Forum Moderators: martinibuster
Do you think AdSense is hurting the Google brand?
I don't see how this can be the case
Does Google itself count as a one of these sites?
and I certainly don't see it as a trend!
(IMHO)
Do you think AdSense is hurting the Google brand?
It most certainly could as with anything new but it depends on what you mean exactly.
Are you asking if it is hurting from a surfers point of view? If so then I don't think it hurts Google at all. The average surfer probably doesn't care that much if there is an AdSense ad on a page as most won't know why it is there anyway.
From an advertiser point of view it may be a whole different story.
JAG
I personally do the same, (back out of AdSense sites) depending on what kind of site it is. In most cases, a commercial site that runs these ads is a joke.
I don't think it hurts Google's brand. Most people don't even know what Google AdSense is.
That’s only my personal thought & opinion.
But I have not clicked the back button because of the Google Ads, only made a mental note, which then turns the surf into a brief visit instead of surfing and maybe purchasing.
noticed a trend the other day, that I tend to hit the back button when I see AdSense ads on a site. Evidently the theory is that they are lower quality sites than the ones I want.
I would not say its because of lower quality, more out of embarrassment for these big fish in the pond willing to be Re or Co branded by G
Do you think AdSense is hurting the Google brand?
Not sure if its hurting, but its sure having a big influence as more & more sites are now showing Google Ads, maybe this will ease off once or IF the competition can make a dent, but I do not expect to see any signs of this before the summer.
In most cases, a commercial site that runs these ads is a joke.
A joke?
There are a few sites I read daily and have read daily for years and I haven't noticed a change in their content quality after the implementation of AdSense so I'm a bit confused with this one.
JAG
Do you think AdSense is hurting the Google brand?
Nope. I think their current search results are hurting their brand.
2odd...
I personally find sites that charge for members only sections (i.e., supporters forums) to be more annoying. :-)
Nope. I think their current search results are hurting their brand.
I'll second that. The average users I know have not noticed that much but I've been on the Internet since day one and I tend to notice and get annoyed by these changes immediately. I've definitely switched back to using other engines lately.
JAG
That is a possibility. Maybe Google would have been better off forming a separate company "AdSense" and branding it on it's own.
They could have put "AdSense Ads" on the ads. That would have given Google some degree of separation from AdSense if it fails or becomes a joke, as someone stated.
novice
However, can hurt the site hosting AdSense. If the site is going for the “up & coming” approach AdSense virtually brands these sites as one-man-bands sites - so quite useful from that POV.
Nope. I think their current search results are hurting their brand.”Ditto on that – I find it difficult to understand what/where Google are trying to go. You would have thought that they would sort out very basic spamming techniques before alienating web designers/SEO’ers who don’t spam.
Rich
As for AdSense and also affiliate links, I always look very closely to see what they're doing. The site gains a little respect if those are implemented thoughtfully. Many extra points if there's a new idea there I can use.
(No offense intended to anyone here in the banner category. If you read Webmasterworld, and especially this forum, then presumably you're farsighted enough to have evaluated the alternatives.)
[edited by: jomaxx at 7:42 pm (utc) on Jan. 11, 2004]
I think like most ads ther user will eventualy learn to ignore them.
Mack.
I tend to hit the back button when I see AdSense ads on a site.
How odd. Surely it depends on what you are looking for.
I can understand that this might apply to a site selling goods or services, where it might suggest a less than professional outfit (at least to some people).
However, if I am looking for pure information it has the opposite effect for me. Adsense on an 'info' site is a welcome alternative to the nasty pop-ups and banner ads that used to be predominate. It is a trusted 'brand' and shows that the site owner has some kind of business model.
I can't see it damaging Google's branding much. Certainly nothing on the same scale as the damage done by the Florida fiasco.
I do also wonder when I see strict eCommerce sites running AdSense too. To me, AdSense should be for informational type of sites, not sites that are designed around selling products.
