When your account gets suspended from Google AdWords, you may hear the awful words “permanent suspension.” That word permanent is more rhetoric than you might believe. You can get your suspension reversed if you’re willing to put in the effort.
Google may say that your account is permanently suspended, permanently banned, even permanently banned forever. Most people will hear that and give up on using AdWords. That’s why they use such strong language. But if you’re willing to fight for it, you can get your account back.
There are some cases where a suspension is truly permanent. For instance, if you were caught selling something illegal or prohibited through Google AdWords, Google is going to stop your account cold. Google also takes into account your past history with their service. If you’ve tried to use AdWords for data harvesting, spam purposes, or another egregious violation of their terms of service, you’re not going to get your account back. Having a history of violations with Google could move you into a truly permanent suspension status.
Why do I believe this? My job is to assist people who have been suspended from Google get their accounts, and their businesses, back in Google’s good graces. I’ve seen hundreds and hundreds of account suspension emails and have seen the term for suspension in a lot of different variations. And for many of them, I have gotten those so-called “permanent” suspensions reversed.
When I reach out to Google on behalf of my clients, what I listen for first is if they say that they can’t legally talk with me or work with me. This tells me there was something truly fishy going on with the account and the ban is permanent. It’s in Google’s best interest to have as many people participating in AdWords as possible, so long as they follow the policies. For them to shut me down cold for trying to help them make more money definitely is a bad sign. However, if I do find they’re willing to work with me then removing the suspension is possible, albeit difficult.
You can do this yourself as well. Call the AdWords help line several times and talk with different people. You’ll hear several different patterns of responses, and may be able to get enough information to piece together what happened to get you in Google’s bad graces. A good thing to know is that the people who answer the phone have no power to remove a suspension. Editors in Google do that and they can only be reached by email or if they call you. However, the support reps can relay messages and notes left by the editors that might give you a clue to what’s happening.
Fixing what’s wrong with your site might be easy, but it could be more difficult than you think. It really depends on the problem. Even just a basic consultation with a professional can reveal what you need to do. Remember, Google won’t let you back on unless your website is completely fixed.
If you are suspended, I wish you luck in getting it removed! There are few things worse than watching your working internet business suddenly stop making money. Read some of my other articles about Google suspensions and some of the basics you can do to get your site ready to resubmit to Google.
