We just happen to be in a forum about our area which is part of a large travel booking site and in one of the forum threads we discovered our AdWord ad.
We do not have content selected. This is definately not a search partner in our eyes. There was no search involved.
I will post a query to AdWords through my account and see what reaction I get.
It looks like many advertisers opted out of content sites, so to raise revenue, Google redefined some of the content sites to be search sites.
An "on topic" content site but a content site none the less.
The other strange thing is that it was the only AdWords ad when there are others appearing including the site in question. Actually on checking I see that if geo-search is activated that then there are only two of us when you consider that they would have blocked their own site. Also I'm assuming that the search term that triggered the ad is the main area name however there is always the possibility that it was a secondary term where we are the only ad.
Curious indeed.
I took a screen shot of the page just in case and have sent a query to customer support.
It looks like many advertisers opted out of content sites, so to raise revenue, Google redefined some of the content sites to be search sites.
All in the interest of relevancy, I suppose.
patient2all
We do not have content selected. This is definately not a search partner in our eyes. There was no search involved.
Tropical Island, would it be possible for you to sticky me with some details - and especially the URL of the site in question? I'll make sure it is looked into.
Thanks in advance!
AWA
sticky me with some details - and especially the URL of the site in question?
Done, check your mail.
Thanks for the interest.
Some of this looks like official Google partnerships. Since I have opted out of the content network, why is my ad running on these sites? There's nothing "search" about them. Some of them look like they're using a 302 redirect to my page with the ads. I can't tell what has the official Google seal of approval and what's been stolen. I don't even know if I get charged for a click from these pages!
I expected when I chose only the search network, that my ad would only show on SERPS for Google, AOL, or other search partners. I don't expect my ad buried on somebody's shopping or price comparison web page. Yet another reason to avoid the content network. If I chose that, I'd expect my ad in an AdSense box that says Ads by Google (or Goooooooogle). Not somebody else's "additional resources."
Done, check your mail.Thanks for the interest.
Got it!
Thanks very much, Tropical Island. I've already forwarded your info to the appropriate folks here. I'm not sure what (and when) I'll hear back - but I am confident that this topic is being seriously looked at, dating back to a previous WebmasterWorld thread on the subject.
Again, many thanks - for your original post, and for the follow up info.
AWA
Actually during the "off-season", after Easter, I will probably re-activate content just to keep the site visits up. During the winter season we already get more than we can handle.
Don't want this lost in the shuffle.
These are all shopping and price comparison sites. The ads are usually listed in an area that say something like "Additional resources" or "Sponsored Links."
Yeah, what's up with that? I had noticed this by accident a few times in the past when I was doing research. While reading this thread, I picked text at random from a few of my ads and searched on them, I'm turning up on the same kind of sites. Even though I'm out of content and only show in the US, I'm finding my ads on all kinds of shopping sites in languages I don't even recognize.
patient2all
The only way to avoid this is opting out of the search network, which also means losing AOL and other pure search engine SERPS.
I can't say I'm a happy camper about that and I'm weighing my options.
I can't say I'm a happy camper about that and I'm weighing my options.
You and a lot of other people. If Google were smart, they'd "segment the market" and offer different levels of match partners, instead of a blanket "content match" and "search match". Because I think many of us would be willing to pay 5 times as much for our ads to appear on AOL as we are willing to pay for them to appear on some of these "search" sites.
Bump
Don't want this lost in the shuffle.
This is definitely not lost in the shuffle, Tropical Island. I've escalated your comments (and those of others) to our policy team - which is reviewing this entire issue quite deeply.
Just to set the right expectations, though, I most likely won't be able to return to this thread with 'an answer' in the short term - but please do know that your comments, and those in an earlier and related thread, are being taken very seriously.
I've mentioned the material below in that earlier thread - but it is probably worth including here as well - as it may speak to what you're seeing. Quoting from the AdWords FAQ:
On search sites in the Google Network, your ads could appear along side or above search results or as a part of a results page a user navigates to through a site’s directory.
Quoted from:
Where will my ads appear?
[adwords.google.com...]
To sum up - to all who have expressed your concerns on this topic, I assure you that you have been heard - and that your concerns are being seriously looked into by the appropriate teams.
AWA
Is there a complete published list of Google search partners. In the interest of transparency it seems as though this should be disclosed to advertisers. Thanks in advance for your help.
Regards,
I have a question regarding the Ad Rank calculations. When considering the CTR for calculating Ad Rank, what CTR does Google use: just the Google CTR, the combined CTR of Google and its search partners or a more precise caclulation using the CTR for each search partner and determining a separate ad rank for each partner?
If it uses only the Google CTR (which seems lower than the searh network generally) then new ads which haven't been reviewed and displayed on the search partners network yet, may be being charged higher CPC because they have lower ad ranks due to appearing only on the google network. Thanks in advance for any assistance.
Regards,
This is definitely not lost in the shuffle, Tropical Island.
Didn't really think it had however as the thread had disappeared I just thought I would bring it back up front. Thanks for responding.
Jim2003,
Your CTR for determining whether your ad stays active is based solely on the Google results - not search partners which in many cases do have a higher CTR.
