HERE IS YOUR CHANCE TO MAKE YOUR DESIRES KNOWN. PLEASE REPLY IN THIS THREAD WITH YOUR CHOICE OF OPTIONS FROM THE SECOND POST BELOW

See Google Distribution Fraud is the Real Click Fraud posted 1/26/07. He provides a graph showing the growth of Google SEARCH ads being displayed on parked domain pages full of nothing but Google ads.

This term might also be applied to other huge sites such as MySpace.com which are showing both content and search ads from Google. Many would argue (including me) that the traffic driven through those sites is not of the same quality as true search traffic and we do not want our search ads being displayed in that manner.

His suggestion which I strongly endorse is that these types of sites be a separate Google network that advertisers can opt out of or at the very least these sites be considered content and NOT search.

See the article and comments posted about it called Google Adwords and Domain Parking; Garbage Paid Search.

Also see the article More on Distribution Fraud in Search and a related article on another type of Distribution Fraud usually known as Arbirtrage Distribution Fraud.

[ Message was edited by: flyingrose 02/25/2007 11:51 am ]

There is an official Google program called Google Adsense for Domains that show SEARCH ads. (If they call it Adsense why doesn't it show CONTENT ads?)

What do you think of your search ads being displayed on these pages full of ads and on other content types of sites like MySpace.com? Would you like the ability to opt in or out of specific search, content, domain parking, and social networking sites or at least the ability to block all ads from appearing on specific domains?

Do you think Google should:

a. Be showing Search Ads as they are now which you can only opt out of if you opt out of the entire Google Search Partner Network which means losing traffic from the default search functions of such large ISPs as AOL, Earthlink, and AT&T.

b. Be showing Content Ads so you can opt out of those sites when you opt out of showing content ads.

c. Make these types of sites a separate classification from search or content so you can opt in or out as you choose and your results dictate.

d. Give you the ability to opt out of specific domains for search and content (and a third classification if there were one for these new types of "search" partner sites).

e. Both c and d above.

PLEASE POST AND STATE WHICH ONE OF THE ABOVE OPTIONS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE.

Here's your chance to let Google know what advertisers really want. The more answers posted in this thread the better.

[ Message was edited by: flyingrose 02/25/2007 11:52 am ]

Glad to see someone taking up this issue. We've noticed a steady decline in Google PPC associated with their partner network:

1.) Narrowly focused content ads being matched to a topic page with content that too broad; nullifying the intent to focus the ad.

2.) Low value websites being added into their search network. And, as mentioned, search ads being displayed in a non-search manner.

With content ads, at least you can opt out on a per domain basis. Ideally, I'd like to see them do the same thing on the search side.

Having a per domain opt-out on the search side could significantly reduce the burden on their fraud detection team. They could look for high drop out rates as an indicator of a potential problem with one of their partners.

Opting out of search by different tiers would be a viable 2nd option.

Thank you rjzak for taking the time to weigh in on this issue that is more important to Google advertisers than many are currently aware. Would you say that the new option I have added (e) would be the best choice?

I would like to see option e. I agree that "search ads" should be only shown to someone who actually typed in a keyword phrase. The parked domains and MySpace should either be considered content ads or have their own classification.

Our reports show a big difference in the quality of traffic between these types of placements. I would suspect others are seeing this as well.

Ultimately without a way to bid these separately or exclude search domains, it forces the advertisers to either lower bids or disable the search network. You'd think it would be in Google's best interest to make that available.

Though I'm not currently running any major PPC campaigns with G at the moment, I can see the obvious issue here.

I'm going to play devil's advocate on this one, I think...

Is there a way to qualify that the traffic coming from places like parked domains actually is of a lesser quality?

I mean, let's examine the cycle:

1 - user types in a search at G for "mudflaps"
2 - Google works it's magic and displays the results
3 - mudflaps-for-all-makes-models.com is in the mix near the top (example only)
4 - user clicks on this result
5 - upon getting to the website, they are presented with the typical list of links, and a few large-size Adsense ads

Now, is this user, who was initially searching for mudflaps, now any less qualified? Are they any less likely to purchase having been sent to this parked domain (which 99% of folks won't realize anyway, they'll just think the site is lacking and not understand it's reason for being).

