Request for Detailed Review & Clarification on Sudden Ad Serving Limitation (Invalid Traffic)

[exciting]

Hello Google AdMob Policy Support Team,

I am writing to request a thorough review and a clear explanation regarding a sudden ad serving limitation applied to my AdMob account due to concerns about invalid traffic. I am an independent developer, and although my revenue is small (approximately $15–$20/day), it is directly tied to my livelihood. The limitation was applied without any actionable detail, which makes it extremely difficult to correct issues responsibly.

Below is the full context and what I have already verified.

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1) Situation Summary

• Ad serving limitation started unexpectedly.

• The Policy Center indicates invalid traffic concerns, but provides no specific details beyond general guidance.

• The only link shown is the generic invalid click/traffic documentation (e.g., invalid traffic article), without identifying the suspected source, app, ad unit, geography, or timeframe.

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2) Why This Is Confusing

• I have operated AdMob for over 1 year, and I previously experienced a similar limitation during a period when I started running Google Ads campaigns.

• This time again, I recently began running Google Ads, and shortly after, the limitation appeared.

• I am not using suspicious third-party traffic vendors or incentivized traffic sources.

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3) Controls I Already Have in Place

• All my personal devices and my team’s devices are blocked from receiving ads.

• I do not click my own ads, and I do not encourage users to click ads.

• My apps are designed to avoid accidental clicks:

  • Most apps show one interstitial at app launch.

  • Most monetization is through banner ads, not frequent interstitials.

  • There is no repeated interstitial loop or forced ad viewing flow.

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4) Mediation / Partners in Use

The only ad sources I use are:

• Google AdMob Network

• AppLovin (via mediation)

Additional observations:

• In AdMob reporting, AppLovin match rate is typically 10–20%.

• AdMob Network match rate is typically ~95% (average ~85% overall).

• I am not working with any other unknown ad partners, agencies, or traffic sources.

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5) The Core Red Flag: Extremely High CTR

• Across networks, my CTR is unusually high: 30%+ overall.

• This suggests one of the following possibilities:

  • Mis-measurement or reporting anomaly

  • UI placement causing unintentional taps (even if not obvious to me)

  • Low-quality or mis-targeted traffic entering through ads (e.g., Google Ads placements)

  • A specific app/ad unit/placement generating abnormal behavior

However, without breakdown details, I cannot identify the root cause.

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6) What I Need From You (Specific Requests)

To resolve this properly, I respectfully request:

1. Confirmation of the scope

   • Is the limitation applied to my entire account, specific apps, specific ad units, or specific traffic sources?

2. Time window and patterns

   • The exact date/time range when the invalid traffic signals were detected.

3. Breakdowns (even partial)

   • Which dimension(s) triggered the concern, such as:

     • App / ad unit / format (banner vs interstitial)

     • Country / region

     • Traffic source type (Google Ads / organic / referral)

     • Platform (Android/iOS)

     • Placement (if detectable)

4. Whether Google Ads is a contributing factor

   • If my Google Ads campaign traffic is being flagged (for example, placements generating accidental clicks or bots), please confirm.

   • If so, what is the recommended mitigation? (e.g., excluding certain inventory, tightening targeting, turning off display expansion, etc.)

5. Clear remediation expectations

   • What concrete changes should I make to demonstrate compliance and reduce risk?

   • How will you determine when the limitation can be lifted?

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7) Additional Statement (Good-Faith Compliance)

I want to emphasize that I am making a sincere effort to comply with AdMob policies. The lack of specific feedback leaves independent developers in a difficult position—especially when we are not operating at large scale and do not have access to specialized policy teams. I understand the need to protect advertisers, but I would appreciate more transparency so I can correct issues effectively.

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8) Information I Can Provide Immediately

If needed, I can provide:

• AdMob Publisher ID

• App IDs / ad unit IDs

• Date when Google Ads started

• CTR / impressions / clicks breakdown by app and ad unit

• Mediation setup details

• Any relevant analytics logs (GA4 events, user acquisition sources)

Please let me know exactly what information you want and the preferred format.

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Thank you for your time and for reviewing my case. I would greatly appreciate a detailed response so I can take precise corrective action and continue operating responsibly.

