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Google AdSense fair use
Publicado Dezembro 19, 2006 por Pedro Pais
Adsense is [most certainly] bloggers’ prime stream of revenues. Therefore everyone tries to increase his/hers CTR, often using some techniques that are, at least, questionable.
One of those techniques is to lay images side-by-side with Google ads (see example below), so people click the ad without noticing it’s a ad, therefore generating revenues for the site owner.
Although Google originally allowed that to happen, as long as there was a line between the ads and the images, they have now forbidden this technique.
I’m having the opportunity to follow the discussion of this subject on a John Chow’s post and I get the feeling people don’t understand the essence of ads.
Ads have a purpose. They are created so that advertisers can sell people something (a product, service, idea, whatever). If people are being fooled into clicking the ads, two immediate things will happen:
- The probability of them buying the announced product/service/whatever drops substantially (advertisers’ conversion rate decreases);
- Therefore, advertisers are spending money for nothing. And they’ll notice that.
What happens next? Advertisers start to see Google Adsense as an expense, not an investment. In consequence they’ll surely lower the budget dedicated to Adsense. And finally, the pool of money Google has available to pay bloggers will also decrease. Are you happy now?
Play fair. That’s the right way to do it. Enhance user’s experience, create great content. Make your viewers click your ads consciously, not just because you’re fooling them.
Filed under Blogging, Sociedade, Tecnologia
It think it’s fair enough both for publisher and advertiser.
ogene,
Do you think that using image side by side with ads it’s fair for both? Could be please elaborate on that?
Great post Pedro, everyone should read it and understand on how it benefits us.
listikal: Glad you like it.
I think you’re exactly right. I would say it equates to the comparison of white hat vs black hat SEO techniques. One may make you more money in the short term but the long term is non-existant. Just play by the rules, make regular AdSense income (even if its less) and be able to count on long-term income.
Good post, thanks.
Tricking Visitors By Blending AdSense?…
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Christer, I would say that your comparison is quite what I had in mind. I’d add that using black hat techniques may work in the long-term (although unlikely), but it’s certainly not playing fair and square.
[...] Another related post at Pedro’s Spot explains how using these methods can have long-term negative effects on the AdSense system and lead to less income for all of us. If we resort to tricking viewers into clicking ads it will almost always lead to very low conversion for the advertiser, eventually leading to fewer advertisers using the AdSense system and further resulting in less income for all of us. [...]
I am sorry, I don’t understand how, as in your example above, placing fruit next to the ad’s about fruit would trick anyone into accidently clicking on the ad. If I am in the market to order grapefruit online and I come accross pictures of fruit – I would more then likely read the ad and then click on it.
I do agree with your argument about tricking people on clicking ad’s and depleting the funds given to bloggers. But again if the pictures are relavent to the ad then why not?