AdSense spam report feature

Do they act on the reports?

[panos]

As Jenstar posted here:

[webmasterworld.com...]

Simply view the violating page, click "Ads by Google" or "Ads by Gooooogle", and on the following page, be sure to enter "spamreport" into the comment field, as well as including the specific violation.

Have you used this feature?
Did it work?
I have reported 3 sites 2 weeks ago, nothing happened yet...

[Dantol]

No they don't take spam or fraud reports too seriously.
Take this site for example <snip> . I reported it too many times, nothing happened. Google ads still display.

PS: Jenstar, sorry for posting link, I just want people to see an example of fraud.

[edited by: Jenstar at 3:43 pm (utc) on July 14, 2005]
[edit reason] You know the rules ;) [/edit]

[peewhy]

I think Google's problem is sorting out the millions of sour grapes complaints from geniune issues.

It hasn't got the resources to respond personally and act immediately.

[Dantol]

Actually, they have a good sorting technology.
For example, when I send them one e-mail on Monday, and the other on Tuesday, they answer to all my e-mails with 1 reply. That means they have good sorting technology when it comes to e-mail complaints. All emails from same person are sorted together, no matter how many e-mails you send during different time periods of the day. The problem is - they rarely act on banning fraud sites. Why? I just don't know.

[Jenstar]

Dantol, that particular publisher is cloaking for Google, when you view the cache, the page has a whole chunk of content, even though there is zero content on the page for Joe Surfer viewing it.

This is why publishers should be detailed when doing the "spamreport", stating why specifically it violates. I know why this one does, but why it might not seem apparent to G everytime it is investigated.

[peewhy]

Dantol

Do you really complain to Google on a daily basis?

[gomer]

Do they act on the reports?

No, not in the least from my experience. It is a waste of time. I have reported two very obvious violations of the Adsense policies. They were the "Click on these ads" type of violation.

While I promptly got "Thanks. We'll look into this.", no action was ever taken.

Do no evil? Yeah right... how about waste someone's time and effort who is trying to improve your system. Alienating and irritating people who are trying to help you is a very bad thing. Won't be reporting violations anymore, as it is just as useful as reporting spam to Google search.

[Atomic]

I reported a network of sites that was clearly spam and within 3 months their AdSense units were blank, then they were replaced by affiliate links and another month later the entire network was gone.

There is another network that uses the same template for what must be hundreds or thousands of keyword areas. You can submit a link or an article or sign up for their newletter. They all look the same and every time I come across this waste of space I send in a complaint and get the same canned response. But it can take time to review these sites and remove them. Perhaps if the same site gets enough complaints it will get more attention.

Here's another thing you can all do:
Send an email straight to the advertiser. Screw emailing AdSense support. Email the advertiser and show them how their advertising dollars are being squandered.

[gomer]

Send an email straight to the advertiser. Screw emailing AdSense support. Email the advertiser and show them how their advertising dollars are being squandered.

Thanks Atomic, that is a great idea. Google can ignore us webmasters but people who are paying the bills may be heard better. I still think Google's repsonse or lack of response to my reports of AdSense abuse is pathetic.

[andrea99]

From Google's TOS:

Communications Solely With Google. You agree to direct to Google, and not to any advertiser, any communication regarding any Ad(s) or Link(s) displayed in connection with Your Site(s).

Technically, I suppose it would not be a TOS violation if the ad were on someone else's site. But if the spam site is sending real traffic to the advertiser I doubt the complaint would mean anything. And there lies the problem, the less valuable the content on the site, the more likely the visitor will click the ad.

Can any competing SE's capture this traffic that essentially makes Google a paid directory that looks like a search engine? I doubt it.

I'll bet on G's keeping this going for a long time... The general public still Googles, and they will so long as the Adsense link gets them where they want to go.

[Atomic]

I am not talking about ads on my site at all. Communication is itself such a broad term that includes:

1. an act or instance of transmitting
2. a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior

Placing an order after clicking an ad could be considered communication regarding an ad and you know everyone wants that! But we are talking about someone elses site. We are talking about alerting advertisers to the fact that they are being ripped off. How can that be wrong?

[Dantol]

I also emailed one of the advertisers, and he never thanked me. In fact, he never responded to my email. It was a small website advertiser, nothing big. I thought I would get "Thank you" email, but none of it arrived (yet).

And NO, I do not complain to Google on a daily basis. I am too busy working and living paycheque to paycheque.