How to Prevent Google AdSense and Tistory Ad Policy Violations: An Essential Checklist
When operating a blog, you may encounter reasons for ad approval delays, suspensions, or cancellations due to Google AdSense or Tistory ad policy violations. This article analyzes major violation casesincluding illegal content, copyright infringement, invalid clicks/impressions, and the failure to distinguish ads from contentand provides a detailed checklist to help blog owners prevent policy violations and maintain stable revenue.
Analysis of Google and Tistory Policy Violations During Ad Application and Operation
When running a site or blog, you will inevitably apply for and manage advertisements. Most operators experience AdSense application holds, ad suspensions, or cancellations due to policy violations at least once or twice. Today, I am sharing information on Google AdSense policy violations and the underlying intent behind these regulations.
Essential Checklist for Preventing Google AdSense and Tistory Ad Policy Violations
1. The Meaning and Importance of Policies
A policy is a set of principles and guidelines established by a specific group for a specific purpose. Policies serve as the foundation for achieving organizational goals. For instance, a shopping malls goal is to sell products, while a blogs primary purpose is to share information and experiences. If a blog demands money or becomes excessively commercial, it may be in violation of these policies.
Essentially, rules are set to align with the collective purpose of the platform, and warnings are issued when these principles are not met. Below is a summary of representative policies for Google AdSense and Tistory, along with prevention strategies.
2. Content Policies
Both Google and Tistory emphasize the quality, legality, and ethics of content. Below are key examples of content policy violations:
| Violation Type | Core Reason | Major Examples & Prevention |
|---|---|---|
| Illegal Content | Illegitimate usage | Providing links to illegal software or counterfeit goods. |
| Copyright Infringement | Unauthorized use of creations | Unauthorized use of images or hosting plagiarized text. |
| Harmful Content | Adult, violent, or discriminatory | Exposing sexually explicit or hateful content. |
- Illegal Content: Any act that uses or promotes illegal purposes (e.g., providing illegal download links).
- Copyright Infringement: Arbitrarily using or posting someone else's creative work without permission or compensation (e.g., unauthorized images, pirated articles).
- Adult Content: Promoting or posting adult-only materials (strictly moderated).
- Hate Speech & Dangerous Information: Providing content that promotes hatred, violence, discrimination, misinformation, or ambiguous/dangerous information.
3. Site Implementation and Behavioral Policies
These policies are designed to ensure genuine user access and protect the value provided to advertisers.
- Invalid Clicks and Impressions: Generating fraudulent traffic by clicking ads yourself or conspiring with others (e.g., "click-for-click" schemes via subscriptions or comments) to manipulate ad revenue.
- Distinguishing Ads from Content: Failing to clearly separate ads from content, which leads users to make wrong decisions or mistake an ad for editorial content (e.g., making an ad look like a navigation button is strictly prohibited).
- Restricting Accessibility: Intentionally redirecting users to other sites/pages or interfering with site usage (e.g., pop-ups, unintended page transitions, or site hijacking).
4. Ad Placement Policies
Regulations to ensure ad stability and a positive user experience.
- Tampering with the ad formats provided by Google (e.g., arbitrarily modifying the ad code).
- Placing ads in locations that disrupt the user experience (e.g., fixed ads in the center of the screen that block content).
- Placing ads in iframes (prohibited as it allows for unauthorized tampering and manipulation of the ad).
- Conspiring to generate ad views and clicks by offering incentives, gifts, or profit-sharing (prohibited from encouraging ad clicks).
5. Tistory Service Policies
Policies maintained to ensure the stability and operational goals of the Tistory platform.
- Operating a blog for excessive commercial purposes (undermines the goal of information sharing).
- Attempting to force-redirect addresses to other sites or "hijack" the site through methods other than the official domain connection provided by the company.
- Altering, manipulating, or interfering with the normal exposure of information or advertisements provided by the company within the service.
- Modifying, reverse engineering, decompiling, or disassembling the software provided by the company.
Failure to comply with these policies can result in ad disapproval or account suspension. It is crucial to keep these in mind, as most operators will encounter these challenges at some point. Ad policy compliance is an essential requirement for the sustainable growth of your blog.
Q: What is the first thing I should do if I receive a policy violation email to avoid ad suspension?
A: Upon receiving a violation notice, immediately check the specific URL and the reason for the violation. You must immediately correct or remove the problematic content or ad placement. After making the changes, you should request a review through the Google AdSense management page to initiate the re-approval process. Rapid response is the best way to prevent account suspension.
Q: What does it mean specifically to "clearly distinguish ads from content"?
A: This is to prevent users from accidentally clicking ads by mistaking them for part of the article. You should clearly label ad areas with terms like "Ad" or "Sponsored Link." Particularly when image or link ads are inserted within a post, a layout design that clearly defines the boundary between the content and the ad is essential.
Q: What is the most reliable way to prevent copyright infringement?
A: The most reliable method is to create all image and text content yourself or to use only royalty-free materials authorized for commercial use (e.g., images from Pixabay, Pexels, or Unsplash). Additionally, when quoting someone else's work, you must always clearly cite the source.