Google silently updated their AdSense Program Policies document last week and there’s one big change in the policy now - AdSense Publishers are no longer allowed to add Google ads to their web pages using IFRAMEs.
The updated policy document says:
"AdSense code may not be altered, nor may the standard behavior, targeting or delivery of ads be manipulated in any way that is not explicitly permitted by Google. This includes but is not limited to the following: clicking Google ads may not result in a new browser window being launched, nor may Google ads be placed in an IFRAME."
Google has always discouraged the use of IFRAMEs for serving AdSense ads but publishers were allowed to use them. For instance, a section of the AdSense support site still says:
"Our targeting technology is not optimised to serve ads within a separate IFRAME. If you placed the AdSense code in a separate IFRAME, your site may display less targeted ads or PSAs. For better results, please implement our ad code directly into the source of your web page. Once you make these changes, it may take up to 48 hours or more before relevant ads appear."
There are AdSense publishers who use the IFRAME option to embed Google Ads in the web pages, for various reasons, but with the new policy update, that implementation now clearly violates AdSense policies.
This however should not affect sites that display content using HTML frames. All you need to remember is that your AdSense ad code should be placed within the frame containing the content you wish to target with the ads.