adsense on 404 error pages

is it ok?

[webdudek]

I have changed the default error pages (404, 401 etc) on my web site to be a little more friendly pages, with general information, links to contact, and a form to report errors.
Do you think it's ok to put adsense on these pages?
It's not big money we're talking about, around 1000 hits a month for all error pages, but still, if I can do something good with it, why not?

[OptiRex]

[google.com...]

Ad Placement

* No Google ad may be placed on any non-content-based pages.

I use Adsense on my 404 page since it is a replica of my index page and I'm pretty sure that no one ever notices!

[21_blue]

Or to be more explicit than Optirex's quote:

Prohibited Uses. You shall not... (v) display any Ad(s), Link(s), or Referral Button(s) on any error page (Google's Terms [google.com])

I'm not sure it would work, anyway, because the ads would depend on the URL which, if an error, would likely be unique and untargeted.

Why not provide a page listing some of your hottest pages? Then you'll convert errors into qualified traffic.

[BertieB]

Why not?

Because it would be treading a thin line, according to the policies [google.com]:

No Google ad may be placed on any non-content-based pages.

And outright against the TOS [google.com]:

5. You shall not, and shall not authorize or encourage any third party to: ... (v) display any Ad(s), Link(s), or Referral Button(s) on any error page ...

Emphasis mine. Hope that helps you!

Edit: Must learn to post quicker

[21_blue]

Must learn to post quicker

That course on proper touch typing I did 20+ years ago has finally paid off :-).

[OptiRex]

I'm not sure it would work, anyway, because the ads would depend on the URL which, if an error, would likely be unique and untargeted.

Mine are absolutely spot on and targeted:-)

I've just tried it using 404.html, 404.shtml and several completely invalid urls, all displayed perfectly however let me stress, this is a completely normal page for my site, it does not display a 404 error anywhere.

I'm not saying that it does not contravene the T&Cs however I ain't changing it:-)

Yep, I'm being belligerent today, it's been one of those weeks!

[webdudek]

It seems that redirecting the error pages to a legitimate page with real content would be the right thing to do.
I'll just have to find a nice way to show the user why he got to this page and show him the way back in to the site.
thanks for all your replies.

[Khensu]

I just have a graphic of the product on my error page and then it refreshes to the main index page in one second that contains the ads. So the ads are not on the error page.

[r_sarvas]

I think the reason Google may not want ads on things like 404 error pages is so that ISPs hosting user pages don't profit when users make HTML mistakes, move their pages, allow their accounts to be terminated (and content removed), etc. after the pages have been indexed by search engines (or something along those lines).

Then again, I could be wrong about this.