Does Google Punish AdSense Users?

Does google treat people who use adsense unfairly?

[paradoxos]

I launched a site last September 2004. Geographically Focused Review Site 1 has a PR of 4 (was 5 before Jan 1) and I began using Adsense from the beginning. This site has plenty of links to it, has been linked by a major publication and it still ranks extremely poorly.

Geographically Focused Review Site 2 was launched in December 2004. It has less content and fewer incoming links. It never used Adsense. Starting this month, this site is now placing high on Google.

Does Google really punish Adsense users to keep them hooked on the Adsense Crack?

[ciml]

At least as many people seem to think that AdSense improves their rankings.

Thus far, I attribute every report I've heard of AdSense helping or harming rankings to a false alarm.

The same goes for AdWords. Google might use a commercial list for finding URLs to index, but as far as I am concerned not for the rankings.

[webnewton]

Calum is right. Adsense doesn't seems to affect the SERPS results or else you'd be seeing more adsense sites on the top of the SERPS.

[diamondgrl]

It just doesn't make sense for Google to do that. If anything, it's in Google's best interest to promote traffic to Adsense sites. While I don't believe Google does that either, that's the only thing that makes sense.

[paradoxos]

I'm a knuckle-head. I mean Adwords not adsense. One site is paying to be included on the top right and it is not getting any other traffic from searches. The second 'smaller' and less linked to site is getting traffic from searches.

[walkman]

just a coincidence although, it makes sense (short-sighted) if the revenue was not meeting Wall Street's expectations and G screwed the SERPS up to attract new business for that period. Funny things happen when you need to meet Wall Street at the end of the quarter and keep that stock price up.

[ciml]

The same goes for AdWords.

:-)

[hunderdown]

One possible explanation might be that Site 2 is in an area with less competition....

[shri]

>> I attribute every report I've heard of AdSense helping or harming rankings to a false alarm.

Ciml, so you're saying that Adsense is not used algorithmically at all? :)

[ciml]

> that Adsense is not used algorithmically at all

Why do I feel that's a trick question? :-)

Yes. While Google might use AdSense or AdWords for finding URLs, I don't believe they play any part in organic rankings.

Basically, I'm trying to say that hunderdown is right. He lists one possible explanation; there are many others.

* Do people add AdSense/AdWords to their site and see rankings improve? Absolutely.

* Do people remove AdSense/AdWords from their site and see rankings improve? Absolutely.

* Do people add AdSense/AdWords to their site and see rankings drop? Absolutely.

* Do people remove AdSense/AdWords to their site and see rankings drop? Absolutely.

* Does this have anything to do with Google favouring/penalising AdWords/AdSense sites. Absolutely not.

One last thing though. If an AdWords advertiser or AdSense publisher was blatantly outside Google's quality guidelines, I do wonder if the AW/AS people would pass that information to the organic people.

[carminejg3]

Do other search engines punish you from using adwords/adsense on your site?

I've noticed a huge drop in pages index from everyone except google since adding adsense...

but the money is worth it. normal programs pay .10 to .50 per 1000 impressions. if you put google in a good spot you could average $7. to 12. per 1000. so far this makes up for the lost traffic but i still think its weird the other engines only list 1 page out of thousands.

[aghill]

I don't think the other SE's punish AS sites... see this post [webmasterworld.com].

[carminejg3]

good point.... well I'm going with the idea if you build good content people will come.... if the spiders do thats a different story.

[caveman]

I understand all the conspiracy theorists on this one, but we have plenty of examples of sites that disprove these theories, so if it's not universal, then they are targeting specific categories based on search terms, which I find exceptionally difficult to accept, if for no other reason than if it ever got out their credibility would be totally shot.

Plus some of our categories, in which our sites rank well in the SERP's on the left while our ads appear above or on the right, are rather competitive. :-)

[shri]

>> I do wonder if the AW/AS people would pass that information to the organic people.

Which is why I very specifically asked the question about algorithmic influences.

AW / AS quality teams should (if they don't already) report in to the head of quality. From what I recall, there is already a quality factor (algorithmic?) that influences the ads you get and a payment. I've heard this often enough to think it is true.

Bottom line

1) Google's quality control has access to several pieces of data.
2) They may or may not use this.
3) Google does hand tweak and filter sites non algorithmically

Then again .. I may be talking complete nonsense. Speculation is so much more interesting than reality...

[carminejg3]

good point. I guess if you look at an engine, here it is analizing a million + links pages and tons of content, so I guess things aren't going to be perfect...

I'm just thinking that it should be impossiable to submit a site too many times.... i would think that the engine just wouldn't accept any new content but, i guess this is left up to the big ones....

[ciml]

Shri, I agree that Google might act on something they find, which they might not have come across had the site not run AdSense.

I would be more than surprised by any +ve or -ve weighting applied on the basis of whether AdSense is or is not present.

[alika]

There have been some threads in the Adsense forum whereby people complained of being kicked out from the adsense program -- and then being dropped from the SERPs. Double whammy tragedy. May not be the universal truth, but seems logical that a site using adsense found violating SERP guidelines may be penalized for it. Of course, we'll never really know if the right hand is indeed talking with the left hand at the plex :o)

[BigDave]

One thing that adsense does is change the HTML that is being sent out, and that can have an effect on a site. It shouldn't be much of an effect, but it might be just enough in some cases.

As for AdSense/AdWords QC reporting to the search QC, I would be shocked if they did not. Their stock options are just as dependant on the Google returning good results as those that are working on the SE side of things.