writers on sites like WebMD, Medscape, MedicineNet, Mayo Clinic and Psych Central get paid it they write about topics deemed "dangerous." I did have a hard time finding articles on the topic for my research.

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         psycheskinnerposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         They are not monetised by Adsense.

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            jansharesposted 5 years agoin reply to this

            Thank you.

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            Natalie Frankposted 5 years agoin reply to this

            I wonder how they are monetised.  I don't think WebMD is monetized but I know PsychCentral is.  Are they ways to determine how a site is monetized?  Just wondering in case I want to create a website with content that adsense might not be friendly to.  Thanks

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               SmartAndFunposted 5 years agoin reply to this

               After a quick look at both sites, it looks like WebMD and PsychCentral sell their space directly to advertisers. Maybe they use other avenues as well; I didn't look too far into it.
               
               https://psychcentral.com/about/advertising/
               https://mediakit.webmd.com/contact-us/
               
               As far as Google goes, it is my understanding that HubPages goes the extra mile and interprets Google's guidelines very conservatively so that there is no possibility of any violation. For example, AdSense rules say that they will not advertise on any content that glorifies suicide. Jan's article does not glorify suicide, but HP chooses not to place ads on any article concerning suicide, so that there is no possibility of even the appearance of a violation. I hope an HP staff member will correct me if I am wrong about this.

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                  Natalie Frankposted 5 years agoin reply to this

                  Right.  Mine certainly don't glorify suicide either, but I get they don't want to risk even the possibility of a problem with adsence and google.  It's not worth it and could shut down the whole site permanently.

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                  jansharesposted 5 years agoin reply to this

                  Thank you, smartandfun for more understanding of how this works.

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   EricFarmer8xposted 5 years ago

   While it sucks on your end, it is important to remember that Google must make advertisers happy. If advertisers refuse to show ads on suicide-related topics, Google has to submit. They wouldn't risk losing big advertisers.
   
   They already lost some due to YouTube related issues and their response was to moderate hard.

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      jansharesposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Bottom line. Thanks, Eric.

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   jansharesposted 5 years ago

   Update and question:
   
   My article on suicide gets no organic traffic. I understand the rule about the ads. My question is does Google not index the article that has no ads because it's not advantageous to them, i.e., it makes no money? No money for HP either if no one is clicking on the article.
   
   Lesson learned. I initially said "oh well" at least those who need the information will see the article even if I don't make any money on it. But now it looks like NOBODY can see the article if Google doesn't allow it in the search.
   
   Please advise and/or enlighten. FYI, I changed the title to see if that would help and it hasn't budged. I know there is a need for this information out there but if nobody sees it . . .

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      Wesman Todd Shawposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      If it is featured, then it should be indexed regardless of the situation with the ads. There may be a whole lot of articles about suicide online, and so that may be why you've yet to see Google traffic.
      
      I wanted to mention one thing to you I recall from years ago. Personal experience here. You shouldn't ever mention rape, or use that word. 'rape.' That will kill your advertising instantly. At least it did to me once a long time ago.

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         jansharesposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks, Wesman. Yes, I understand the word "suicide" falls in that category. As for traffic, I guess I need to give it time, continue to share on social media and with colleagues, depending on what's trending.

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