cmarv
Junior Member
- Mar 20, 2014
- 167
- 65
Around the time I first started posting on this forum, I was practically homeless and struggling to find employment. I was actually briefly hired by someone here to work on a website they ran, and that helped me stabilize for a while. What ultimately helped me the most was the information I found in the YouTube section of this forum. Since then, my life has been more or less stable. But now my primary source of income, YouTube AdSense, has been suspended.
I am posting this for two reasons: first, to warn other people not to make the same mistake I did, and second, to see if I can get in contact with anyone who can genuinely help me with this situation.
I used panels to get all of my channels into partnership, but I did just the bare minimum: 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours. Never negatively impacted my channels. I am not sure if there are any reliable panels now, but I previously used ytbot, which I don't think works nearly as well now as it did back then. I am open to panel recommendations if you have any, that might be the fastest way for me to resolve this situation if it ends up just being "get these channels partnered again."
After my first channel became successful, I tried to expand by creating several other channels in the same broader niche. Out of all the channels I created, two of them gained traffic, while the others did not because I could not sustain running more than two channels by myself.
I still got the other channels partnered, but eventually I stopped posting to them. When I stopped maintaining them, I merged their content onto one of the two channels I was still actively running.
Eventually, three of those inactive channels were hit with duplicate-content notices. I never appealed because I did not really care whether those channels remained partnered. This happened gradually over the course of several years: one lost partnership around two years ago, another about a year ago, and the most recent one about a month ago.
What I did not understand was that this counted as an unresolved suspension from the YouTube Partner Program, and that a suspension on one channel could automatically put every other associated channel at risk.
A few days ago, I went from making money through my two main channels to making nothing. Going from a stable income to no income at all is obviously a frightening situation.
I have contacted YouTube Partner Support several times. So far, the only answer I have received is that my two main channels cannot be reinstated until the suspensions on the older channels are resolved and those channels are readmitted to the Partner Program. Even then, the earliest I can get my main channels back into the Partner Program is in 3 months from now.
I am still trying to determine whether there is any way to appeal those older decisions now, have the appeal windows reopened, or otherwise get those channels back into good standing. If anyone here has dealt with a similar related-channel suspension or knows someone who may genuinely be able to help, please contact me. I am keeping the identifying details private publicly, but I am willing to explain the complete situation to someone I believe I can trust.
My warning to anyone doing YouTube is that I do not think these association systems can realistically be avoided forever. If channels have ever been connected through the same AdSense account, tax information, Gmail account, Brand Accounts, or other shared details, YouTube knows that they are associated. Running your channels on different Gmail accounts / different devices does not make a difference, Google knows.
All of my channels were connected to the same Gmail account under Brand Accounts because I was operating them as openly and as close to white hat as possible. I never imagined that allowing inactive channels to lose partnership could eventually affect the two channels I was still actively maintaining. Had I understood the risk, I would have voluntarily left the Partner Program on those channels a long time ago.
My advice is that when you create a channel, you should be prepared to commit to it. If you stop maintaining a partnered channel, voluntarily leave the Partner Program rather than simply allowing it to sit inactive if it's not pulling in any meaningful traffic. You never know when that inactive channel may receive a notice that ends up affecting everything else connected to it.
I am posting this for two reasons: first, to warn other people not to make the same mistake I did, and second, to see if I can get in contact with anyone who can genuinely help me with this situation.
I used panels to get all of my channels into partnership, but I did just the bare minimum: 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours. Never negatively impacted my channels. I am not sure if there are any reliable panels now, but I previously used ytbot, which I don't think works nearly as well now as it did back then. I am open to panel recommendations if you have any, that might be the fastest way for me to resolve this situation if it ends up just being "get these channels partnered again."
After my first channel became successful, I tried to expand by creating several other channels in the same broader niche. Out of all the channels I created, two of them gained traffic, while the others did not because I could not sustain running more than two channels by myself.
I still got the other channels partnered, but eventually I stopped posting to them. When I stopped maintaining them, I merged their content onto one of the two channels I was still actively running.
Eventually, three of those inactive channels were hit with duplicate-content notices. I never appealed because I did not really care whether those channels remained partnered. This happened gradually over the course of several years: one lost partnership around two years ago, another about a year ago, and the most recent one about a month ago.
What I did not understand was that this counted as an unresolved suspension from the YouTube Partner Program, and that a suspension on one channel could automatically put every other associated channel at risk.
A few days ago, I went from making money through my two main channels to making nothing. Going from a stable income to no income at all is obviously a frightening situation.
I have contacted YouTube Partner Support several times. So far, the only answer I have received is that my two main channels cannot be reinstated until the suspensions on the older channels are resolved and those channels are readmitted to the Partner Program. Even then, the earliest I can get my main channels back into the Partner Program is in 3 months from now.
I am still trying to determine whether there is any way to appeal those older decisions now, have the appeal windows reopened, or otherwise get those channels back into good standing. If anyone here has dealt with a similar related-channel suspension or knows someone who may genuinely be able to help, please contact me. I am keeping the identifying details private publicly, but I am willing to explain the complete situation to someone I believe I can trust.
My warning to anyone doing YouTube is that I do not think these association systems can realistically be avoided forever. If channels have ever been connected through the same AdSense account, tax information, Gmail account, Brand Accounts, or other shared details, YouTube knows that they are associated. Running your channels on different Gmail accounts / different devices does not make a difference, Google knows.
All of my channels were connected to the same Gmail account under Brand Accounts because I was operating them as openly and as close to white hat as possible. I never imagined that allowing inactive channels to lose partnership could eventually affect the two channels I was still actively maintaining. Had I understood the risk, I would have voluntarily left the Partner Program on those channels a long time ago.
My advice is that when you create a channel, you should be prepared to commit to it. If you stop maintaining a partnered channel, voluntarily leave the Partner Program rather than simply allowing it to sit inactive if it's not pulling in any meaningful traffic. You never know when that inactive channel may receive a notice that ends up affecting everything else connected to it.
