Banned from Google Adsense – Lost $200,000
I don’t even have the words to describe the frustration we are going through right now. The total loss is around $200,000 or something but we don’t have an exact amount because we can’t log into any of our AdSense accounts. With server fees and programmer fees still bleeding us right now as I type. It’s quite depressing and the only reason why I decided to blog about this crap is because I read John’s post a few days ago. He did warn his readers about putting all their eggs in one basket way before this post but I just never broke the “engineer’s mindset” of trying to optimize systems with the training I went through in high school and college. I just thought that I could make sites with AdSense generating all the revenue. We never thought that this would happen to us. We were so close. We thought that it only happens in the movies – where the hero works so hard and is so close to achieving his goals and winning, but then losses everything because of something so small and stupid. Think of when Rocky lost all his fortune when his brother in law, Paulie signed a contract giving his lawyers power of attorney. Or when Tony Montana from Scarface lost everything because he got greedy and careless. We always thought that that would never happen to us and that we were smarter than that. One of the main things we have learned from this is that money can make you STUPIDER and lazier.
I think one of the possible reasons why we got banned for invalid clicks is because we logged into our accounts during our vacation in LA. Also it is possible that someone found our major sites and click botted for days when we were on vacation. We do not know if any of our sites were attacked or not but we have always purposely kept our personal sites like this blog low in traffic because I was scared that haters would do something like this. We have already appealed the bans but so far nothing but canned responses. There is no phone number or address or any humans there. Their forums are useless and replies just go unanswered.
I feel really cheated with the payments pending to arrive in days when we got the ban emails for invalid clicks. Google does not pay publishers even for the previous month’s earnings if you get banned. There was no warning and it never entered my head that I could lose all of our adsense accounts. We never clicked on our own ads nor told anyone to do so. We even kept most of our sites a secret. It’s not even about the money. It’s about the businesses and passive income we worked so hard to build. I have no idea how we can come back from this. I think the only person who truly knows and understands what we are going through is Robert Kiyosaki who lost his very successful business because of some stupid little mistake. I guess it is true, that true success comes only after many failures with priceless lessons. This is the greatest failure/setback that we have ever had in our 25 years of life so far. It has really opened our eyes to strive to become better people, businessmen, and being more grateful. The measure of a man is not the amount of money he has or the amount of daily passive income but the wealth of happiness he has during his time on this world. When we were banking all that money everyday we should have been more grateful, less arrogant, more careful, and should have been happier. We never truly appreciated what we had until we lost it. I should have actually followed what I posted here: Strategy for Success.
During the last few days when we were really down feeling stressed, depress, and even suicidal – one of our old high school friend called us. Surprisingly it uplifted us. We had last talked to him about 2 years ago but during this unexpected phone call he told us that he was actually starting on his journey to mastering money. One thing he said was “Don’t worry guys, you’re gonna make a comeback.” We are neither poor nor rich now but the knowledge and experience including this painful $200K lesson which we have learned during our journey so far is priceless.
I do not know when/if we will ever post again here. Hopefully we’ll make a come back. Cherish your success and time. Be GRATEFUL for what you have and Good Luck.
Henry and Wilson
Thats gotta hurt – sorry to hear of your misfortune.
On the positive front, if you had the traffic levels to garner the interest then all is not lost surely. YPN, adbrite, kontera, bidvertiser…
Good luck
Dear Henry + Wilson,
I’ve been reading your site for a while. I became aware of who you guys were by playing on World of Pwnage about two years ago. I thought your ideas and philosophies were interesting. I’ve taken them to heart, and although I’m not a successful businessman, the things you have written about have helped me in ways that really have nothing to do with finances.
I decided to give the whole blog-for-money thing a try, set up a few cheap blogger blogs with some ads here and there and just sat back. It’s been a month, and I only have a mere $0.95. But I learned a lot of stuff just by taking action. I know you guys are really sad you lost a lot of money, and I am deeply saddened by this too and I hope you can get it back, but I just think I should let you guys know that you helped me in more than one way. I am a student going off to college in a month and change, and because of you guys I feel more financially aware. I’m not anywhere near where I could be yet, but I am better off than I was because of you.
Thanks a lot.
