Making Sense of the AdSense Situation

Given my now-extensive research on AdSense bans, here is what I can offer.

1.  I had too many AdSense ads up at once.  It seems three is the right number.  I had four.

2.  I had a header ad below my picture at the top of the page, where I say "Click the link below so I can introduce myself and let you know what we're doing here!"  The implication for that "click the link below" was to click the "Getting Started with the New Economy" link that leads to my about page, rather than the banner ad.  It is possible that that was confusing. Appeals for clicks of AdSense ads are not allowed.

3.  In my post about YouTube CPC, I had a screenshot that showed some of my current AdSense results.  I think showing CPC, CTR, and RPM is a violation of Google's TOS.  I've removed the offending picture and inserted a cautionary bit of text.

4.  In their efforts to help me out, friends of the blog might have clicked ads, causing a red flag with Google.  

5.  I've also read that you need to keep your AdSense income data private, though I've visited many new economy blogs that don't-- usually, to indicate the sorts of success that monetizing blogs potentially offers, which is exactly what I had hoped to demonstrate here.  Since that was the crux of the project, that data stays for now, until I can verify one way or the other.   

I'm hoping that Google will reverse their decision after my appeal, but I've already looked elsewhere, and AdSense is the 800-pound gorilla for sure!  From what I've read, the man behind the curtain very rarely grants clemency to offenders, even when the offense is unintended.

So, lesson learned:  know the rules.  Period.  Have something set up to look for problems and correct them immediately.  In fact, if your blog is less than a few months old or you are inexperienced, don't even serve Google AdSense ads.  Don't mess with The Google.