15 Common Google AdSense Mistakes to Avoid (2026)
Google AdSense is still one of the easiest ways to earn from a website, but it comes with strict rules. These are the most common AdSense mistakes we have seen publishers make since we first wrote this list in 2005, updated for 2026. Some only cost you money; others can get ads limited on your site or your account closed for good.
Quick answer: The biggest AdSense mistakes are clicking your own ads, asking others to click, buying low-quality traffic, editing the ad code, placing ads on pages that break the policies, disguising ads as content, and ignoring your ads.txt file and policy center alerts. Read the official AdSense Program policies once a year, because they change.
Table of Contents
Mistakes that can get your AdSense account banned
1. Clicking your own ads
It is tempting to click a high paying ad, but Google detects invalid clicks very well. Do not ask friends, colleagues or family to click either, and keep children away from your site while you are logged in.
2. Encouraging clicks
Phrases like “click the ads to support us”, arrows pointing at ads, or rewards for clicking all break the rules.
3. Buying cheap traffic
Traffic exchanges, pop-under networks and bot traffic produce invalid impressions. Since AdSense moved to impression-based payments in 2024, Google watches traffic quality even more closely.
4. Altering the ad code
Never edit the code Google gives you. You can control formats and blocking in your AdSense account, and you can load the AdSense script once per page, but the ad tags themselves must stay unchanged.
5. Placing ads on forbidden content
Adult content, copyright-infringing downloads, hacking tools, violent or shocking material and pages that mislead users are not allowed to show ads. One bad page can trigger ad serving limits for a whole site.
6. Disguising ads as content or navigation
Ads must not look like menus, download buttons or article links. Label them only “Advertisements” or “Sponsored links”.
7. Showing ads on empty or error pages
Thank-you pages, login pages, 404 pages and pages with no real content should not carry ads. AI-written filler is a problem too; see our notes on AI generated content.
Mistakes that cost you money
8. Too many ads
There is no longer a fixed limit of three ad units, but stuffing pages with ads lowers RPM, slows pages and drives readers away.
9. Ignoring mobile
Most visits are on phones. Use responsive units and AdSense Auto ads so ads fit every screen.
10. Poor ad placement
Ads at the very bottom of a page rarely get seen. Learn how to increase AdSense CTR with better placement.
11. Leaving blank ad slots
When there is no ad to show, empty boxes look broken. You can hide unfilled AdSense ad spaces.
12. Missing or wrong ads.txt
Without a correct ads.txt file, advertisers may skip your inventory and earnings fall. AdSense shows a warning in your account until you fix it.
13. Not blocking poor ads
Use Brand safety controls to block sensitive categories and spammy advertisers that hurt trust, and block AdSense ads of affiliate products you already promote.
Account and admin mistakes
14. Ignoring the Policy center
Google posts violations and ad serving restrictions in the Policy center inside AdSense. Check it every week and fix issues quickly.
15. Forgetting payments and tax details
Payments are held until you verify your address with the PIN, add a valid bank account and submit tax information. Many new publishers lose months of earnings this way.
FAQ
Can I get banned for accidentally clicking my own ad?
One accidental click is usually filtered out as invalid. Repeated clicks are a problem. Use the Ad review center inside AdSense, or a separate browser profile where you are not tempted to click, to look at your pages safely.
Can I appeal a disabled AdSense account?
Yes, Google offers an appeal form for invalid traffic closures, but most are rejected. Prevention is far easier than appeal.
How many ads can I put on a page?
Google removed the old three-unit limit. Ads must not outweigh your content, so keep a clear balance.
Lots of informative tips,
always remember not to put too much of adds into your page. it must contain good content too.
Wow, it is 4 years later and this is still great advice – thanks for sharing!
These rules make some sense, but I am not having good luck with Google Adense. I get the same exact ads nearly every time, and all are competitor game sites.
The provide only a lame bandaid fix to filter out competitor ads thinking we are going to take the hours it takes to click on competitor ads to get the link or domain name (that does not appear in all the ads).
Getting the wrong ads does as much damage to an online business as it would if Google simply posted p0rnographic ads instead.
Wow, this post is four years old but still very relevant. Nice job.
BTW, I guess based on your points, I can’t put:
“Please help support my website and click on one of these ads!”
Believe it or not, I have seen people do that, though not it a while…
Steve, aka “trade show display booths”
The points mentioned are absolutely true.But the worst things mentioned here is in the points 7th n 8th… I ask u admin who the hell said u that the adds should not be opened in new tab? If a visitor is interested to stay in same page.. he will open add in new window..
