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jonprobably | 5 years ago

If, on a whim, google blocks your name or business, what do you do? I found out by accident, and I think they have too much control.

Earlier this year, Google suspended my ad words account. I don't know why but think it was their mistake. The sites and ads were ethical and well within their terms. Still, I’ve sent emails and letters without progress.

It's frustrating not having an avenue to resolve the issue. Even more so because I'm in tech and though I understood these things. More so because I worked at google for a long time.

In the suspension dialog they warn all accounts under my name or the domain names linked to the ad words account will be blocked.

I don't depend on ad words. If I did, I would be completely out of luck. I'm not aware of an alternative ads network or search engine.

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Hamuko|5 years ago

>How do you survive on the web if google, on a whim, blocks your name, or business?

What, as an individual?

sova|5 years ago

OP likely means "as a company reliant on web discovery for clients"

na85|5 years ago

>Google’s a monster. If they don’t want you on the net, there’s nothing you can do.

That's hyperbole. I'm on the net and Google can't stop me by any white-hat means. I have a website hosted on non-Google infrastructure on a domain name registered with a non-Google registrar, and I don't rely on advertising to pay the bills.

Have you considered a more ethical revenue stream that doesn't involve advertising and surveillance? There is life after AdWords.

speeder|5 years ago

I own a shop that sells industrial parts, many clients of ours praised us for giving critical help, being able to find parts they needed urgently to keep their also critical factory working.

thing is, people find out we exist solely because Google search, when something goes wrong on the factory, they google for the solution, and finds us... whenever Google changes SEO in a bad direction, or ban our ads by mistake (happened more than once) our revenue tanks hard.

To be honest it feels terrible, I have no idea how to fix this situation.

Note: just so you understand how ethical and important the business are, some of the products our clients make and needed our emergency help: cheap bread, medicine, medical equipment, beverages, work vehicles, etc...

One of our most lucrative sales that came from a google search: a truck factory was having countless accidents because a clamping tool kept failing and injuring the workers, they were desperate for another supplier that knew how to fix that issue, instead of just selling replacements we actually sent someone to the factory and figured out a way to do a certain step during production differently, in a safer way.

jonprobably|5 years ago

If you are banned from AdWords, it affects your ranking in search.

tk75x|5 years ago

>ethical revenue stream You can also be on the net and not have a revenue stream.