Hey guys,

I'm trying to learn more about the various companies that will pay you to host advertisements on your site. Adsense was the first one I heard about, but I've read so many negative comments associated with Adsense -- people that claim they were not abusing the system, but Google cancelled their account (and they lost all their earnings) right before it was time to get paid. I'm just wondering has this happened to any of you?

Also, I'm not thrilled to provide Google (or anyone else) with my social security (tax id number). Are there companies that will allow you to assume full responsibility for any taxes, thus eliminating the need for them to have my personal information?

Thanks!

Mike

I have been receiving money from google for around 4 years, maybe more without a problem. If you follow their TOS you won't go wrong :)

Most US companies will ask for your SS number.

Many ad companies require you SS number. Yes, you hear a lot about Google's mistakes, but that's because they're the most popular and widely used. I use Adsense, and it pays very well and is a good program. Follow Google's TOS and you shouldn't have a problem. I would definitely recommend going with them to start with though.

I admit, I got kicked out of Google once as well and yes, I clicked my own ads from like every darn PC I could find.

I've re-signed up for 5 times, never got accepted. But now, a year later I got accepted back in AdSense again and eversince that happened my hosting bill got paid again, and not by me ;)

Google AdSense is just the best way to go, but don't expect quick money with it! you need a lot of experimenting with positions, ad contents, colors, text/graphic ads etc etc.

Perhaps it's better to find out the target audience of your website (by opening a poll, or a survey perhaps) and find a proper affiliate who wants to sell his stuff on your website, because of the target audience.

Good luck!

@kmcmv01: I don't really believe those people were banned for nothing. I think Google's system is advanced enough to separate fake clicks from legitimate ones.

http://publisher.yahoo.com/

http://www.adbrite.com/

http://www.adengage.com/

Google knows they have the market share, so they're not going to to much to improve, or "pay" their publishers any more.

Yahoo, on the other hand, good thing to try. I'm going to go completely yahoo for 30 days, compare that to google and we'll see just what happens as far as money. Right now, I'm just testing out the waters, seeing what comes of what with yahoo.

Adbrite, stay away from. They're NOT "family safe" at all, and their contextual advertising is a literal mess.

Some people have bad experiences with Adsense because they click their own ads or get click bombed. If your ctr is above ~75%, google will realize something's not quite right, but if you contact them soon enough (assuming it's not your fault), then they will sort it out.

Sorry, guys, but Google is not what they're cracked up to be.

My account was closed this past summer, and it was a complete surprise. And they do not offer any explanations.

I tried to find out which of their terms I violated, and I have never received a response.

I've been with AdBrite ever since, and I'm happy.