Quality of Ads Provided by Google is Total Garbage.

I see some ads that should not be allowed to exist

[StimmedMarine]

For a long time I have been thinking the following:

What are the moral sides of Google Adsense?

I have a website with a lot of quality content, not one of those mini sites, and Adsense on it. All the ads that I get are basically garbage. For example, in some of my articles I talk about losing weight and how pills for losing weight are a scam for the most part, and all of a suddenly I get weight loss pill advertisement to my channel. Thanks, adsense!

It's totally immoral and contradicts my message. Even if I was to block that ad, there are hundreds of them in different countries.

The quality of the ads provided by Google is total garbage. It seems like only drug dealers are not accepted, albeit I've seen advertisement of peptides.

Question is where do you draw the line?

The sad part is that most other PPC online ad system are even worse.

How do you make money honestly when 70 % or more of the ads are total #*$! garbage?

To me adsense is pure #*$! garbage because Google does not let you select the right advertisers for your site in an attempt to rip you off.

They only care about that dirty money.

[graeme_p]

It depends on your niche. I think your niche is particularly prone to this. I think the sad truth is that it is a business that is full of scammers.

The contradictory message problem is also common - the ads match on keywords, not on opinions.

Use a different ad network or sell ads directly. You could try one of the link ad networks or a CPM network - they tend to have higher quality but more poorly targeted ads.

[Rasputin]

I know this is a problem for some people but there are things you can do to help control the ads shown.

For example you can block certain categories, block certain advertisers or only allow ads to be shown after you have approved them.

You should also make sure you have 'show interest based ads' selected which will often replace ads related to the page with ads related to the visitors interests.

Note: while I sometimes have issues with adsense and the way they operate, IMO it is unhelpful to make sweeping generalisations like 'They only care about that dirty money'.

[piatkow]

which will often replace ads related to the page with ads related to the visitors interests.

That could be worse!

Seriously, interpretation of content by G is always a problem. Set up a site for a youth club and you will get ads for pole dancing clubs. You can do a lot with category blocking but that cannot deal with every case of "mistaken identity". I run a music based site with a gig list on it, my readers would click on ads for festivals or instrument retailers but I often get swamped by ads for off topic business in the localities where the events are staged. (memo to self: check what ads are displaying now as the CTR is down on the floor again)

[shri]

I assume you're used the review center and blocked ads and categories?

[avalon37]

Like others are saying, sounds like your content subject matter. It's so specific; what kind of advertisers do you want? Do they even use Adwords let alone the Display network? My ads are almost always contextually relevant so I do not experience what you are describing. Sounds like you may want to sell direct ads to the companies that you feel are a fit. That's assuming you have decent traffic. Probably a losing battle with AdSense based on what you are describing. If you plan to create future sites with the intention of placing AdSense ads, you might want to just remove the ads on this site you are describing. Don't want to risk a potential ban. Not saying that is likely, but you never know.

[piatkow]

One thing that G can't do is determing if an article is for or against the subject. I have seen this problem before, you write an article expressing a negative viewpoint about widgets and you get ads for widgets.

[abbeyvet]

I'd a similar problem with a similar topic. Turning off health ads and third party ads and turning on interest based ads essentially solved it.

[matbennett]

Google have pretty strict ad policies and this is reflected in the ads on the network. If you look at the policies on what is allowed they go further than most networks in trying to enforce "moral standards" but this does have to be balanced against practicality. Clever though their systems are, it's hard for them to tell the difference between a diet system that works and doesn't!

What they do though is provide you with the tools to control the display of ads that don't meet the standards that you want on your website. The ad review centre + Domain blocking is very effective at this. Additionally category blocking when the flow of new advertisers is too much (Always try domain blocking first - it costs you less!).

As a general rule though, you will find that questionable ads tend to have low bids. If you raise the value of your ad inventory then you will see less of these. High CTR unit sending quality clicks tend to push rates up resulting in better ads.

As Abbeyvet says, turning off 3rd party ads can really help as well. I always advise running that as an in-account experiment before turning it off though. That way you at least understand the costs before disabling. Sometimes you will even find that it brings a revenue increase as a result of better ads - but mileage varies from site to site.

If you run ads via DFP you can also test whether trafficking very low value house ads has a similar effect. This can sometimes push bids up enough to stop the worst ads. Watch performance carefully if you try that though as it can undermine your earnings.

[StimmedMarine]

My adsense account does not have the sensitive categories tab. I can't block by category.

Will blocking 3 party ads help? I don't really understand what this. Isn't every ad third party so to speak?

Thank you for the answer.

[matbennett]

By third party we really mean "third party networks". Google does include ads from some partner networks, but you are disable these.

Allow & Block Ads > Ad Networks

Your sensitive categories option should be found at Allow & Block Ads > Sensitive categories. Some account you need to do Allow & block ads > Content (side menu) > Sensitive categories

[netmeg]

You're the second person I've run across who doesn't have the sensitive categories tab. Are you in the US?

[nomis5]

What are the moral sides of Google Adsense?

Your problem appears to be ads that you construe to be mis-targeted but that has nothing to do with morals. It's to do with how the G algo works.

Neither has it anything to do with "dirty money".

I was initially drawn to this post by the title but then saw that you are in fact talking about something quite different! I was disappointed!

[StimmedMarine]

The idea was that I see some ads that should not be allowed to exist in the first place.

Google let them be anyway.

[martinibuster]

...in some of my articles I talk about losing weight and how pills for losing weight are a scam for the most part...

