"Related Searches" are not "related"

Bad choice of words

[Clark]

Leaving the general complaints about the new "feature" to the other threads, talking about the implementation of the new "feature", The Adsense code is running on WEB PAGES, not SEARCH RESULT pages. "Related Searches" makes NO SENSE on a web page. Google, the web is not a Search Result page.

[jrstark]

They are searches, and the topics relate to the theme of the website or page.

[cornwall]

>>They are searches, and the topics relate to the theme of the website or page.

Not always true. I have "related searches" coming up on hotel pages with the name of a particular hotel chain.

As that hotel chain has no particular reason for appearing against that page (more than any other major hotel chain), I can only conclude that a direct or inodrect deal has got them placing on "related searches"

[Clark]

What do you guys mean? When you place adsense on your site, that is not a search. I don't search for WW when I come here. I have it bookmarked. If WW had adsense, Saying "Related Searches" implies that the page was searched. It was not searched. It is a regular website I visit.

[rogerd]

Clark, maybe it's just semantics, but I'd say that Google thinks of the term as a shortcut for "Searches Related to the Content of this Page/Site".

More discussion of how "related" is determined here: [webmasterworld.com...]

[Clark]

I understand that. But I have a site filled with newbies. Do you think they have a clue what Google means by that? Sure as webmasters running adsense, we all "get it", but we have to think in terms of our users as well, don't you think?

[rogerd]

I think newbies will be confused by the ads themselves. In another thread, I mentioned that we've already had one visitor not realize that he had clicked on an ad and gone to a different site. The "Ads by Google" is pretty subtle, and will surely be missed by most viewers. And the related searches have no benefit to the site owners. I'll be scaling back my AdSense ads until things get sorted out better.

[farnwomt]

I also have hotels coming up on a page I run for accommodation. The only problem is that this supposed related search is on the name of a town and the word hotel, and that town isn't even on the island which my website covers, nor is that word anywhere else in the text, so how could it possibly be related.

I have long been slightly baffled by adverts that apply to hotels which aren't on the island when there is no obvious reason for them and this 'related search' illustrates the poor targetting even better.

[Clark]

That's true although that is something a webmaster has a bit of control over in terms of placement on the page to make it clearer.

Although I've been quite disturbed by this, I won't be scaling back right now. Will wait and see and hope that Google will change their mind.

The big question will be what will happen when Yahoo drops Google and IF Overture offers something similar. Yahoo may one day penalize sites for Adsense and then related searches won't help us.