- Mike
Thanks for the encouraging words and it means a lot to see that some of our thoughts have affected others positively. The suicidal thoughts have passed from us. Just kidding. Kinda. Anyway, the money is not important and looking at it again after a few weeks it really is kinda of a good thing that we have experienced this because it just makes us hungrier, more grateful, and strive to become better businessmen. We will even try to post more on how we are rebuilding our cashflow and make this more of a personal blog.
[...] crashed last month – just a few days short of Google sending them another check – when Google banned the twins and kicked them off their money train. Total lose was around $200,000. I don’t even have the [...]
Guys – if you know how to get traffic to your sites you can make even more with higher EPC, affiliate offers, list building, your own products, etc. Have a brief mourning period, get drunk, and move on up. You can do it!
Sorry to hear about the loss. I read through your site and like it alot. Sounds like you’re beginning to look at real estate now. That’s my main focus, although I dabble in online money making and stocks.
[...] crashed last month – just a few days short of Google sending them another check – when Google banned the twins and kicked them off their money train. Total lose was around $200,000. I don’t even have the [...]
I definitely dont make 6 figures a month (depends on where the decimal place is!) on google ads, but I took Chows words to heart. I pull in a bit from Google, a bit from Bidvertiser, some from AuctionAds, some from Kontera, etc… a few hundred a month combined really helps me work on our house, which was our goal anyways. I noticed a big increase in hits (and ad revenue) after I put my video up this past Sunday morning. Im new to your site, so maybe video might work well for you guys too?
Youve already proven you are successful. Youve learned from the google mistake. Youre no doubt planning a better comeback. Right now I have to rely on Google ads and its probably best I dont piss them off. But, with google becoming the monster it is, they’ll do what they want, when they want. Scary huh? And no one to answer to either. Even more scary!
I wish you guys the best and I’m interested in your progress so will be reading you from now on! Good Luck! -Dave & Anna
I don’t know what type of sites you have, but I earn more with ValueClickMedia than what I earn with YPN, and YPN usually makes more than adsense. You do the math. I suggest you join them. VCM pays per impression though.
What was your business model with Google Adsense? Were you doing Click Arbitrage/BlackHat SEO/ Tons of mini sites?
hello, I just want to know how you got these income from google, beacause your blog is not so popular (only 2 authority at technorati)!
Martin Luther King, Jr., said something along the lines of “you judge a man by how he conducts himself during times of extreme challenge not when things are easy.” (not exact quote)
I have great respect for you guys because you are willing to learn and grow from this.
I agree with Peter Koning’s advice. You guys clearly know how to drive traffic, so you should have no problem building your business back bigger and stronger.
Continued success and i’m glad John Chow led me to your blog.
That was interesting, 200k alone in adsense you twins lost? I can’t even imagine how is that possible. I think you guys should focus on other making money online program instead of adsense. Anyway, good luck to you both and hope you guys made a come back soon.
Thats what you get for spamming the internet and sending bots round to give invalid clicks.
HAHAHAHAHAH!
Sorry to hear that, I was banned a while ago but with some politeness and patience I got reinstated. Might have had to do with the blog I had put online after I was banned:)
GoogleStoleMyMoney.com
the only thing that sucks is that ALL the other Adsense alternatives don’t pay as good as Adsense… the highest payment i’ve gotten per click was $11 and my second highest was $4.65 now where is there an alternative company out there that would pay that kind of money..???
You guys are so smart. How did you do something so DUMB? Sorry to hear of your lost, but it was a costly mistake and now it’s your word against theirs. I hope you don’t join that guy selling roses and I hope you don’t have to go back to step #1 on your “What would you do if you had to start from scratch?” post. You guys can’t whine about a $200k lost. Donald Trump doesn’t, Bill Gate won’t. I just hope you pocketed some of it from the months before. I love your blog and always read it. Don’t look at this comment as hateful, look at it as inspiration.
sorry to hear that, but google is suck !!
i have banned for the 3rd time last month and i pulled out from this game..
now concentrating on bidvertiser, advertlets,ppp and sponsored reviews
Sorry to hear about the loss
… AdSense need grow up
[...] that revenue stream dries up, you’ll be screwed. And that’s exactly what happened with Henry and Wilson, twin brothers from Baltimore who got banned from Google AdSense last month, and lost roughly $200K [...]
