TOS-violating site at top of SERPs

[numnum]

I was just searching for reviews on a popular Internet technology topic and happened upon a site with "Top 10" lists for various categories. On every page are three of the standard Adsense units (employing the off-the-shelf large, garish Verdana face):

300X250 (top right)
160X600 skyscraper (left column)
729X90 banner (below content)

But wait... there's more: Three more customized Adsense ad units (not Adlink units) are mixed in with the content. Each one displays the old "Google Ad" notice instead of "Ad Choices" and on each unit the text size was quite a bit smaller than the Title (link) size, suggesting a granular level of ad customization.

What's going on there? This doesn't look like a premium publisher with special privileges -- to the contrary, it looks pretty spammy. My best guess is that the content is framed and they've tweaked the unit and font sizes for the ads within the frame -- all in violation of Google's TOS, of course. Is this a good guess?

Oh, and of course the site's pages sit at or near the top of Google's organic search results. (That almost goes without saying.)

[piatkow]

Oh, and of course the site's pages sit at or near the top of Google's organic search results.

Which suggests that G do properly maintain a "Chinese wall" between Adsense and organic search.

[netmeg]

If they're not in compliance, at some point someone will report them or Google will discover it. There's no reason to think Google catches everyone, or catches everyone fast. There's a ton of publishers, and it's all they can do to try to keep up with the huge click fraud networks. Single sites here and there are bound to fly under the radar - until suddenly they don't.

[piatkow]

Are all the ads for the same publisher id? The description makes me think that the author put his/her own ads on the page and the article is on a site with the site owner or hosting service's ads on as well.

When I accidentally put too many ads on the same page the extra ones simply didn't display which I always assued was down to G although of course it could have been an error on my part. I don't know how G reacts to multiple pubids on the same page, assuming of course that there wasn't some mechanism such as frames which physically put the ads on different pages.

[levo]

DFP async code shows the old "Google Ad" notice, my guess is they are using both Adsense code and DFP code...

[nomis5]

Before you click on the site you mention, take a look at the Google SERPS page. Ads at the top -I gueess yes, ads to the right - I guess yes, ads at the bottom - I guess yes. So why complaain against the site being against TOS when google themselves make that violation look minor in comparison to their own behaviour.