Directory Websites "Seen as Possibly Made For AdSense"

Am I allowed by Google?

[tonygore]

Now don't shout at me but...

Am I allowed to build a directory website "possibly made for AdSense?" I've seen a similar example today of a site which welcomes other websites to submit their URL and a brief description of their site. So lets say one of the directory pages is about 'football' - the directory displays the first 4 results as AdSense and then the rest of the page are links to genuine websites about football.

This is not a 'Scraper or Spam' concept as the user is not being tricked into anything, they are being shown some of the top related websites of that keyword and no content is copied from other websites.

My question is do Google see this as 'Content'? I understand that: "No Google ad may be placed on pages published specifically for the purpose of showing ads, whether or not the page content is relevant." But I think that a directory website is useful. My question is does Google?

Thread Disclaimer: Some of you may have a go at me but I don't think theres anything wrong with wanting to make $$$ immediately. If I built websites for 'love' and to make my visitors happy, then I would pay the hosting costs myself and never display any ads.

[The Contractor]

I wouldn't even attempt to build a "real" directory hoping it would payoff with adsense. A real directory that isn't seen as a link farm or just another trash directory takes way too much time if done properly.

edited: I happen to have a directory that gets a decent amount of traffic. The adsense revenue is very small compared to the content pages on the site in the niche. The directory gets a good portion of traffic, it's just I refuse to disguise adsense ads as directory listings like so many others do. I prefer to have them click on the listing instead of the AdSense.

[Rodney]

I don't think that all directory sites are automatically "bad" in the eyes of Adsense.

It probably boils down to your intent (or perceived intent), and the overall quality of the site (in the eyes of Google).

I haven't seen any evidence that suggests that all directory sites are automatically a target for an Adsense ban.

There are many niche directory sites that could easily pass a "sniff test" based on their overall quality.

[kenc1959]

I have been assembling a directory site since 1999. It is strictly a regional site that only includes links to regional web sites. It gets about 30,000 page views per month and the adsense revenue pays the cable and electric bills. The CTR seems to be above average based on info seen here.

The adsense is the skyscraper ad on each of my 460+ pages, always on the right. I would NEVER think of misleading my visitors by disguising adsense as local links. They are advertisements and displayed as such.