Important Google policy change: No competing (or similar-looking) ads can be used with AdSense

I'm not normally a parrot, but this one's important enough that I need to talk about it. You can get all the details from JenSense, but as of today the AdSense program policies “… do not permit Google ads or search boxes to be published on websites that also contain other ads or services formatted to use the same layout and colors as the Google ads or search boxes on that site. Although you may sell ads directly on your site, it is your responsibility to ensure these ads cannot be confused with“.

In other words, if it looks like a Google ad you're currently serving anywhere on your site, you either have to remove it or else make it look substantially different from the Google ads. You can make it look different by changing the colors used, for example, or by putting a border around it if your AdSense ads don't have borders. Or use different fonts.

This is already annoying a lot of AdSense publishers. I've changed this site to be in compliance, but I imagine it's a long process for some sites, especially those that use AdSense-like alternate ads. It used to be fine to display an AdSense-like as an alternative to no ad or a public service announcement. Now the alternate ad you serve has to look very different. If you're building the ads yourself, you might want to switch over to an image-based ad promoting some kind of affiliate product.

Despite the grumbling, remember that Google calls all the shots here — that's what you agreed to when you joined the AdSense program. Like I've said before: if Google asks you to jump, you say “How high?”, or else go find an alternate content monetization solution.

Sponsored Link: An updated version of my AdSense book, Uncommon AdSense, will be making its way to purchasers shortly to reflect these changes. Why haven't you bought your copy already?

Eric Giguere is the author of Uncommon AdSense and

Make Easy Money with Google. His award-nominated AdSense blog is a lot of work to write, but also a lot of fun…

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