2nd thing,mentioned in point 8…How can say that u should not maintain multiple accounts? Do u work for google or r u in adsense team?.. this is absolutely wrong.. Publishers can maintAIN multiple accounts UNDER DIFFERENT PAYEE NAMES..Google will not remove ur account if they find since they r under diff. payee names..
Hi Expert. Thanks for your points. On point 7, of course users are free to open links in new tabs. The terms state that your site should not open these links on new pages by default. On point 8, thanks for informing us that publishers can maintain multiple accounts under different payee names.
Hi,
I had a question that I was hoping you knew the answer to. I have a search bar on my site that is not from google. I made it myself and it only shows results from my site. Will I be banned for having a google ad appear on my search results page?
A very useful tips. Thank you very much. I will make some changes to my websites. Hope my adsense revenue will increase dramatically. Thanks again.
very good and I like what you say but the problem is the very low income from the program it self …I have very big traffic but with very low CPM more traffics lead to less CPM..
before I was only get at most 200 visit to my site and i earn about 12 to 15 $ a day know I have more than 2000 visit a day and only I get from 1 to 2 $ a day..
thank you a gaine
thanks for your tips, but i think you should also tell those adsense clickers to obey the rules and not play by it.
Thanks for the post! I just got approved by adsense, then I found your article. Thanks to your article, I am avoiding some big mistakes.
Yeah it’s true that if you are honest and follow the adsense TOS you will never get banned. Making website is easily now because software is available now to create website automatically with no efforts and no html knowledge but the main problem is to get traffic, for those who cannot spend money on advertising.
This is a great article. Even though a few items are now different, every new publisher should read this. It could sav them a lot of wasted potential money in the future.
4. Do not run competitive contextual text ad or search services on the same site which offer Google Adsense competition in their field.
…. this is no longer true. Google allows competitor ads now.
Great tips! I am very, very new to Adsense (it’s just this week that I received their approval to have Adsense on my blot) and I really needed all the information I can get won’t get banned. In other words, I want to earn something but all under the proper Google Adsense rules! The discussion among your viewers are very rich too.Thanks!
Thanks again for revealing so much of your business secret. :D
Together with the first post, I got the idea of earning of Adsense now, I will try to figure out what to do on my website along with your guidance. :)
Regards,
Jessica
Hi,
I have created a website.I tried it to register with Adsense two times.But Adsense rejected my request.Please help me.
thx for info. i just wanna know i have new website contain mp3 search engine. does google allowed mp3 search engine web site?my site doesnt host any of mp3 files. it just indexing from 3rd party.
i search on some forum but have not get answer yet.
its confusing me .
Great tips! I’ve recently started using Adsense seriously on my new blogs. These are all great things to know if you don’t want to get banned… and you will. I’ve heard too many horror stories.
These all seem reasonable to me, with one exception:
“Never click your own adsense ads or get them clicked for whatever reason”.
Yahoo! figured out how to auto-filter clicks you make on your own web pages. Certainly Google should do the same.
Great article!
In my opinion adsense ads works best with sites that have enourmous traffic. If you only get something about 100-200 unique visitors per day, adsense may not work very well on your site.
Very very interesting and informative tips. Ive been voilating no.6 w/o knowing ! Thanx for the tip :)
My site gets about 6000 pageloads per day after 9 months in operation.
My site features nutty news, displaying mugshots along with the story behind a particular arest.
I display both adsense and adbright ads.
The adsense ads get more clicks, yet adbright has been paying out almost double what adsense does.
On an average day I’ll make $1 from adsense, but I’ll make $3 or $4 from adbright. This is a consistent trend day after day.
I’ve added this post for those who have been kicked out of participating with adsense… Believe me, there are options.
Sincerely speaking, i just created my blog for the purpose of making money with the blogtoolbar, which if u have 2500 active users will get u about 800usd a month and about adsense, it so tempting not to violate their rule of clicking your own ads especially when using another pc, anyway i dont want to get banned but its really hard for me to refer my friend to my blog without reminding him to click ads of products that intrest him thru my site, i have even bought a product from google adsense in my site, thanks for the info, i should be more careful now
Thanks for reviewing the TOS for Google Adsense, I was looking for the Email one. I got it now and will never send emails with adsense code. I thought it will be a nice idea to add the adsense code in Emails, but it violate the Google TOS.
Once again Thank You.
Whatz better ?
Using same/single adsense code in diff. pages or using diff. adsense codes in diff. pages ?
A useful reminder on the don’ts.
