Forum Moderators: martinibuster
I use Adwords to send traffic to my site, I specifically only target UK users through Adwords. I have several landing pages for my Adwords ads - BUT, on all of my pages I have a program that recognises where the user is from and if they are not from the UK it hides the "widget form" and shows an Adsense ad instead.
This is because it is more hassle for me to sort out people who want my widgets but can't have them than to just block them from being able to select a widget in the first place.
Obviously, this means that when a Google Adwords rep who is based in the USA visits my Adwords landing pages all he will see is Adsense ads - but my Adwords campaigns are only targetting UK traffic!
I'm okay, yes? Even if they ban me from Adsense when they do check, once I explain this (and point out the previous two emails I sent to them!) they will simply turn me back on without any loss of earnings ... right?
If that's the case, then it violates AdSense TOS regardless of arbitrage or not. Why don't you set it up so that instead of showing just AdSense to non-UK visitors, you show some other content along with your AdSense.
Some MFA 's survive , some get banned. Google is not very clear on this issue.
BUT - without the actual widget image and form I suppose the page would look like an MFA to someone who didn't realise we actually did service the widget industry. Because all there is, is a story on widgets with adsense next to them for any user outside the UK.
I use Adwords to send traffic to my site, I specifically only target UK users through Adwords. I have several landing pages for my Adwords ads - BUT, on all of my pages I have a program that recognises where the user is from and if they are not from the UK it hides the "widget form" and shows an Adsense ad instead.
Only you can determine the risk vs. benefits. And only you know whether the income from people who complete the widget form is more important than the AdSense income.
I think you might want to consider not showing AdSense to people who don't qualify for the widget form.
Even if they ban me from Adsense when they do check, once I explain this (and point out the previous two emails I sent to them!) they will simply turn me back on without any loss of earnings ... right?
I can't determine if you're joking or serious.
If you have read some of the threads of people who reported getting banned, they seem to have a problem even getting AdSense to acknowledge the explanations provided, much less actually considering the explanations.
FarmBoy
It seems as though you are just trying to get away with showing adsense ads
Huh? I'm not trying to "get away" with anything. I'm not actually doing anything wrong.
- I only target UK traffic with Adwords.
- I show my actual products to UK visitors.
- I only show adsense to all other traffic that come from free listings.
There is no actual scamming going on, it is just that if an adwords rep visits my site from the US, they will see adsense on my pages, not my actual products but I'm NOT buying US traffic through adwords.
So what exactly am I "trying to get away with"?
This would explain them why there is no widget on the page.
why don't you put a note for non-UK visitors in the place of the widget
Because that doesn't earn any money ...
My suggestion is to put in the "only available in the UK" in addition to (but not adjacent to) the AS ads.
Google does not object to driving traffic to a site with AW, clearly, and if your arb is accidental and small I don't think there will be an issue, but of course only G can decide for sure.
On my site, when I try to pump up traffic around a particular event then I find that I typically get ~30% back via AS, even though I try hard to avoid showing AS on the landing page at all.
Be careful that you don't stray into 'cloaking' if you are doing something that is not for the visitor's benefit: but again, what you are doing sounds fine to me as you describe it.
Rgds
Damon
Be careful that you don't stray into 'cloaking'
Aye, one of my SEO "buddies" used that word, but that only applies negatively if you are using it to serve up different content to a search engine for ranking purposes doesn't it? With my site, the content is exactly the same for a search engine as it is for a regular user, only the product form is removed if non-UK traffic hits it.
- I only show adsense to all other traffic that come from free listings.
Unquote..
So where is the arbitarge? Arbitrage is applicable only for paid traffic. If traffic is 'free' there is no arbitrage. You worry too much..
:-)
So where is the arbitarge? Arbitrage is applicable only for paid traffic. If traffic is 'free' there is no arbitrage. You worry too much..
Like I've been saying, I KNOW I'm not doing anything wrong. But if an Adwords Landing Page Quality Rep visits the URLs in my Adwords Ads he will only see Adsense.
My concern is not that I'm doing something wrong, but that the Adwords/Adsense guys will think I'm doing something wrong because they are checking from the USA, not the UK which is where I'm buying Adwords traffic from.
