Is this AdSense illegal?

[Billy!]

If you go here I have been playing around with my adsense layout and have put an image next to each of my adsense ads.

There is 3 on the page... is this against Googles TOS?

I have seen alot of it lately on other websites!

Whats your opinion?

 

[abcde]

i think its ok for you to have 3 ads on the same page.

 

[Mark]

From another site :

It has become popular over the last few months to place images above or next to ad units, with individual images lining up with each invidiual ad in an ad unit. For example, a leaderboard would have four small images above it. But some publishers have received compliance warnings about using images, since they are making them appear to be a part of the ad unit, and being asked to make changes to comply with the AdSense terms and policies.

So what exactly is within the terms and what isn't? I went straight to Google for the scoop.

Reply From Google According to the OP : Publishers are still welcome to place images above the ads. The only exception is if it's in such a way that it looks like the images are part of the ads.

When something like that comes to our attention, we'll ask that the publisher place a visible border between the ads and the images, to make it clear that the images are not being served by Google on behalf of the advertisers. We generally do not ask publishers to remove the images completely, we just ask that they add borders to avoid confusion.

http://www.jensense.com/archives/2005/08/images_above_ad.html

I've seen on several sites now the mention of - "There must be a border between the Ad and Image if they blend a little too well"


Safest thing to do is ask Google themselves though IMO



From Google's TOS :

“Web pages may not include incentives of any kind for users to click on ads. This includes encouraging users to click on the ads or to visit the advertisers’ sites as well as drawing any undue attention to the ads. For example, your site cannot contain phrases such as “click here,” “support us,” “visit these links,” or other similar language that could apply to any ad, regardless of content. These activities are strictly prohibited in order to avoid potential inflation of advertiser costs. In addition, publishers may not bring unnatural attention to sites displaying ads or referral buttons through unsolicited mass emails or unwanted advertisements on third-party websites. Publishers are also not permitted to use deceptive or unnatural means to draw attention to or incite clicks on referral buttons.”

From a person who was using images Beside YPN Ads :

We are sorry to inform you that you are still in violation of our obscuring guideline. You have an image next to your ad in the very top position under "Newest Games". Instead of it being a link to a game, its a Proactive YPN ad.

Please remove all images next to the ad units.


You are in violation of our obscuring guideline. A user must be able to tell the difference between the Ad Unit and other content on your page. The Ad Unit should be separated from other page content, including images, by a border, a clear difference in color, or some other means. Images may not be used to draw attention to the Ad Unit or as a click incentive. I hope this information helps you to understand the requirements more clearly. Please let us know if you have further questions.

 

[Billy!]

Thanks for the excellent advice.

I am pretty sure the way I have the pics above my adsense is allowed.

Thanks Mark & ABCDE for your replies!

 

[Brian]

Images next to adsense ads are fine, however images next to YPN ads are not.

Google has done experiments of their own including images next to ads on publishers sites. So if they do it, you know its alright for you to do it.

 

[Billy!]

Thanks Brian, what are YPN ads?

 

[Brian]

Yahoo Publisher Network, http://publisher.yahoo.com Still in BETA, depending on the content pays up to 3-4x better than Adsense but, some content pays worse.

 

[Billy!]

Ok, unfortunately being Aussie, we cant use it .. yet.

 

[yeppers]

Ok, unfortunately being Aussie, we cant use it .. yet.

I'm in the same boat . Waiting for YPN to be avaialble, as I can no longer use AdSense, nor will I try again, as they just suspend everyone like they're triggerhappy

From all that above, it sounds like you are not allowed to put images next to the ads to encourage clicks, which is exactly what many people are doing now.

Placing a small picture of a hot chick directly next to the ads would be a violation I believe... That's as far as my knowledge (speculation) goes lol.