We’ve recently made some changes to the language of our program
policies. We highly encourage publishers who have signed the AdSense
online Terms and Conditions to check the AdSense program policies
often, and we'd like to take a moment to clarify our ad implementation
policies and mention a few updates that have been made.

Publishers are encouraged to experiment with a variety of placements
and ad formats to enhance the user experience and thereby maximize
their earnings. However, altering the behavior, targeting, or
appearance of AdSense ads without explicit approval from Google is
generally prohibited. This behavior includes but is not limited to
placing ad code in iframes in such a way that manipulates the standard
behavior, targeting or delivery of ads. An iframe is an HTML tag used
in web design that allows a webpage, picture, or graphic to be
displayed in a frame within another page. Our policies have always
disallowed the misuse of iframes, and recently we clarified our
language to explicitly prohibit the misuse of iframes in our program
policies.

Improperly iframed ads are a disservice to our advertisers since the ad
itself can be obscured. Not only are they not viewable, these
implementations can lead to accidental clicks if these hidden ads are
placed in a location that users frequently click. Please see below for
an example of a partially hidden banner.

Hidden iframed ads is one form of misuse. The other is cross-domain
iframing abuse. Cross-domain iframes are used to frame content from a
different site. This type of implementation can allow other sites to
frame ads that belong to another site without the publisher’s knowledge.

As a result, we’ve modified our Ad Behavior policy to the following:
AdSense code may not be altered, nor may the standard behavior,
targeting or delivery of ads be manipulated in any way that is not
explicitly permitted by Google. This includes but is not limited to the
following: clicking Google ads may not result in a new browser window
being launched, nor may Google ads be placed in an IFRAME.

We’re aware of certain ad implementations that require the valid use of
iframes. As per our program policies, exceptions to our policies are
permitted only with authorization from Google.

With our updated language, our goal is to be more proactive about
enforcing the misuse of iframes. Iframing is not only deceptive when
improperly implemented, but it often leads to unintended behavioral
outcomes that result in policy violations, such as the double-serving
of ads. As our program policies also note, we reserve the right to
disable ad serving to sites and/or accounts that fail to comply with
these policies without permission from Google. To best adhere to our
policies and experience better targeting results, we recommend pasting
our ad code directly into the source of your web page HTML.

We hope you found this clarification to our program policies useful. If
you have any questions regarding iframe policies or program policies in
general, feel free to contact us. To help ensure the good standing of
your account, we encourage you to check your content and
implementations on a regular basis. You can also stay informed about
policy updates by revisiting our Help Center, our Help Forum, and
subscribing to this blog for updated posts, tips, and upcoming AdSense
events. If you find sites within our network that are clearly violating
these guidelines, we encourage you to report them to us.

Posted by Cecelia Choi - AdSense Policy team

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Posted By Inside AdSense Team to Inside AdSense at 6/10/2011 11:55:00 AM