How I Became Obsessed With Google AdSense

Something I am not proud of

Photo by Greg Bulla on Unsplash

Sixteen years ago, while living in Malaysia, I started writing a blog using Google Blogger. I monetized my site using Google AdSense and began earning a little money—not much, but I was happy. Then, suddenly, Google notified me that my account was canceled because of policy violations. They did not explain what the violations were.

After numerous emails with Google, I learned that many suspicious clicks on my ads originated from the same ISP. A short time later, I discovered that a friend was trying to help me earn more money by frequently clicking on my ads whenever he got bored.

I contacted Google to explain this finding and requested that my account be reinstated. Almost immediately, I received a reply from Google informing me I had been banned from AdSense for life. I got a life sentence from Google!

Ten years later, I have moved from Malaysia and am now living in New York State. I thought maybe after ten years, I could contact Google to have them reconsider my account. Within minutes of contacting them, once again, I was told I was banned for life.

I gave up the idea of monetizing my blog with AdSense and subsequently moved it to Medium, where I have earned more money than using AdSense.

Like an idiot, I created another blog with Blogger where I share my stories after they have been published on Medium. And, not learning my lesson, I applied for a new AdSense account. But this time, I used a different Gmail address, with my home address in the US, not Malaysia. It worked.

I added AdSense to my blog, carefully following Google’s directions. Not surprisingly, it didn’t work. I got a message saying my “Site needs attention.” They didn’t say what attention it needed, though. After several more attempts, I was notified that my site was verified, but they couldn’t find my AdSense code. They told me to “Please fix the issue.” I have been trying to fix the issue for over two months!

If anyone who has dealt with Google knows, it is impossible to contact their Customer Support. The only option is to use the Google Community, where other Google users can help. I have not been able to get any answers from this option.

The question is, “Why am I doing this?” I have spent hours and days trying to solve my problems with AdSense and add it to my blog. I don’t understand why. Even if I succeed in adding AdSense ads to my blog, I don’t have enough followers to earn any more than a few cents a month. I can earn more money on Medium in a day than I could with AdSense in a year.

I know Google is a huge and powerful conglomerate. They could care less for a nobody like me, so why should I care? Sometimes, I feel like Don Quixote fighting the Google windmill. I don’t like to be told I am banned for life. I don’t like to be treated as though I am nobody and my concerns are unimportant. That’s why I haven’t given up—yet.

I know anyone reading this must think I am crazy. Maybe I am. I realize I am obsessed with this problem and should be embarrassed, but I’m not giving up until the last minuscule thread of hope is gone.

I feel the same way writing here on Medium. My reads and earnings are down, and they continue to decline. But I am not going to let Medium defeat me. Like with AdSense, I won’t give up without a fight.

Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed reading this article and wish to subscribe to my Newsletter, click on my photo below.

Yes, Anyone Can Write on the Internet

But not everyone will succeed

Photo by Benjamin Dada on Unsplash

When I retired more than ten years ago, I moved to Malaysia to be with my now-husband. Since I was not allowed to work, I searched for ways to occupy my time. While surfing the Internet, I discovered blogging. According to the articles, anyone could be a writer and start a blog, and the best part was that you could make money by blogging. This was precisely what I was looking for.

Of the many blogging platforms, I chose Google’s Blogger, primarily because it was free and because Google said it was the most user-friendly. As a person with absolutely no technical skills, I knew Blogger was perfect for me.

I immediately went to work creating my new blog. Thanks to Blogger, it was easy. I didn’t even have to know any coding or SEO—I didn’t even know what it was at the time. I was well on my way to being a writer and blogger, or so I thought.

I had so much fun writing blog posts about life as an expat in Malaysia that I decided to start a couple more blogs. This is when the problems started.

My Malaysian blog was moderately successful, with a good following. I even earned a few bucks. I was quite proud of myself and considered myself a writer, so writing my new blogs would be a snap. Unfortunately, nobody followed or even read my new blogs. I was writing for a nonexistent audience.

I ran into more problems. When you use Blogger, Google Analytics comes with it. This tool analyzes your website and notifies you of any problems that are found. My website had numerous problems, according to Google, but I had no idea what their analyses meant. To make matters worse, Google doesn’t tell you how to fix the problems. It’s like going to your doctor, and he says you are sick but doesn’t tell you how to get better.

I still have one blog on Blogger today, and I still have the same problems with Google. My biggest complaint with Google is that it is impossible to contact customer support. They’re so big they don’t care.

Today, I write predominantly on Medium, where I don’t have to know HTML, SEO, or any other technical skills. I can be a writer here on Medium, but that doesn’t guarantee I can be a successful writer. I still have to work hard to promote my work and engage with other writers.

The Internet may be correct in saying anyone can write or, for that matter, anyone can paint. It’s what you write or what you paint that makes the difference. You can write your diary or paint your house; neither one makes you a writer or painter. The lesson to be learned here is not to take everything you read on the Internet too literally.

Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed reading this article and wish to subscribe to my Newsletter, click on my photo below.