Whether the partners are considered in ranking I would assume not however maybe AWA or anyone one else could confirm this.
Is there a complete published list of Google search partners. In the interest of transparency it seems as though this should be disclosed to advertisers.
Jim,
Don't hold your breath. I'd be shocked if Google was to release a complete list of search partners. I doubt it would lead to advertisers banging down the door to get in Search. With the Search network, it appears you have to take the good with the bad. You get AOL and Earthlink and all those Cable Company home pages, etc. My experience has been that AOL people and those who leave their home pages as the default that is set when they sign up for cable or an ISP are more likely AdWord customers. Such people tend to be intimidated and confused by SERPs with often cryptic descriptions and go right for the straightforward boxes with concise descriptions of what they offer.
However, in Search, you also get a lot of sites that appear to consist of nothing but paid listings. It's obvious what their motivation was in setting up such sites.
I'm only in Search and of course Google proper, but yesterday I found my ads on a shopping site for sewing machines. And guess what, what I sell has nothing even remotely connected to sewing machines! It would be a real stretch to think that I'm going to get much in the way of worthwhile clicks from sewing machine shoppers for my products.
AWA, a question I've never been completely clear on:
If I opt out of Content, am I guaranteed to never appear on a site running AdSense ads?
There may be some earnest AdSense clients out there, but based on the ads that I see on many sites with AdSense, I get the feeling that a whole lot of sites featuring AdSense are tailored toward getting high dollar keyword ads over relevant ads. I doubt I'm the first person to notice this.
I'm paying good money to advertise and I'm monitored closely so that every i is dotted. Those who are making money from my ads should be held to at least as high a standard, if not higher.
I don't mean to be such an annoying gadfly, but I've got a lot of money riding on AdWords each day and I don't like giving it away. I appreciate the reach of customers that AdWords offers me, but too many things that paying advertisers should be privy to, like the list Jim suggested, are treated like "state secrets".
Other PPCs, who admittedly don't provide me with the profit AdWords does are much more forthcoming about exactly where my advertising appears. It's not a whole lot to ask.
As I believe someone suggested the other day, there ought to be a fourth tier in addition to what we have already. Google, Premium Search Sites, "other search sites" and this nebulous "content network".
patient2all
[webmasterworld.com...]
You didn't think Google would miss it's Q1 numbers from all this affiliate reorg stuff, did you?
As I believe someone suggested the other day, there ought to be a fourth tier in addition to what we have already. Google, Premium Search Sites, "other search sites" and this nebulous "content network".
This is an excellent suggestion and has been brought up before.
What started this thread was finding my "search only" ads in a forum thread. In an honest analysis I don't regret being there as the forum is a very specific one on our area.
The hang-up is that it has nothing to do with search and someone did not have to do a search to see my ad. It's probably going to come down to a question of semantics.
Our AdWords program is absolutely essential for our business however there are certain times of our season where our ads do not need to be in anything other than basic search (no content ads). That's the program I have chosen for this time of the year and what I expect to find while surfing.
As AWA has posted this issue is being addressed and at some point we will get an answer.
When I went back to the thread you cited, this jumped out at me:
What some publishers are doing - and which is against the AdSense terms - is prefilling the AdSense for Search box.
I keep finding these in my logs for all the high value keywords in one sexually themed campaign. They're sites with names like searchThisOrThatWhatever with a list of categories and a pre-filled search box on top with one of my best keywords (when they come from real people) which return a list of AdWord results on top followed by what I presume are SERP results.
Are these being pre-built for armies of clickers to attack? I've noticed a trend where the same keyword phrase is searched for twice always exactly 12 minutes apart. Are they trying to beat some click fraud detection?
My response has been to drop the cost per click for the keyword and of course I'll drop in position. I suppose that drop is slightly offset by the "boost" my CTR gets from these clicks, but none of this should be happening.
These "search" sites have to be monitored by Google as frequently as my ads are monitored. If I drop a letter off the end of an ad line by accident, I'm disapproved in a day or so. How long do these people survive as Search partners when it's so obvious they're playing some kind of game?
I'm sure some thread on this forum cited the AP article of the other day which called click fraud the "white elephant in the middle of the room" so I won't rehash it here. If not, you can search on it.
patient2all
This is definitely not lost in the shuffle, tropical island. I've escalated your comments (and those of others) to our policy team - which is reviewing this entire issue quite deeply.Just to set the right expectations, though, I most likely won't be able to return to this thread with 'an answer' in the short term - but please do know that your comments, and those in an earlier and related thread, are being taken very seriously.
Our ad is still appearing on this forum which again I'll state that it is a matched topic and, if I was in content, I would be happy to have it there.
I can see now why only Google results are considered for CTR. In this particular case my ad is appearing many times as the people, including myself, go back and forth through the threads.
As 6 weeks have now passed and this thread is being buried I would like to bring it up again.
How can my search ad appear in a forum?
How can my search ad appear in a forum?
Tropical Island - before posting this, I have once again expressed your ongoing concern to the team-lead for the appropriate team - and have forwarded another copy of your earlier sticky to me, so that I am certain the information is in the right hands.
AWA
As a side note I had written directly to support through my account interface in early February and never received a reply. This may have been because you got involved.
