Has Anyone Ever Successfully Appealed a Google Adsense Ban?

Google Adsense is the most popular, easiest way to make money online. It's simple, just add an html code to your website, and voila, it's generating a supplemental income. It's even easier if you run a YouTube channel, just turn it on.

But, as a lot of people have found out, Adsense is also one of the strictest, most unfair, and uncooperative companies online. Anything they perceive as an infraction results in a permanent lifetime ban. There was a YouTuber recently who received a ban because Adsense found it suspicious that there were multiple clicks on their ads coming from the same IP address. The YouTuber had nothing to do with it, and later found out they had a fan who thought they were doing them a favor by clicking the ads. Adsense didn't care about the reason, and denied the user's appeal. They also told the user not to contact them about it again.

Anyone appealing their ban gets the same stock response, with no details or reasons:

Re: [5-0392000010440] Invalid Activity Appeal


Hello,

Thanks for the additional information provided in your appeal, we appreciate your continued interest in the AdSense program. After thoroughly reviewing your account data and taking your feedback into consideration, our specialists have confirmed that we're unable to reinstate your AdSense account.

If you'd like more details on our invalid activity policies or review process, please visit http://www.google.com/adsense/support.... As a reminder, further participation in the AdSense program by publishers whose accounts have been disabled is not permitted.


Thanks for your understanding,
The Google AdSense Team

Now, I want everyone to read the above message very carefully. I received this after my appeal (I'll explain my infraction after). Notice that last sentence? They basically just told me their appeals process is just for show, and no one ever gets reinstated.

Now, for my story:

I started using Adsense over 10 years ago. I used it on my blogs and a few hobby oriented websites I ran. In an attempt to increase traffic and income, I began using a website (that no longer exists, and I can't remember the name) that was a special kind of "traffic exchange."

Most traffic exchange sites are a complete waste of time. You view other members' websites, they view yours. It's legitimate, but doesn't work. It just raises your hit count. The particular traffic exchange I used was different. It guaranteed an increase in traffic, and clicks on my ads. So I paid a small amount for the service, and it seemed to be working. Until I looked at my adsense stats. All the views (and more importantly, the clicks) came from the same ip and geographic areas. Before I could stop the service, I was banned from Adsense. I immediately appealed, trying desperately to explain the situation, but they wouldn't listen. I got the same stock message you see above.

This was about EIGHT YEARS AGO. I recently started a YouTube channel, under a different email than the one I used at the time of the ban, and through legitimate channels, Adsense knows the emails are associated. I'm not trying to create any scams here, one is a personal email, one is business. Regardless, both emails are banned. I guess I could go and create a new one under a new name with my new address, but that's a serious infraction. I want everything to be clean and clear, and professional. This is my reputation, I'm not the same 19 year old kid with a blog listing all the bands I like and how cruel parents can be. I've grown up, served an unreasonable suspension, and now I want back in. I'd like to think Google has grown up since then too, but I guess I'd be wrong.

I went through the Adsense Appeal form, explained my situation as best I could, and heard back the next day:

Hello,

Thanks for your email.

We've searched our system, but we haven't been able to find your AdSense account with the information that you've provided. Please respond to this email from the email address currently associated with your AdSense account and we'll be happy to help you.

If you don't know the email address that you've used for your AdSense account, please reply directly to this email with the contact name, URL or other account details. This will make it easier for us to locate your account.

Sincerely,
The Google AdSense Team.

At first, I thought, "Well, good. No record of me having an account, there shouldn't be an issue getting reinstated then." So, I replied with the same information I had given them the first time; my full name, my original email, and the new email I would like to use for YouTube.

Then I got that stock letter about all bans being for life, and appeals actually being against their rules.

What's the purpose of having an appeal process, if appeals are automatically denied anyway? Even if I was guilty of the infractions stated above, it's been EIGHT YEARS. I'm not the same person anymore, and I don't think asking for a second chance is so unreasonable. But no, Adsense refuses to work with me, and the only way to contact them is through the appeals. So, unless you have a good friend on the inside, you're banned for life with no explanations of any kind.

**EDIT**

Within hours of this blog being posted, my Adsense account was mysteriously reinstated without notice. I'd like to thank the Adsense Fairy for coming through.