When Google blocks ads or reduces the number of ads they show you, it’s called “AdSense blackouts.” These are rare occurrences and generally only last a few weeks at a time. However, what might happen to you if your AdSense account is purged for an extended period of time can leave you scratching your head and wondering how to get your ads back.
To keep things simple, assume your ad inventory is permanently blacked out for the foreseeable future. To make sure you’re still getting revenue from other sources, check with other websites where you advertise about making sure there aren’t any empty ad positions available.
If so, great! If not, troubleshoot potential causes of the blackout and update your advertising platform accordingly until your next big campaign launch.
What Causes Google Adsense Blackouts?
As a result of their partnership with the W3C, Google has developed a variety of tools to help websites build and deliver richer content. These include the Google Ads Platform, the Google Search Console, and the Ads Management Console. These tools, along with other technologies developed over the years, rely on a website’s ability to send and receive data.
If a website has not received any data or has received bad data, then that data will be “forgotten.” This can happen as a result of a power failure, a computer crash, or a software upgrade. This kind of outage can also happen if Google has to test a new update and then have to shut down the entire system to apply the update. This kind of event can also happen during a webinar or live event that hosts a large number of webinars.
How to Manage Google Adsense Blackouts
There are a few things you can do to manage these blackouts better. Make sure you have an active Google Ads account and are familiar with the features on the platform. Set Up an Alarm – Set up an alarm to warn you if a blackout is approaching. You can also set up a subscription service to send you an email when a blackout is detected.
Maximize Your Margin – Google recommends that you have a minimum of 5% of your budget go towards “overhead.” This includes things like rent, utilities, Internet connection, staff salaries, etc. Overhead is the difference between your revenue and your budget. Use an Automated Process – Google Adsense platforms have an option to create “bots” that can create new campaigns, manage inventory, and issue reports. You can also use an automated process to create and issue reports.
How to Keep Advertisers Connected with Their Ads
One of the best ways to avoid blackouts is to run ads on multiple websites with different content. This will allow you to mix and match different forms of content and ad units to create an interesting and unique experience for your audience. This will also help you avoid cluttering your site with ads of the same type.
Google Adsense Blackout
Google Adsense Blackout is a rare occurrence that affects ads on a short-term basis. It lasts between 2-12 weeks and then you’ll need to retest your account to ensure there’s no breach of the rules. After that, no new ads will appear on your site for a period of 2 months.
How to Hide Empty Adsense Slots When No Ads are Available and Make Money
After Google Adsense blackouts, it’s time to clean house and find a new strategy for making money with your ad platform.
Here’s how to deal with empty ad slots when no ads are available and a new strategy for when ads are available:
Go for organic search – Organic search is the gold standard when it comes to digital marketing. It’s close to impossible to rank well without it. Because organic search is so important, you must only do it as often as you are getting traffic.
Use a Content Strategy – To rank well on organic search, your website must be full of useful content. The key is to find what people want to read and then deliver that content to them.
Use Keyword research – From organic search, find keywords that are related to your product or service and then try to turn up the volume on those keywords on your page.
Use On-site SEO – On-site SEO is important because it shows Google that your site is relevant and full of useful content. It’s also important to cycle your content and keywords through various engines on a regular basis.
When you’re running a low-niche business and you don’t make a lot of money from your ads, you may decide to “hide” your ad slots while not running any ads at all. If you do this, Google will not see that you have any ad positions available, so your account is “empty.” If a blackout period happens, you can “hide” your ad positions by clicking on the “x” in the top right-hand corner of the ad to remove them from Google’s view. If you have any questions or concerns about this, contact your account manager.
Will Google Adsense Blackouts Ever Be Over?
Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to make it less likely that a Google AdSense blackout will be a permanent condition. You can check in with other sites that use your ad code and see if there are any signs of a Google AdSense blackout. If not, you can relax a bit since the chances of it happening again are quite low.
What you can do is make sure to keep a close eye on your account and make sure that you’re not running out of ad positions. Make sure you’re not maxing out your available ad positions or running any old, tired ads. Make sure you’re not leaving any unsold ads. And most importantly, make sure you’re aware of any potential causes of a Google AdSense blackout and take steps to avoid them in the future.
Conclusion
The good news is that the vast majority of the time, Google AdSense blackouts are not permanent and will pass as your account ages. Other websites will start to see new ads again and your account will slowly but surely return to normal. Still, the longer you are without ads, the higher your chances of another blackout happening.
You can reduce these chances by checking in with other sites where you advertise and see if you have any signs of a blackout. If not, you can relax a bit since the chances of it happening again are quite low. In the meantime, check out our guide to starting an AdSense business to learn more about how to make money with AdSense.
