Tell HN: Google Ads Reactivates my Account after 4 Years

About 4 years ago I created a Google Ads account for a side project. It wasn't long before my account was suspended for circumventing policies. I read the vague policies, read posts from people with similar experiences, yet I couldn't for the life of me understand what I did wrong. I certainly was not doing anything egregious.

I submitted several appeals to the Ads team, each attempting to justify possible violations, but I could only guess at what the violation was. Maybe I opened multiple accounts and didn't realize. Maybe I accessed the ads platform from a VPN. The appeals were unsuccessful and eventually I gave up. Now 4 years later, out of the blue, I have received an email stating that my account has been reactivated.

I remember extreme frustration, not only at their awful treatment of a would be customer, but at the lack of alternatives. There is no substitute for Google when it comes to paid search. And there was no path to recourse. They weren't even phased by lost revenue from cases like mine, which I figured had to be immaterial in aggregate.

I hope the account reinstatement signifies the beginning of the end for Google's near total dominance in search. Competition is long overdue. With all the attention Bing has been receiving, I assume an increasing proportion of paid search budgets are shifting to Bing Ads. In response to lost revenue, it would seem Google Ads is finally ready to accept my money, though I won't be so fast to hand over a dime. I've managed to operate without them all these years.