Does AdSense hurt Google's brand, a little but not a lot. When Google started AdWords in their search results, we got over it over time. Users will with this too.
If advertisers used their AdWords accounts better, I think we'd get targetting and higher credibility for all. I personally find the AdWords systems not as user-friendly as it could be.
The information from using AdSense on our websites is helpful for us to determine advertising rates for (often) non-AdSense clients.
It will be even more useful when we have twelve months of information from AdSense to use to see trends and possible seasonal rates, e.g. the months to offer no joining/set-up fees on the months that the rate paid per click is lower.
I've seen reports that Adsense ads suddenly got more relevant mid November. I guess that this improvement in relevance will reduce the likelyhood that Adsense could damage the Google brand.
I agree with others here that the new Google search algo will, if results don't get more relevant do much more to harm Google's brand image. I can't figure why the Adsense preview tool thinks my pages are more relevant than the current #1 in SERPs but places my page that used to be at #1 down at #460.
Relevance is what made Google successful and irrelevance will kill it IMHO.
Best wishes
Sid
I actually have a tendency to click on the ads since I expect they'll likely to lead to a higher value (and potentially higher quality) site.
I think many people feel this way. There are a lot of Mickey Mouse Websites out there and you won't find them advertising...
Google is highly regarded by web users in general. Having one's site associated with Google, especially by running their ads, can only be a positive for the site as I see it.
As far as large corporate sites running AdSense, I see that as a plus as well. After all, shareholders are always clamoring for a boost to the bottom line.
What better way to boost the bottom line than by making virtually free income from AdSense. And on a large site with several million page views a month that income is by no means trivial.
I think many people feel this way. There are a lot of Mickey Mouse Websites out there and you won't find them advertising...
You are joking right? There are plenty of mickey mouse sites that use adwords to survive.
This seems to be latest in a long line of posts by Brett slagging off Adsense...
To be fair, he was talking about his personal trend, not his take on the trend of the average user. On the other hand, I also noticed a trend, he does show up every few weeks and makes a post like this, then a couple of people that seem to follow his latest posts on the boards, and are not regular participants in the forum come in and say something like "me too!"
To answer the original question. Nope, I don't think it will affect Google adversely. More damage will be done if searchs deteriorate, and some damage will definetily be done when Yahoo drops them.
Evidently "his"theory is that they are lower quality sites than the ones I want.
Same thing can be said about pop-ups, traditional banners, etc... Some of the biggest sites have 3 times more advertising than most adsense publishers. Lets do some numbers... If 5% of the people involved in web related businesses feel this way, I guess we will just have to bear loosing less than 1% of the surfing public :)
I noticed a trend the other day, that I tend to hit the back button when I see AdSense ads on a site. Evidently the theory is that they are lower quality sites than the ones I want.
Brett, your skepticism about AdSense has been pretty obvious from day one. And I hardly think you're a typical user. Anyway, isn't that a troll question? What's wrong--is WW having a slow Sunday? :-)
I don't think many people think, "Aha! An AdSense ad! This site must suck." (If they did, THE WASHINGTON POST would be losing online circulation by the bucketload.) It's more likely that users are turned off by flashing off-topic banners, popups, interstitials, and other annoyances. Above all, they're probably turned off by excessive advertising, where the site's content is lost in a sea of banners, buttons, skyscrapers, e-commerce links, and so on. AdSense ads aren't likely to be a problem unless they're piled onto existing ad clutter and become the straw that breaks the camel's back.
Targeting has seemed to get better and that is nice, but I'm not sure I understand why it changes on pages that don't otherwise change often. Maybe just more/different ads available.
Will Adsense affect Google negatively? I'm not sure I have enogh awareness to make a valid determination, but I doubt it, as long as they exercise some control over sites they enroll.
Anyway, isn't that a troll question? What's wrong--is WW having a slow Sunday? :-)
