Sam Edmonds runs several high traffic blogs, he used AdSense to monetize his sites. It has been over 3 months since his AdSense account was blocked. He is from California, he used to travel a lot around South East Asia over the last years. Last month he had to return to the US as he ran out of money.
AB:
Hi Sam, nice to meet you. How are you doing today?
I am not doing well. I lost all of my income; I am running out of money. It’s just such a nightmare. I tried some alternatives to AdSense without any success.
AdSense seems to be the only advertisement network that delivers laser targeted ads on my blog.AB:
I am sorry to hear that. Which alternatives did you try?
Sam:
I tried Adbrite and Clicksor. Both suck. Unfortunately only AdSense has the variety of Ads available that generate clicks. I definitely think AdSense and Adwords have a monopoly on online advertisement.
AB:
Did you try to appeal the AdSense suspension?
Sam:
I really tried. But I had no luck. People at Google were pretty arrogant. They told me I should never ever contact them again. I treated me like s***t.
AB:
I can see you really had a horrible experience dealing with big G. Do you know why they suspended your account?
Sam:
I am not really sure, but I think one of my competitors bought a ‘fake traffic package’ for me. These unusual click patterns must have triggered the ban.
The real problem is once your AdSense account had been disabled, it’s over. The chances of appeal are almost zero.
AB:
Can I ask you how much money you made every month with AdSense?
Sam:
I did about $3000-3500. It was really good money.
AB:
Did you try to open a new account?
Sam:
Yes several times, without any success. Google uses highly advanced methods to track people down who had been banned from using AdSense.
AB:
What will you do next?
Sam:
I really don’t know. I just really scared of going back to be a 9-5 working slave for some big cooperation. I have to get back in AdSense or find a different method of making money online.
I am a big believer in the 4 hour working philosophy. In the past I used to travel a lot and make money while traveling. I am a big fan of South East Asia. Life there is cheap, good climate, amazing food and beautiful girls.
AB:
Sounds like a good place. Did you ever try affiliate marketing on your blogs. E.g. Clickbank?
Sam:
I tried CB with limited success. I am a little bit scared to promote to many CB products on my blogs, as Google might punish my sites for having too many affiliate links on my sites.
I might try to create some information products by myself and sell them on my sites. It would be worth a try without risking losing everything.
AB:
Thank you for speaking with us. Best luck to you in the future.