While I’ve worked for a number of “internet” companies with varying business models over the past 11 years, one thing has remained consistent – I always get to spend some percentage of Thanksgiving Day trying to explain what I do for a living to friends and/or family.
This year was no different.
What better way is there to answer the usual list of questions about search marketing, I thought (“What do you mean there’s paid advertising on Google?” “How do you know which words to pick?” and my personal favorite, “Can I make up my own word and buy it?”), than by walking people through an actual search on Google? They’d undoubtedly understand for themselves just how logical the model is and all of the reasons why search marketing has proven to be effective for both advertisers and consumers.
With that thought in mind, my relatives and I proceeded to google “Google” and see which advertisers are advertising against its name. To my surprise, this example didn’t make things any more clear for my audience. In fact, what started out as “SEM 101″ quickly turned into a case study on how to violate nearly every one of Google’s editorial guidelines and create an awful user experience.
Here’s a screenshot of the ads that came up in response to my query.
Now let’s take a look at the editorial guidelines that had been violated:
Your ad text and keyword’s must directly relate to the content on the landing page for your ad.
The content on these websites ranges from facial cosmetic clinics to poor credit home loans to the “once in a lifetime” opportunity to get rich by taking online surveys. Any way you look at it, the ads appearing for the term “Google” (the same company largely responsible for the changing face of advertising) are completely irrelevant.
To provide the best possible experience for our users and advertisers, Google does not permit multiple ads from the same or affiliated company or person to appear on the same results page. We believe that pages with multiple ads from the same company provide less relevant results and a lower quality experience for our users.
GetPaid.com, GetRich.com and EarnUSDollars.com – and unbelievably enough, HSN.com – all click-through to the same website – EarnUSDollars.com.
Of course, given that three of the four Display URLs mentioned above don’t correspond with the URL of the website to which users are ultimately sent, the advertiser is also in violation of the following AdWords policy:
Your Display URL must accurately reflect the URL of your website.
While Google has consistently made the point that it’s “not in a position to arbitrate trademark disputes between the advertisers and trademark owners,” they generally forbid advertisers from using another company’s trademark within their ad copy. So that said, I’m sure that Home Shopping Network would love to see a company as reputable as EarnUSDollars.com using HSN’s trademark within their ads.
We do not allow links to landing pages that generate pop-ups when users enter or leave your landing page. We consider a pop-up to be any window, regardless of content, that opens in addition to the original window.
I’m not sure that this qualifies as a “pop-up,” but the crafty folks over at EarnUSDollars.com seem to have found a way around this policy by sending users to this URL. Not surprisingly, clicking on that “pop-up” takes you directly to the same URL that their three other AdWords listings click-through to. A wonderful user experience.
Lastly, I thought I’d leave you with a “bonus AdSense violation” courtesy of our friends at EarnUSDollars.com:
No Google ad may be placed on pages published specifically for the purpose of showing ads, whether or not the page content is relevant.
Not only is their page titled “Home Shopping Network and Ebay Make [sic] Great Team!” completely irrelevant to the keywords they’re buying, but the page is littered with AdSense ads – ten of them to be exact. It would be difficult to make the case that this page exists for any other reason than to generate AdSense revenue.
I’ve often heard web designers and SEO shops make the case that they’re so busy servicing their customers, they don’t have the time to focus on developing their own websites. In other words, they don’t always practice what they preach.
All this makes me wonder whether Google is so concerned with maintaining its $400+ stock price and servicing its paying advertisers that it doesn’t have the time to monitor what’s going on with its own brand name.
I don’t think it has much to do with their stock price.
G’s guidelines are simply not enforced consistenly. Never have been. They just don’t have the time or structure to do it.
I wonder when that lack of consistency is going to cost them in a lawsuit?
Not to sound like the cynic, but why should they actively enforce their policies? What’s their incentive? As you mentioned, they have a $400 stock price to keep trying to justify, so they need to earn money.
Their modus operandi is to reactively enforce their policies. If you report a violation, then they’ll take care of it–eventually.
Simple truth is that enforement of their policies, ethics, morals all cost them money. Trust that their “Don’t be evil” philosophy became little more than a campaign slogan the day they became a public company.
Now, just wait until that stock starts falling. That’s when the true colors of most companies really start to come out.