u/Rich-Vanilla-7653

Hi everyone,

I'm sharing my recent experience with a permanent AdMob account termination, both as a cautionary tale for indie developers integrating mediation SDKs and to ask for advice on alternative ad networks.

### Context
* I had two apps (*Prisma Noticias* and *FirmApp*) on the Google Play Store in Open Beta.
* I was in the process of integrating and verifying the Appodeal SDK (mediating AdMob).
* During technical verification, I made a critical oversight: I didn't isolate my dev devices or enable Test Mode for AdMob within the mediation setup for ONE DAY.

### The Trigger
* Because the apps were in Open Beta with a minimal user base (2 devices), my local testing generated roughly 8 test impressions from my dev IP address.
* Since total app traffic was extremely low, these ~8 impressions accounted for virtually 100% of the account's total activity over that period.
* AdMob's automated system flagged this as invalid traffic/click fraud and immediately suspended the account.

### The Appeal & Result
* I submitted a detailed appeal explaining the precise technical context: Open Beta stage, low baseline traffic, local IP testing, and an honest mistake while validating the Appodeal SDK setup.
* As expected, the appeal was rejected with the standard template response stating the decision is final, the account cannot be restored, and no future accounts can be created.

I understand that Google prioritizes protecting advertisers through strict automated enforcement, but having an entire publisher account permanently banned over 8 test impressions during an Open Beta setup is a tough pill to swallow.

### Questions for the community:
1. Has anyone in a similar situation ever managed to reach a human support rep, or is moving on to other ad networks the only realistic option?
2. For those who switched away from AdMob after a ban, which mediation/ad platforms (e.g., AppLovin MAX, Unity Ads, Meta) have yielded the best results for small/medium apps?

Let this also serve as a reminder to always double-check that Test Mode is explicitly active on all dev devices when testing mediation SDKs—even during early beta builds!

Thanks for reading.