Forum Moderators: martinibuster
I for one do not like that as people may click on that rather than the ad.
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In fact I have now just seen one add that had no ads but just a whole bunch of links for related searches.
As I always say: never trust a capitalist. Webmasters have this attitude that Google is some kind of beneficient organisation that cares about them. Get real: their sole raison d'etre is put money into their own pockets and, just as with other companies that get too big for their boots, they will sure as hell begin turning the screws to milk as money out of their operation before the next big search engine comes along.
Now with these related searches sites are not only running Google Ads with one small link they are trying to take them directly to their Google's search engines result pages.
I hate to think how the other SE's are going to react to sites running these ads now. Must admit I am very concerned over a number of issues with this.
It could be said that Google still brings in 60% or so of most sites SE business but that may not always be the case.
What dawns on me is the fact that Google is also losing money.
not correct - google is redirecting the readers to their pages and there google is earning money from adwords but.......
chiyo got it right:
google will receive 100% of the fee and the publisher none.
this sentence underlines perfectly why google introduced related searches... I am very angry.
Almost everyone is saying that they are doing this to keep people searching at Google but they already are! When a user is at my site I don't want them leaving just because they saw a related search on my ad banners. They can just type in www.google.com when they are ready to search the net. What about publishers or webmasters that run their own search engines?
How many people will click on Related Searches when almost all the publishers and webmasters take them off their site and move to the competition. Oh and it's coming... There will be other great alternatives for us all soon.
How ya like them apples?
I think they need to have an opt out option to not lose a lot of webmasters now since it's not fair to send free traffic to competitors. Although it "hurt" before, there were compensations.
But i also have to admit to some surprise at the process google used to roll this one out. Given that webmasters on the whole are usually not the most experienced of business people and adwords appeal to the small business man or even hobbyist, i am surpised that google just didnt make it a bit more obvious at the start to stress that changes will be made, that they can do in that box whatever they like including google ads - the box is in fact their leased space on your site where they can do what they like within - and that so many sites were approved.
I guess that google really should have known that people dont read the TOS, perhaps thinking they will do it later, and in the end they will blame google rather than themselves.
It is quote possible that there will be a signficant PR loss to google just at the time they dont need it, and i dont really understand why this product was rolled out the way it was.
We have very few problems with it, but i can understand how others are getting hot under the collar, perhaps based on a over-trust in google's "friendly" brand, when in fact both sides are in business - and there are no REAL friends in business.
not correct - google is redirecting the readers to their pages and there google is earning money from adwords but.......
That's likely to be true if--and only if--:
1) There are no AdSense ads on the publisher's site but there are AdWords ads on the Google SERP. (This could very well be the case if a significant percentage of advertisers opt out of content ads).
Or...
2) The user who ignored ads on the publisher's site decides to click ads on Google's SERPs.
Simply getting readers to click the "Related searches" link won't make money for Google, unless those related searches point to sponsored listings only.
over-trust in google's "friendly" brand
I read every TOS carefully especially the AdSense one and while it was all really very clear, I perhaps fell into the trap that I just did not think Google would do something like this.
The Ads by Google with a link was fine sort of nothing to fuss over and hey Google is the Number one so it is OK.
But running Related Searches never even crossed my mind. An uncluttered and simple Google cluttering up the AdSpace.
The reason that link is there is to get more people using Google, and the reason they want more people using Google is to make money of them. This is business after all
This will reduce CTR and payout to the publisher all other things remaining equal.
My take: Monitor performance and keep Adsense up until it no longer makes the kind of money that I think I should be making.
That is the way everyone should see it, people should stop thinking that Google owes them anything else than a professional relationship. I think that so far they have proven:
a) To be somewhat responsive to publishers as shown by color scheme and minor reporting improvements.
b) Prompt payers, sending payments ahead of their posted terms.
Guys, I think Google is a great company, but they are in this to make a profit so don't expect them to act like Mother Theresa.
Google might not make additional sales, but it does help build more traffic to google, give them more exposure, and the possibility of additional revenue that they do not have to share with anyone.
Anyone who claims this isn't valuable, is simply in denial.
