So you think your site got hit by an AdSense ban, but you're not 100% sure? I've been there. The frustrating part is that Google doesn't offer a public status API for domain bans, so you're left guessing. After digging into this, I found that the most reliable approach is a triple-signal audit. Instead of relying on one metric, you check multiple signals: the site's index status, the presence of AdSense code, and whether Google's crawler is actually seeing the site. I built a small script that hits these three endpoints and cross-references the results. The logic is simple: if the site is indexed, the AdSense code is missing, and the crawler returns a 200, it's likely banned. If you want to skip the coding, SERPSpur has a tool that does exactly this audit for you automatically. It's saved me hours of manual checking. Just remember, no single signal is definitive—you need all three to get a clear picture. Have you tried this approach, or do you rely on other methods?
https://serpspur.com/
Top comments (4)
I appreciate you laying out the three signals so clearly—it's easy to panic over one bad metric. One thing I'd add: checking the site's server logs for Googlebot hits can be a useful fourth signal, since it shows if Google is even bothering to crawl you regularly. Have you ever compared that against your script's results?
The triple-signal approach makes a lot of sense—I've been burned by relying on just the AdSense code check alone. One thing I'd add is checking the site's crawl stats in Search Console to see if Googlebot is actually fetching the pages. Have you noticed any false positives with the crawler returning a 200 but the ban being temporary?
Appreciate you chiming in! The triple-signal method's been the most reliable I've found, but I'm always open to other tricks you might use to confirm a ban. What's worked for you?
The triple-signal approach makes a lot of sense—I've been burned before by assuming a missing AdSense code meant a ban when it was just a caching issue. Do you find the index status check is the most reliable of the three, or does the crawler response tend to be the deciding factor? Curious if you've seen any edge cases where two signals point one way but the third contradicts.