What was the point of the $100 Adwords voucher?

Google just setting people up for a fall?

[Broadway]

I've been reading in the Adwords form about the recent blood bath of canceled accounts.

I don't really know anything about Adwords but I was under the impression that Google doesn't like situations where a company uses Adwords to generate arbitrage-type traffic (traffic for sites where the site doesn't really sell their own product or product line but instead generates their income from visitors clicking on ads or affiliate links).

So if this is accurate, what was the point in Google sending all Adsense advertisers the $100 Adwords voucher to open an account? If you are already an Adsense publisher wouldn't participation in Adwords always be interpreted by Google as creating arbitrage traffic? Even if you have your own product, if you are showing adsense ads on your site you must be generating income from the ads, why else would you show them (after all, the ads aren't for your products)?

You know maybe I'm overlooking something. Maybe that voucher letter (which I've since thrown away) clearly advised Adsense publishers how they might get themselves in trouble, I don't know. But if not, it just doesn't seem right that Google/Adwords should set people up for creating a situation where Google will punish them if they take advantage of it.

[vordmeister]

I thought it might be a trap so I didn't use mine. At first glance Adsense publishers might not seem the best people to target Adwords at when Google don't like arbatige.

But many Adsense publishers have fingers in other pies. I suggested Adwords to a client a while ago but he didn't want to spend any money. I'd have used my vouchers to prove ROI (or lack of) had they not expired. I'm not using my own money to prove a point.

[AndyA]

I noticed in the fine print that the offer was only for new AdWords accounts. Since I already have one (that I haven't used in years, and likely won't after all the recent disturbances), I threw my offer in the trash.

I would have thought Google would know I already have an AdWords account, since everything is tied together now, but they wasted money sending the offer to me because I certainly wasn't eligible for the deal based on their terms.

[netmeg]

They sent me like six of them, and they well knew I already had an AdWords account. I think they just mass mailed - on the scale at which they're doing it, it's relatively cheap. Probably more so than going through and matching up who already has an account.

Google doesn't want people using AdWords to drive traffic to sites that comprise mostly AdSense ads. But they don't have a problem driving traffic to sites that have lots of content and just happen to have AdSense too. It's a fine line, you have to know how to walk it. If there's any doubt in your mind as to which side you're on, then don't do it.

[ken_b]

Considering Googles push for Personalization... I was really impressed when my AdWords voucher arrived addressed to "AdSense Publisher".

Ya gotta love em :)

That said, I tossed the voucher in the trash.

[LifeinAsia]

Also, many AdSense publisher run multiple sites. So it certainly wouldn't be arbitrage to buy traffic for a site that doesn't show AdSense ads.

[signor_john]

Also, many AdSense publisher run multiple sites. So it certainly wouldn't be arbitrage to buy traffic for a site that doesn't show AdSense ads.

It wouldn't even be arbitrage to buy traffic for a site that did show AdSense ads if there weren't a discernible intention to flip clicks. I've seen ads for NYTimes.com on my site now and then, but that doesn't mean THE NEW YORK TIMES is a click arbitrageur: It's a legitimate, high-quality "content site" that just happens to run AdSense ads.