Should I report this guy?

...incentives to click, but not on the site

[bcc1234]

So here I am, listening to one of those indy internet radios, and the current DJ on-line says between the songs something like:
...Go to this site (gives the address) which I run if you need such and such services, and also (if not) you can click the ads at the bottom where it says ads by Google and I'll make some money...

The site has nothing to do with the theme of the radio, and belongs to the volunteering DJ. That site's theme is in a niche where clicks cost from $1 to $4 depending on the exact keywords used. Sometimes, even more. I work that niche for some friends, and it's really not something with 5 cent keywords. And I repeat, it has nothing to do with the radio itself.

What do you guys think? Is it ok to encourage an audience to go to a site and click ads just cause the said person is a "nice guy and plays nice tunes?" -- I guess that was the implication.

[pendanticist]

The radio station I was loosely associated with had a policy whereby announcers were prohibited from self-promotional plugs. Perhaps that is the case here? Mebe you could enlighten them.

[bcc1234]

Nah, it's not a professional station, but a real indy thing.
Besides, I have no problem with people promoting their stuff. After all, we all sell something to somebody.
But I do have a problem with people who think it's ok to make others pay >$1 per click for traffic they know won't convert.

[Jenstar]

What do you guys think? Is it ok to encourage an audience to go to a site and click ads just cause the said person is a "nice guy and plays nice tunes?"

I think the advertisers whose ads were clicked will answer with a resounding no. It is against the terms for people to encourage or incite clicks, no matter how you go about encouraging/inciting.

[bcc1234]

I think the advertisers whose ads were clicked will answer with a resounding no.

When I said I work that niche, I meant Adwords. I pay for ads, not display them. So that one is a no-brainer. I'm sure everyone agrees that it's wrong.

It is against the terms for people to encourage or incite clicks, no matter how you go about encouraging/inciting.

I guess the part about "no matter how you go about encouraging" is the core of my question.

[whoisgregg]

I guess the part about "no matter how you go about encouraging" is the core of my question.

And the "no matter how" part is the answer. :)

You can't tell your cousin in Sheboygan to click your ads. You can't tell people on the radio to click your ads. And it's probably a good idea to tell your mom not to click your ads. Or better yet, just don't ever tell anyone about your ads at all... (Or that you even have a website, depending on your paranoia.)

You probably ought to have a recording of the radio broadcast before you go emailing AdSense about "hearing some guy on the radio telling people to click his ads," lest AdSense will be flooded by these types of reports with no way to reliably act upon them.

<edited minor details>

[edited by: whoisgregg at 3:33 am (utc) on Jan. 28, 2005]

[darkmage]

This is my POV. Encouraging the clicking of adsense ads is fraud and morally wrong. I would either report him to Adsense or, at minimum fire off an email to him expalining that you think it is wrong, and it is againt the TOS, so he could lose the lot.

I understand that some people are in tighter financial situations, but this is no excuse to encourage fraudulent activity.

Here is another consideration - who benefits from this kind of encouragement? The advertisers lose, other Webmasters lose because it degrades the network and robs others of legit income. He should ask people to donate via Paypal or use a pay-per-sale Affiliate link if he wants support.

[GameFridge]

Report him, visitors should only click ads if they are interested in them and not because some one tells them to. This is bad for everyone the advertiser, publishers, and google.

[diamondgrl]

You really haven't posed a difficult question. Report him. Report him at once.

And while you're at it, if he's a really slimy character in general, report him to the radio station and report him to the FCC. No doubt they could bring "wire fraud" charges against him if they really wanted to for using the public airwaves in a conspiracy to commit fraud.

[saoi_jp]

Well if it's a volunteer station, the dj might be a hobbyist. Rather than go postal (reports to FCC, Google etc.) why not let the guy know how many steps he's taken over the line? Then, if he's a repeat offender, go postal.

[whoisgregg]

You could try the whole "I heard you recommend people click on your adsense ads. I happen to be an adwords advertiser with ads appearing on your site. Do you think I need to contact Google about this?" and it might just work. :)

[diamondgrl]

Sorry, didn't read the post carefully enough. If it's not a serious radio station, they yeah, going to the FCC is a bit much.

But going to Google is not "going postal". It is your duty as a netizen to help stamp out fraud.

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem ...

[saoi_jp]

diamondgrl I didn't mean to imply that you or anyone was going overboard by reporting to Google. I was just trying to suggest that the dj may be naive. And if it turns out that the dj is not naive (because the dj persists after the 'warning'), then sure, a report should definitly be filed by the adWords advertisers getting ripped off by this.

[jim_w]

Since the topic is ‘Should I report this guy?’, I saw a directory, where the ads are above the directory listing without any kind of divider that indicates sponsored links, and it all looks just like one directory listing. You can’t really tell ads from listing. In the US, I believe that there is a law that requires all search engines to clearly define which links are paid for. But does that law also cover directory listings?

[edited by: tedster at 5:26 pm (utc) on Jan. 29, 2005]
[edit reason] remove specifics [/edit]

[petra]

My primary concern is the integrity of the G. A-sense program, so yeah go ahead and report him to G. before other "djs " catch on and start doing the same.

As for the post above, I dont think directories are obliged to differentiate between sponsored listings or none sponsored, and I don't think it affects the advertisers since someone looking for a certain widget will most likely end up buying (sponsored ad or not)

[seoindia]

Yes u must report google regarding the same......

[saoi_jp]

jim_w, I'm a cautious type. I assume that any report I make will place me under scrutiny.

Detectives in fiction always say "follow the money" so perhaps that's the reaction of Google when they scrutinize reports in order to discover the motivation behind the report.

If one is an AdWords advertiser showing up on said page, then Google has its answer -- there's the money, hence there's the motivation.

If not an AdWords advertiser, then... well, where's the money? Google will seek an answer, and some of us are better girded against audit detection than others.

And by "us" I mean "you other people here" because I'm ...well, as I said, I'm cautious, and thus not confident against an audit where others are seeking my motivation(s) for making such a report, regardless of how pure my real reasons may be.

(I'm speaking for myself and I'm not implying anything about motives or actual practices of other people here.)

[pkwjr]

Two minutes ago, I was at a blog with adsense on it. In his last blog, he thanked people for clicking on the google ads and stated "we" made $-- yesterday and I will match that amount for tsumani relief.