Hi henry and wilson.
That lost is really big. But there must be something wrong did to make google banned you. I don’t think it is just because 1 thing you mentioned
Anyway…you can always start over again.
Ouch man…. that really hurts… but unfortanely, google is acting very strictly in the past year… i don’t know what they have in mind, but surely it ain’t good for the majority of us…. i don’t depend on google anymore, since i got deleted by them… but at least they paid me first…..
but with the traffic you have im sure you will find good alternatives…
It just goes to prove that you can’t trust google. I’m pretty sure there is going to be a google backlash at some stage. With people getting so fed up with account closures and bounced cheques and all the other crap they throw at webmasters.
Sure, your sites were banned without warning ?? I always receive 1 warning, so I think your story is for linkbait…
$200,000 usd in 1 month, of course, reacheable with a few thousands sites ….
but I like this about your story.. really make me laugh !!!
“I think one of the possible reasons why we got banned for invalid clicks is because we logged into our accounts during our vacation in LA. Also it is possible that someone found our major sites and click botted for days when we were on”
C’mon do you think that we will believe this story ?? someone got your web sites network and click like crazy ?? why ??
Do some research and you will know that you will not get banned for a few clicks, also you should know that there are scripts that only allow a certain number of clicks per visitor….
[...] depressed – usually one of us is up and optimistic even though the other is down. Analyzing our recent setback, it has set us back months and it will be many more months before we will rebuild our cashflow to [...]
Hi, its really sad, but google is not the end of world.
There are lots of other adsense type PPC advertisers like yahoo and many more…
try these hope you will get some good reward,
best of luck for every success,
cheers,
hi,
sorry to hear your sad stories hope you guys rebounce from this…
cheers,
dragstar
http://www.kakijoran.com
i think you lying about that poor story .
Hey all,
I wonder if G**gle bans all the accounts and gets the money…. what will happen than?
Smells like….
I just want to say the same just happened here, except we did absolutely nothing to cause this BULL$#!t. Fortunately we bled everyone dry first, and they weren’t paying anymore anyway. From here on, I will tell everyone Adsense Sucks. I suggest you all do the same.
that pretty much sucks
why google don’t use any script to prevent/ignore multiple clicks on ads published with one publisher ID from single ip? it will make the publisher feel safer.
I was just banned from Google Adsense after a short 7 days stint with Adsense… still nursing from grief and soul-searching when I reach your site. I am too saddened to hear that your setback with Google
- I understand your hurt..
Hope to see your return….you give big shoulders for others to lean on ..
I am in grieving stage…
————————————————
Google Adsense Ban is for Life.
I am in grieving stage…
Google Ban is for Life.
Google, you give life, you give hope..
click away one, click away two
Email you receive, ban is for life..
you take away my life,
you take away my hope.
Appeal you may try, wait for my reply
if they think it’s fraud, compassionate reason will not apply..
At their mercy,
prove not you are newbie
but prove you may not at fault
Eager relatives,
Eager friends
want to help help
click one away, click two away..
In their earnest, they say they want to find out more,
click one away, click two away..
Oh, oh, too many clicks turn into invalid clicks
Blame ownself … for turning game into miserably disappontment…
Me nursing pain and grief
27 July 2007 17:54
————————————————-
This is a sad story but i want to think a site making money of that magnitude from google adsense alone should have had another way out. I bet you yahoo and microsoft adbrite etc will be all waiting for you to come aboard.
But again such an alarming story not only scares us who are just begining in this but can attract a hell lot of attention.
Use the traffic while you can!!
http://www.clikspy.com
wtf r u guys talkin’ about? google owes u $200k and u say it was a mistake to login into your accounts during your holidays?! WTF! sue them, ffs.
Well it’s sad to hear that they banned you, but what is more alarming is without any prior notice and giving the publisher a proof is something to worry about.
Hope Larry & Eric reading this and better sense prevail in the end and you get a clear reply from them.
-Stella Roy
I can’t really feel sorry for you. Think about it, most people don’t make a single dime on the internet, and you guys were able to generate a fifth a million on the internet. A lot of people have more success creating their own ads and affiliate links.
That’s right
signing up with a program and creating your own campaign ad system using affiliate links will profit so much. Where-ever you had adsense. replace that crap and put in some affiliate links and watch the money pile. Plus you’ll get paid faster with affiliate links.
