Google Terms of Service

You can't use Google to increase traffic to your site if it's for profit?

[Made In Sheffield]

Apologies if this has been mentioned before, Google's terms of service [google.com] state:

"You may not use the Google Services to sell a product or service, or to increase traffic to your Web site for commercial reasons, such as advertising sales."

Am I missing something here or does that not mean anyone using Google to sell stuff could in theory be chucked off, which probably includes....all of us?

Tell me I'm missing something!

[WisdomSeeker]

"You may not use the Google Services to sell a product or service, or to increase traffic to your Web site for commercial reasons, such as advertising sales."

I think that means you cannot display the Google results or Google Services on your website for commercial reasons without partnering with Google. Seems fair to me.
It does not mean that they don't want commercial sites listed in their directory or search results. Relax :)

WisdomSeeker

[irock]

IMHO, i think what Google means is prohibiting affiliate links from directly appearing on SERPs. If what you are saying is true, then all 'useful' content site will be taken off Google and Google will have nothing to offer...

I doubt Google will go this far.

[Helpmebe1]

Shef,
Your missing something! :) Unless Google did a northern light deal.. which they wont because they want the allmighty buck.. you have nothign to worry about. Google needs to be the bomb so they stay on top and that means offering free content for everyone. The day that changes will be a very black day for google. The rise and fall of google will happen.

Keep calm, stay cool..the dance is on its way and enough nerves will be rattling with that.

Chris

[hutcheson]

It has nothing whatsoever to do with what kind of sites, or what kind of URL, Google will list.

It has to do with Google's content (which is, basically, search results.)

You can't steal their content and then present it as your own You can't post it on your website, or serve it from your website as if it were your own. They can say that, because they own the copyright on it.

If you want to do either of those things, then you need to have a different agreement with Google. They'll surely be happy to accommodate you -- for a price -- just like they did Yahoo.

[troels nybo nielsen]

I think that would be the best way to put it, Hutcheson. But Sheff _did_ ask an interesting question.

Welcome to Webmasterworld, WisdomSeeker.
(Yours is a noble quest. I dare not promise that you will find genuine wisdom on WW. But you will certainly find amazing amounts of practical knowledge. :-) )

[Beachboy]

Oh I dunno. "Don't cheat (Google or whatever)" strikes me as a pretty decent chunk of wisdom.

[Made In Sheffield]

Thanks all for the responses. It sounds logical that they probably mean not displaying their stuff on a site rather than not appearing in the serp's for profit.