Ok so now here comes the really frightening side of this "guide"...

Google's answer to "Can I get my account reactivated if it has been permanently suspended?" is "No you idiot, don't you know the definition of the word permanently?". (ok, they actually only say "No"...)

Now about the causes of this permanent suspension:

1. Repeated violation of their policy. They're not being more accurate than that. I was hoping they might have like a simple and clear "suspension process" like: after 3 temporary suspensions you're permanently suspended. But no, Google does what Google wants and it's VERY difficult to negotiate with these guys, and when I say VERY difficult I mean impossible. You don't mess with Google.

2. I want you to read very carefully this 2nd cause which isn't clearly expressed by Google but that I discovered the hard way. Linking directly to the merchant page with your affiliate link in your adwords campaign is risky. I mean very. If the merchant page doesn't comply with Google's policy (real life example: I did direct linking to a page about a product that helps curing dog cancer... damn me) then here's what's gonna happen:

- Google will tell you: "Change the site so that it complies with our policy"

- You'll reply: "I can't, I don't own it, I'm doing direct linking, is that forbidden?"

- They'll reply: "No it's not forbidden, but we can't reactivate your account until appropriate changes are made on that site".

- You'll reply "But I can't make these changes! Ok, what if I stop advertising for that site" (you do cancel your campaign before they reply).

- They'll reply: "We don't care, even if you don't advertise for that site anymore or have cancelled your campaigns, we still need the changes to be made to reactivate your account. If you can't, there's nothing we can do, please don't advertise with us anymore with another account as we'll close it as well. Have a very nice day".

- You won't reply anything, you'll just cry...

...and look for a way to still create a new account.

I did it. I did create a new account, totally different from the first one. Yes, new first name (had to keep the last name), new email address, new postal address, new phone number, new credit card number. Basically everything different.

It didn't last long.

They busted me and suspended it again. Don't ask me how they did it.

I'm done with Adwords now and I focus on SEO and natural ranking which is smart! And Google and I are really connecting great on that natural ranking ground. :)

On a more serious note, be really careful guys, I kinda ran into PPC and I had some awesome results, awesome CTR and ROI but please don't bet only on PPC, you might lose. Don't pur all your eggs in the same basket. Never. I'm not saying Google Adwords s**ks. It's pretty awesome to be honest but they're just not very transparent nor always fair and I didn't play by the rules either I guess.

Oh and if you think you can go with Microsoft Advertising instead, forget it. (unless you like crumbs...) :)

All the best to you fellow affiiate marketers,

Louise