Free Google Ads

When I started this blog I signed up for Google's Ad Sense program. I figured that since I was putting my time and energy into writing this blog, I might as well take the opportunity to make a few cents for anyone who clicked on their ads. I limited the number and scope of the ads to subjects related to my posts and made the ad space very small so my blog would not feel like an advertisement for Google's ads.

As I started telling people about my blog and more and more people started reading and following this blog (a big thanks to everyone), I started generating more clicks. This month I saw that my revenue was finally getting close to the $100 minimum Google requires to send out a check (after 6 months of posting daily). I was excited to actually receive something from Google besides the pleasure of a place to write.

Two days ago the ads on my blog disappeared and Google wrote me saying that they needed to "protect" their advertisers because the clicks on my blog were "not within accepted parameters". I suspect that Google is simply trying to save money by not paying out while taking advertiser money for clicks at the same time. Like the Wall Street wizards who sell nothing for something, Google sold me the promise of a check, but delivered nothing. Perhaps the parameters they use is to simply shut down accounts when they get close to the $100 mark so they never have to send out payments.

I have always written this blog for the pleasure of writing, so I will continue; unless of course Google decides this post is also "outside accepted parameters". So now all the ads are gone from my site, and it feels cleaner. In a way Google helped me clean up my act by making my blog a pure advertiser-free space.