Stop this crying.
i don’t even use adsense. I think it sucks. and you gusy could be millionaires if you apply the same techniques without some stupid ass adsense.
marsian: google folks are not retarded, they can’t wait to catch you “abusing” and don’t send any money at all, simple as that.
[...] hit in afterhours. It looks like it is set to take a nosedrive on Monday. It makes it seem like our problems look like nothing compared to theirs. Adbrite is also having problems serving their ads this [...]
Don´t be depressed! Stand up and fight! You are the winners.
Best wishes from Germany
Wolfgang
Yeah i also lost 579.68 $ last month….
Sorry to hear dat
I m damm sure if i met owner of google i will surely fcuk them up…
You are not alone. Many of other webmasters already lost their money on adsense! It become more and more webmaster who report that their accounts are closed and their money is lost. Hope somebody will open an alternative to google soon.
. Also it is possible that someone found our major sites and click botted for days when we were on vacation. We do not know if any of our sites were attacked or not but we have always purposely kept our personal sites like this blog low in traffic because I was scared that haters would do something like this.
Uh, come again? You have adsense ads and you think that a “hater” wants to send click bots to your site and click your ads, potentially making you a lot of money.
Um, are you joking? I think you gave yourself away right there.
Dude there’s tons of alternatives to Adsense, YPN if you want to stay in the bottomfeeder “click” market or CPA networks and lead brokering if you want to step it up a notch. In two months you’ll be plugging along with all that income and maybe more. Don’t sweat it!
Henry & Wilson, maybe you used web proxies or torrent websites to get huge traffic.
If so, try to use adlogger next time, it will block most of fradulent clicks!
Kevin Krools said years ago: Everything is impossible until someone does it…
You did it once, you’ll did it again, this time you will make less mistakes.
Probably you will make lots of money in this lifetime and if this misfortune(did not camed in the past) you wouldn’t know how to trully appreciate what you would god and probably end up badly.
Everything happens for a good reason, i’m glad you saw a possible reason.
Keep up the work!
$ 200,000 !!!
OMG !!!
:O
http://www.boacampeao.blogspot.com
Very Sorry To Hear about your misfortune. The same thing happened to me, except i only lost about 200 Dollars. Still, thats a fair bit of money. If i were you i would be taking legal action.
Don’t worry my friend cause you are not the only one in this world got banned in fact me too hehe… we are the same..so now i feel easy cause there people like you who have the same fate as me :p Thanks for the ban blog
I am very sorry to hear, lots of money and is not only for that moth, but do nto worry, when one door close and another one will open, God be with you guys
just got banned. 3 days before christmas. for god knows y. i have been with them since adam. always it came with a warning. this time no warning. its pain. no income for my family for the next 2 months the very least. heart wrenching. nov was $5000 and this month has already past $6000. i have appealed and awaiting their answer. its christmas man.
grabbing at straws now. looking for other avenues. a friend said to try namedrive. i already registered with click-share and valueclick. awaiting approval.
gotta start doing affiliates.
Google removed one of my sites but left me my account. I can’t figure out what I did on that one site, and, of course, they’re no help at all, except to pass me the TOS. Which one of those I ran afoul, I can’t tell.
It seems the only thing could be that I linked the many pages from my own site with the wrong font color. Geesh. How anal can Google get? If you don’t provide links on a page that has high enough PR, they will never get indexed. If you do link, then you’re creating a link farm.
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
So how the hell is John Chow now making almost $30K a month? And how are you guys now making up 5 figures a month, after being banned from Adsense?
I can’t figure out what these other Adsense “alternatives” even are. How about something simple like Yahoo Publisher Network coming out of beta at last?
Sorry for your lost, but i’ve only $25 for three months, i understand your pain. Good luck.
Carlos
Blog de un Sistemico en Apuros
Hello,
I just discovered your story. This is really scary. So I made an article on you on my blog today on my new blog http://bestofmoney.info/
Being banned from Google Adsense: are you prepared for the “Butterfly Effect”?
I am an engineer like you so I understand what you mean by “engineer mindset” but I’m much older than you so I had already taken some lessons and I still heavily pay continue to pay the consequence.
Hope you will come back soon.