In the Program Policies for AdSense, which all AdSense publishers must adhere to, you can read the line:
No Google ad may be placed on pages published specifically for the purpose of showing ads, whether or not the page content is relevant.The well-known Joel Comm, author of "The AdSense Code," sells from his web site AdSense templates, which are basically ready-built web sites, content and all, whose purpose is solely that of generating income via AdSense ads.
That sounds like a Program Policy violation to me.
So, I left a comment on his blog post in which he promoted his monthly templates. I mentioned this program policy and my opinion that his templates possibly violated the AdSense program policy. Now a few days later, my comment has not been posted and, of course, he has left no reply.
That troubles me. I'd mentioned in a previous post entitled "Joel Comm or Joel Con?" that I had my concerns about Joel, now I'm more concerned than ever.
So, in order to assuage my concerns, I wrote to AdSense support to inquire as to whether or not such templates violate the program policies and I received an interesting response:
I understand that you would like to know on whether using a certain template complies with the program's policy. However, we do not endorse or encourage the use of any third-party tools.So, if I were you, I would not use any pre-built web site templates, whether they are from Joel or anyone else for that matter.
We recommend that you exercise caution when using third-party software to ensure that you do not violate the AdSense Terms and Conditions. Please note that AdSense participants are solely responsible for verifying that any tools or software used in conjunction with AdSense do not violate the AdSense Terms and Conditions.
You have been warned!
Technorati Tags: adsense, adsense templates, joel comm
2 comments:
G'day Ian,
It was interesting for me to read that you recommend NOT using any pre-build template. I totally agree with you and would add a caveat; that would be to only use it if you know what you are doing, or can trust the source of the template. It would also be doubly useful if the HTML source for the template is available as well.
Tehn Yit Chin
http://cheap-as-chips.blogspot.com/
I have to step in even though I know this post is 2 years old!
I have met Joel Comm a couple of times and I can tell you he comes out as an honest marketer. I highly encourage you to go up to him if you see him at a seminar and you will see he is one of the rare successful internet marketers who does not have a big head.
I also invite you to reflect on how many websites on the net were built for the purpose of making adsense revenue. Just look at MySspace.
Take care,
Nathalie Fiset,
www.a-1hypnosis.com
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