Is this a violation of TOS?

[tama]

I wrote Google about this but it's been awhile and I haven't heard back from them yet.

I have a site about a non-gambling subject. On that site I have a link directory which lists the usual categories, (Business, Education, Family etc) but also has a casino category with links to online casinos.

1. Is it ok to have AdSense on the casino links pages?
2. Is it ok to have AdSense on the site at all.

There is no gambling games, articles or other content on the site. Just links to the online casinos in the link section.

[incrediBILL]

[google.com...]

Site may not include:

* Gambling or casino-related content

IMO links are content and you have to define the casino names on the links, so I'd say it was a big fat NO, it's not allowed.

[tama]

I realize that's the TOS but I'm unsure as to whether links can be defined as "content." To me, content would be articles, blogs, applications, tools, etc.

[Atomic]

If it's on your site it's content.

[aeiouy]

In a directory site pretty much all there is are links, so it has to be considered content.

[gendude]

While we are on the topic, I sometimes see gambling oriented sites pop up in my referrals (maybe 1 out of a 1000 visitors, but if I look specifically for them, I can usually find enough to make me raise an eyebrow).

Any ideas? If I search their site with Google, my site doesn't come up, and looking at their site, my site is nowhere to be found on the page (including looking at the source code).

My site is about as far away from gambling as you can get, so I'm sure it's some kind of PR stunt on their part and it's probably devious, but it really is weird that I can't actually see why people are referred to my site.

I don't run AdWords, my site is secure, there are no link-backs to any sites that link to the gambling sites, it's just kind of weird.

[gendude]

these are different domains, too (although they could all be run by the same people).

[atypeofmagic]

Actually, I'm curious. One (only one) of my 500+ site pages features a casino (as part of a tourist attraction in this area). Should I be deleting Adsense code from this page?

[cider]

Sounds like a spammy site anyway!

[atypeofmagic]

Actually it's all original content built over several years. Why would you assume it's a spam site?

[bwmasti]

well if u look at it that way then i have forum in which ads are related to posts

if user put the post about casino, then is it against TOS.

[ann]

Could be that the visits to you directly from those sites could be from bookmarks? People leaving there and visiting you?

Actually I have a couple of those sites linked to me and I had to dig to find the links but they were there...presented in good taste so I didn't request removal...hey a hit is a hit is a hit, right?

Ann

[trialofmiles]

While we are on the topic, I sometimes see gambling oriented sites pop up in my referrals

Do a Google search for Referer spam

Basically it's when a spammer sends a bunch of page requests with faked referrer information. The goal for the spammer is to be displayed in referral statistics at the target site. This is really only an issue if the target site has the statistics automatically posted to their site. Otherwise the only person who sees the spammer's domains is the target webmaster.

[Heartlander]

Those sites are constantly sending me emails as well Ann.
"Hey- we linked to you! Can we get a link back? We'll give it a week, and unless we hear back from you, it gets deleted"
Almost always online casino type sites.

Brings up a question of mine-
If we have online games that are not for profit and do not require any money whatsoever to change hands, can we use our code on those pages?
Little javascript games tied into our forums?

Now I'm right back in the paranoid phase.
The madness never ends.

[gendude]

Do a Google search for Referer spam

Basically it's when a spammer sends a bunch of page requests with faked referrer information. The goal for the spammer is to be displayed in referral statistics at the target site. This is really only an issue if the target site has the statistics automatically posted to their site. Otherwise the only person who sees the spammer's domains is the target webmaster.

Thanks trialofmiles, that's probably what it is.

I don't make any kind of statistics about my site's usage available anywhere on the site, so that would explain why it's fairly rare.

I imagine if I had those statistics available on the site, my "referrals" from spammers would probably shoot through the roof (I have a good PR on that site).

[tama]

atypeofmagic you should definitely remove the code from the casino page.

However I'm curious as to whether you need to delete the code from your other 499 pages if you left the casino page up?

[atypeofmagic]

Just read through my web page again, I think I should be fine. There's only a single paragraph reference to the casino (the article is actually about the Niagara Falls area), and I don't get any casino ads served by Google.