You're in a popular affiliate niche populated with savvy businesses so you get ads scraping for cheap traffic. It's not Google that's the problem it's your niche. Weight loss is a popular affiliate niche that uses arbitrage to make a profit. Spend X amount on advertising derived traffic and sell Y amount of product. Upsell, downsell, harvest emails, resell emails in bundles. No scrap goes unpicked to these weight loss affiliates. It's not Google's fault you stumbled into one of the most competitive and arguably shadiest niches dependent on low cost advertising for traffic.

If you don't believe me go to Google search and do various searches that someone interested in diets would make. Aside from less than a handful of quality diet related companies the rest of the ads that show are crap advertisers. Two or three advertisers are not enough to carry you and all the other health/diet/well being sites on their shoulders.

If you want to earn money with AdSense you must learn how to analyze a niche and how to calculate the earnings potential of that niche.

[StimmedMarine]

That still does not change the fact that the bar to make it on Adwords is pretty low in the first place.

[martinibuster]

...the bar to make it on Adwords is pretty low in the first place.

Fair enough. Let's take a closer look. Let's talk answers and keep this discussion going. ;)

1. What is your definition of a quality advertiser?

2. What is your definition of a low quality advertiser?

3. What metrics or tests do you suggest Google should use that they aren't already using in order to guarantee quality?

[StimmedMarine]

I had ads on my sites of scams that can be seen from miles a way.

FAKE DOCTORS adverting medicine in sites without who is info.

You can't block that because it's different in every country.

[edited by: martinibuster at 2:57 pm (utc) on Jan 22, 2015]
[edit reason] Edited for civility. [/edit]

[martinibuster]

Hi,
First off, we're having a civilized discussion. Please, no need for profanities, even if they're cleaned up like this "#@!" because that just communicates fists pounding on a table. Fists pounding on a table can be interpreted as frustration or an attempt at bullying. If you're frustrated then simply say so. I am being courteous and respectful to you and not just because our forum requires all members to be respectful to each other but simply because civility is a virtue. Pretty please? ;)

Regarding this:

...scams that can be seen from miles a way.

As I posted previously, and I will communicate more explicitly, it is superficial to gripe about scams and rip offs and because I respect your point I want to help this discussion get to the heart of the matter.

1. What is your definition of a high quality advertiser?

2. What is your definition of a low quality advertiser?

And most importantly:

3. What metrics or tests do you suggest Google should use that they aren't already using in order to spot scams and guarantee quality?

I certainly don't want a scam advertiser on my site. I remove them as soon as I see them. But this discussion is not about me. It's about what you are seeing on your own site. I'm trying to help. What do you propose that Google should be doing to spot a "scam" advertiser?

[matbennett]

I'd also ask whether you are reporting those ads.
Algorithms can only spot so much. Beyond that the networks rely on people reporting inappropriate ads.

[netmeg]

Google isn't interested in things that don't scale, and human review over every ad before it goes live doesn't scale. The system is just too big for that. So yea, you have to report things, but you also have to realize that one person's scam is another person's faith or belief or hope. So you can report stuff that seems "obvious" to you, but Google isn't necessarily going to block it.

I just spent 15 minutes finding all the ads with gross pictures of open-mouthed fish with other gross stuff in them (weight loss industry, no surprise) and blocking them, so I feel your pain. I wish Google would let us preemptively block these ads, because the advertisers are like rats and as soon as you block them on one URL, they only pop up with twenty more. But I don't see that happening.

AdSense is what it is. Google isn't likely to make major changes to what's allowed and what isn't (unless they get taken to court) and they're definitely not going to use human intervention more than they do now. As far as they're concerned, it's all working out pretty well the way it is now, and there's no incentive for them to change that.

AdSense is never going to be a good match for every site, or every publisher.

[dethfire]

Should Google being showing us the highest CPC ads? I can't imagine that these scammy spammy ads are bidding big money.

[netmeg]

Some of them are for autobill stuff, and those people do tend to pay more (because the reward is higher)

But the subject of highest CPC ad is another whole discussion (which we've had many times) There's a lot that goes into the pricing of a click at the exact moment that someone clicks; more than most people might realize.

[webcentric]

One issue with off topic ads is that Google's categories aren't well policed. I can block diet and weight-loss but I still get those ads and the only thing that makes sense to me is that the advertiser simply classifies the ad under a different category to get around all the publishers who have blocked the right category. So, good luck. All you can really do is to keep blocking the things you don't want to see on your site. Feels like a losing battle though and I empathize. Also, with regard to the initial question. It's about keywords. Mention lawyers (positively or negatively) and you're going to get lawyer ads.

[netmeg]

advertiser simply classifies the ad under a different category to get around all the publishers who have blocked the right category.

They also get around the ban on fireworks ads by listing "crackers and shells." There's definitely ways to game the system.

[matbennett]

advertiser simply classifies the ad under a different category to get around all the publishers who have blocked the right category

My understanding was that the categories are all figured out algorithmically rather than selected by the advertiser. When I create adwords campaigns I certainly don't select a category.

[netmeg]

Right. Google decides the categories.

[EditorialGuy]

Sometimes AdSense is a good fit, and sometimes it isn't. That's been true since the AdSense network made its debut in 2003.

I used to have a site for freelance writers that became a no-go zone for AdSense because I kept seeing ads for vanity presses, phony literary agents, and other services that preyed on aspiring authors. (Granted, the ads were for the same kinds of services that get advertised in writers' magazines, but that didn't mean I wanted to run them.)

Sometimes you just need to go into code view, highlight the AdSense code, and delete it.