Despite so, there are still people revealing CTR on digitalpoint forums
I’d like to see some earnings numbers to really see what’s possible with adsense. I’m still a newbie.
Thank you for these great tips.I have a question and need your response on this issue.There are some adsense ready wordpress themes where you just need to put your publishers ID instead of creating your own adsense box in adsense setup.Is it legal?
Gr8! But a question sometimes google cancel an account if the ads are clicked several times frequently form a same IP. So a competitor can misuse and try to ban your adsense account.
Hello,
I am new in this google adsense and did a few mistakes from your list in the beginning but now have learned from them.
Thanx for all of them
changing codes is not even monitored by google!! my friend earns 60$ dollar a day through adsense, and he violates the rule because his blog is in Indonesian language.. so who is wrong here!!!!!
Rule #9. Place ads only on Content Pages.
Would it be a problem if adsense code is placed on the sitemap page as Sitemap consist mainly of links and basically no content. Would that be a violation?
Hi,
Nice site and usful article on google adsense. Please tale some usefull tips how to bring good number of traffic in the adsense site.
Thanks.
eventually you shouldn’t click adds on your own page, but there are people who do so carefully. however don’t try it at home…
clicking your own ads – one of the quickest ways to get banned :-)
I have started a website and activated my adsense account. The site is getting good response. Your tips helped me a lot. T/y very much.
Google has smart ways to determine if clicks are invalid. If they suspect so, they simply remove the invalid clicks from paying you. An accidental click, or a determined clicker cannot get you banned.
how bout if i own a computer cafe? i wouldn’t know if they clicked my ads in the same computer… i just don’t get how google find fraud clicks. i asked this coz i’m planning to post my ads on my default page on my shop… i don’t want to be banned, and i don’t think i’m violating any rules.
Google has smart algorithms which can easily detect fraud clicks. Never click your own ads, it is a sure way to get banned.
Thank you very much for this post. It clears that we should not use adsense on only image pages (like image gallery). But I have seen a lot of websites use adsense on the gallery pages without any problem. Any way thanks again.
hi i have registered my webpage 4 months ago but did not earned a single penny.i have registered my page on search engine now tell me how to increse traffic and where i am making mistakes?
hi i have launched my webpage 4months ago and google started showing ads on my site but my reveneu is not increasing it is still o$.please tell me where i am making mistake….i have also registered site on search engines but its not changing….plz help me..
One more can be added that never steal other publishers Ad code to alter and paste in your web pages.
Thanks a lot for all the good advice. I take use of adsense for some years and learned to optimize the results – but not with forbidden tricks.
I agree with your recommendations – you’re right.
Nevertheless – there are some webmasters, which specify Google ads as alternate ads. And it seems as if it works well on pages with not supported language like icelandic.
Curious!
Best regards
Konrad
Germany
I’m glad I saw this article beause I’m just starting to use Adsense. I still have a bit of a community built up and it’s good to know some of these basic rules so I don’t have to learn the hard way. I really wan’t sure how many d blocks you could put on one page but you’re article cleared it up for me.
“Ensure you Language is Supported”
If I have blog in Indonesian language (not english),
may I use my adsense code to my blog?
#1 Google Preview tool don’t show exact results that will be after placing on page.
this is clearly Double Standards from Google..
for rule 7. Never launch a New Page for clicked ads by default.
try the same adsense display in gmail.com and all the links open in new window…
how does sites jump to another site without logging out the current user ???
somebody advise me plzzzz
Hi, totally agree with you and also thinking, if clicking on add opens a website in same window, then this adsence concept is altogether stupid, as the no of adds we are placing on the page are no of gateway to get the customers or visitors out of our website.
What it means to me is ” on one side we are trying to get the traffic and other side they are moving out, and if this prevails then how will the concept of EPCM works, as then CTR and EPCM both are working against each other.
On rule 9. Place ads only on Content Pages. Google themselves break this rule in there venture Orkut.com , when we visit albums and pics they show the banner add, which has nothing to do with text, as there is hardly any text on that page.
If anyone comes with some suggestions on both these points or how google is doing different from its publishers, please update here.
good advise,i recently added google ad sense to my website,ihave been making about 50 to 80 dollars a month can anybody advice me how to make even more without getting suspended…….thank you
Hi everyone!
A couple of months ago my Adsense account was banned in my site then I created another site for my sister who has her own Adsense account. Her site though is hosted in a sub-directory of server.
My question is: Will b there any problem if I place her Adsense codes on my main site?
I most appreciate any help. Thanks!