I'm sure that this would have been talked about before, but I guess I couldn't find the correct search terms to obtain it.
My query is this:
I have a site with my keywords in the url. nothing too major - www.productinitials-widgets.com
I have a competitor who has the top position (which i'm not looking to obtain) with - www.ukwidgets.com
however, for the same search term they also have a ad approx position 3 (which is where I would otherwise be) where the URL is www.productinitialswidgets.com
On clicking, you do go through to www.productinitialswidgets.com - but the page itself is identical to the www.ukwidgets.com (not merely in style, I mean an exact copy, with the ukwidgets logo etc and exact text) and all the links go through to www.ukwidgets.com
Now, I assume they have set up a different account for this advert. What I would like to know is, is this acceptable for google? And if so, why isnt everyone else doing it?
I guess I'm asking if i should report them or emulate them essentially.
Best regards,
James
Now, I assume they have set up a different account for this advert. What I would like to know is, is this acceptable for google? And if so, why isnt everyone else doing it?I guess I'm asking if i should report them or emulate them essentially.
Mangotude, creating two accounts in order to show the same site twice on a keyword search would indeed be counter to the Terms & Conditions. So I'd advise against emulation. ;)
Whether you turn them in is up to you, of course. But we'd prefer to prevent them from doing this, in order to protect ads quality as perceived by our users.
AWA
Thanks for the clarification. As I said, the initial page is another site, but it is to all extents and purposes the same site.
I might be misreading your message, but if all that happens for someone doing this is that they are prevented from doing it in the future, that's not a great disincentive to be honest. If they are breaching the Terms and Conditions, and its clearly a wilful and obvious breach, then surely both accounts should be terminated?
I would guess you have your sticky's turned off...would it be possible for you to sticky me to see the sites in question? If these adverts are a breach, then I will definitely pursue it, but would prefer to be entirely sure first.
Best regards,
James
I would guess you have your sticky's turned off...would it be possible for you to sticky me to see the sites in question? If these adverts are a breach, then I will definitely pursue it, but would prefer to be entirely sure first.
mangotude, while I truly appreciate your wanting to approach this in the right way, I am not typically able to follow up on individual issues from WebmasterWorld members personally - as my work load already overfills a pretty long day as it is. ;)
I think the best path would be to write to AdWords support and frame it as a question. In other words, say "Is this within your Terms and Conditions, and if so can you make it right?", as opposed to "This advertiser is not meeting your Terms and Conditions. Make it right!".
I might be misreading your message, but if all that happens for someone doing this is that they are prevented from doing it in the future, that's not a great disincentive to be honest. If they are breaching the Terms and Conditions, and its clearly a wilful and obvious breach, then surely both accounts should be terminated?
I'm not really able to detail the way in which these issues are addressed with the parties concerned, mangotude.
Well, not hugely helpful here, was I? Sorry to disappoint you, if I have. :[
AWA
Thank you for your response. I had expected you were swamped with such requests, but I thought it was worth checking all the same. My apologies if it seemed like I was assuming anything, as I know this is often an adjunct to your already existing work and it's appreciated that you post and give feedback at all.
I also certainly wouldn't approach Adwords support to demand anything, and wanted to gain some clarity before I proceed. Looking on the message, what was meant to some degree as a rhetorical question looks like an interrogation. My apologies.
Well, I will pursue this, but my feeling is that the response to this will be determined by how much the account spends. And as their yearly spend is high five figures /low six figures, I hope you can forgive my skepticism in anything happening beyond a slap on the wrist or - at worst - a closing of the smaller alias account.
Thanks again for your help, it was genuinely appreciated.
Best regards,
James
My apologies if it seemed like I was assuming anything, as I know this is often an adjunct to your already existing work and it's appreciated that you post and give feedback at all.
No apologies are in order. Not even close!
I also certainly wouldn't approach Adwords support to demand anything, and wanted to gain some clarity before I proceed. Looking on the message, what was meant to some degree as a rhetorical question looks like an interrogation. My apologies.
Not at all. Actually, mangotude, I had not the slightest thought that you might write in a demanding sort of way. Quite the opposite, in fact.
This may be a good time to say that, often, when I respond to queries on this forum, I respond knowing that a much larger audience will read the answer than just the person who had the question. So I often include information that a larger audience might benefit from seeing, even when it is not exactly pertinent to the original question - if that makes sense.
I have to admit, I guess, that in this case, my response was written having in mind scores of emails I've seen on this subject over the past few several years - and remembering how much more pleasant it is to research a situation for someone who is polite - as opposed to someone who has the caps lock key on, and who promises to contact various Attorneys General if the offending site is not summarily removed by the end of the business day.
The same work is undertaken for both, but in one case it's just a tiny bit easier to do. And I guess that I wanted to allude to this point. (Someone said it nicely in another thread: that while Google is in fact a large company, the people you interact with are individuals who, as human beings, react well to politeness.)
Well, I will pursue this, but my feeling is that the response to this will be determined by how much the account spends.
I think you would be surprised at how fairly the policies are applied. Obviously I can't go into detail, but I have seen really major advertisers held, very firmly, to exactly the same standard as someone who is just starting out.
Thanks again for your help, it was genuinely appreciated.
My pleasure, James, And please be assured that nothing in your posts has bothered me in the slightest.
AWA
