Less ads Identifying themselves as affiliates

Are you finding that more affiliates are no longer doint this?

[jino]

I am noticing that hardly any affiliates ads are identifying themselves as they used to do with words like

aff
affiliates

in the ad content. Anybody else noticed this? Should Google crack down on this?

[ChrisKud5]

Why crack down? If an affiliate says "WWW.AMAZON.COM" in the URL at the bottom, what is the difference? The user is obviously going to Amazon.

It is not like the ad says georigia.com and the person is being sent to montana.com or deciving the user by putting in false info.

Are affiliates bad? I just do not understand the point of requiring someone or something to have a label.

At the root of the issue is the question "is society better off by labeling things?"

[jino]

I am trying to understand a few things:

1. Why does google have this requirement?

2. Does an ad with "aff" in the text generate a lower CTR?

3. Will publishers filter out ads with "aff" in the ads?

[irock]

1. Why does google have this requirement?

I think it's a requirement imposed by FCC. They got complaints from people that publishers are trying to deceive.

2. Does an ad with "aff" in the text generate a lower CTR?

I'm not sure if an average person know what aff. is.

3. Will publishers filter out ads with "aff" in the ads?

I think you can just filter out domains that have aff. on the ads.

[jino]

2. Does an ad with "aff" in the text generate a lower CTR?

I'm not sure if an average person know what aff. is.

As an "average" person, my exeprience as a user (not clicking on my own ads), clicking on an ad with "aff" in it normally brings me to a less than satisfying landing page or to a non-targeted page. I then learn not to click on any ads with the words "aff" on it.

3. Will publishers filter out ads with "aff" in the ads?
I think you can just filter out domains that have aff. on the ads.

I know you can. The questions is "will/do" publishers filter out "aff" ads.

I know there are spammy affiliate ads and some good ones. However, now that most affiliates no longer use "aff" text in their ads, how do we even look out for them?

[ken_b]

My experience is that there are too many aff ads to filter them effectively.

[ronin]

At the root of the issue is the question "is society better off by labeling things?"

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, if you believe in consumer democracy, yes. When I buy something, I want to know who my money is going to and what they're going to do with it. Otherwise we might as well go back to absolutism, eh?