[Mobile Ads SDK Forum Advisor]

Hi,

Thank you for contacting Mobile Ads SDK Support team. I understand how concerning it can be when you suddenly encounter limitations on your account, especially when you rely on ad revenue for your livelihood. Please know that we are here to help you through this, and we truly appreciate your patience as we work together to resolve the issue.

It is important to follow AdMob policies and restrictions to avoid any issues. 

Please use the following help center article to understand about the Ad serving limits.

Could you kindly provide the app ID via reply to author option for further investigation?

Thanks,

 

Mobile Ads SDK Team

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[2025-12-15 06:54:11Z GMT] This message is in relation to case "ref:!00D1U01174p.!500Ht01wmwQE:ref" (ADR-00347650)

[exciting]

This issue is impacting approximately 30 apps, including NowRadio. It is not a single-app placement or implementation problem. This is an account-level restriction affecting every app under the same pub- account. Google’s AdMob system has applied a restriction due to “suspected invalid traffic.” Based on my review, the problem begins after 2025-12-13 17:00:00 (KST). Prior to that time, both match rate and CTR looked normal. Then, immediately after 17:00, the match rate collapsed, and within roughly 30 minutes the system triggered an emergency stop.

Compliance with AdMob Policies (Baseline Facts)

1. I do not spam users with interstitial ads.

2. Both my device and a teammate’s device are registered as test devices. We do not click ads—ever.

3. The idea that an indie developer in Asia would build bot software to earn $10–$20 is not just incorrect—it is irrational. If I had the capability and intent to build sophisticated automation, I would not be wasting it on AdMob.

What Actually Happened

My code includes limited retry logic: when an ad request fails due to inventory/server-side issues, it may retry 2–3 times. Unfortunately, a combination of:

• Ad inventory failures on Google’s side,

• the automated detection system’s incorrect judgment, and

• those limited retries on load failure,

ended up destroying match rate behavior and contributed to triggering the restriction. I consider this unacceptable. It is effectively punishing legitimate indie developers for platform-side instability plus an overly aggressive automated enforcement system.

I am extremely dissatisfied with how quickly the system escalated—within 30 minutes—despite no meaningful issues in the metrics prior to 17:00. This outcome also contradicts the spirit of supporting independent developers that Google leadership has publicly advocated for.

Additional Context

I also strongly believe this was triggered by low-quality traffic from Google Ads. I have seen similar incidents roughly three times in the past, and each time it coincided with running Google Ads. I am serving primarily Korea, Japan, and the United States—not high-risk regions—and I am earning only a small amount of revenue. I have no incentive to manipulate anything. I am steadily growing revenue through legitimate work, and incidents like this are devastating.

If you need additional information, tell me exactly what you need (timestamps, app list under the publisher account, mediation details, request logs, or country/source breakdown).

I can also confirm through my Google Analytics that there is no traffic generated by illegal or artificial means on my side. On this point, I am willing to stake my entire developer career and my 18 years of experience: there is none. I am unequivocally innocent.

If this is ultimately dismissed as “just an automated system block,” then I will take this all the way. I will document the entire process and my innocence in a 20-page PDF, publish it across every major developer community, and I will go so far as to delete my AdMob account myself and pull all of my apps from Google Play.

Because whatever else happens, I cannot accept this: how can you claim that I used invalid traffic? How can you do this to a legitimate developer? This is destroying everything I built with Google over the years. In 2011, I paid for a developer account when Google Play was still new and struggling against the App Store—and now that experience and loyalty are being crushed by an automated system with no meaningful explanation.

If you are going to help, then help clearly and decisively. I need a concrete path to resolution—not vague automated responses.

• The issue started, and then Google’s ad servers stopped serving ads, which naturally caused the match rate to drop.

• Revenue and usage had been steadily trending upward with gradual growth.

• As I ran Google Ads, the number of ad requests increased along with the traffic volume.

[exciting]

I suddenly received an AdMob ad serving limitation.

I’m confident this happened because I ran Google Ads for two of my apps, and it triggered an account-level restriction affecting all of my apps. I reviewed the policy information, and based on my past experience, the only time I’ve ever had a similar ad limitation was also when I was running Google Ads.

This is extremely frustrating. I’m an indie developer doing my best to follow the rules, but it feels like honest developers are being punished. What am I supposed to do?