Now, as an Adwords user, your ad is shown here - on mudflaps-for-all-makes-models.com. Is this user, when they click on the ad in front of them and end up at your site any less valuable than users from other websites? (Remember, I'm after empirical data to show this, not gut feelings.)

While I personally hate the concept of parked domains, and can fully understand why Adword advertisers might be upset that ad impressions are churning on useless "sites" like this, I think this problem points back to a common issue:

How Google actually ranks sites.

I have no real "big picture" issues with their rankings, but like everyone, when I search on niche stuff, I find a lot of useless sites in the first couple of pages of results...and many parked domains with Adsense.

I personally leave those sites immediately.

But, I also work in this industry, I run Adsense ads and publish my own sites.

So, does that leave me too close to this issue to objectively see how big or small the actual issue may be?

If 1% of the search population is like me, then 99% won't know the difference and may well click on an ad they see.

Adsense account holder wins by getting paid. Adwords advertiser wins by getting a visitor to their website.

...once that visitor hits their website, doesn't the website owner bear the responsibility to ensure the sales funnel is tweaked and working soundly to help drive sales at the website?

Now, please understand - I'm just playing devil's advocate here. If this problem is real and quantified for folks, then it's real to them and I'm not trying to minimize that in any way.

I'm simply suggesting like so many "Google issues" that pop up every day, when viewed in a larger scope, this might not be that big a deal...I don't know, but I'm keeping my mind open...

Now, if I were to pick an option from Rose's list, I'd pick C:

c. Make these types of sites a separate classification from search or content so you can opt in or out as you choose and your results dictate.

Not hard for G to see what's parked v. active - and allowing you to choose even within this group would be nice. Maybe there are some type-in domains that you WOULD like to appear on...

It is EASY for Google to know what is parked because it is a separate program called Google Adsense for Domains.

Q: What is AdSense for domains?
A: AdSense for domains allows domain name registrars and large domain name holders to provide valuable and relevant content on their parked pages. Parked domain pages generally have no content; however, by adding targeted ads, we hope to help users find what they are looking for. Using Google’s semantic technology to analyze and understand the meaning of the domain names, AdSense for domains delivers targeted, conceptually related advertisements to parked domain pages to improve the user experience on these pages.

The above is copied from their Google Adsense for Domains FAQ. The question is if that is really search traffic why doesn't that traffic convert like search traffic?

This question in the Google Adwords help section Will My Ads Show Up on Parked Domains provides this answer about whether parked domains show search or content ads:

"Depending on the design of the site, a parked domain site will be classified as either a search site or a content site. That means your ads may show on parked domain sites if your campaign is opted in to the search or content networks."

[ Message was edited by: flyingrose 02/26/2007 04:57 pm ]

The question is if that is really search traffic why doesn't that traffic convert like search traffic?

Perhaps I'm thick nearing the end of my day today, but where else could this traffic be coming from if the referrer is Google?

Should traffic logs give an indication of visit duration? That would at least help understand what's robots v. people ( to a degree)...

In general, we see that parked domains provide a significantly lower quality of traffic. Their performance can be anywhere from 25% to 95% lower than a typical search. It averages about 60-80% lower. (rough figures from memory)

When we have people in for usability tests within the 18-25 year old range, they are pretty savvy with these adword only sites, so they click the back button pretty quick. I guess that leaves more of your inexperienced and newbee traffic to proceed.

Also, who knows how the majority of the traffic gets to those parked domains -- Google searches, other links, paid to read programs, etc.

I don't mind Google creating an ad market for these types of sites. I'd just like them to put a separate bidding mechanism on it so we can fine tune our exposure based on results.

Thank you rjzak for sharing your experiences. Few truly understand this issue at this point. Like you, I have no problem with Google having an ad program for those sites. I object to having to choose between no Search Partner traffic and being stuck with bad search partner traffic.

Keeping advertising profitable is challenging enough with good traffic. Small businesses have to be able to predict advertising costs and returns. That was possible with Google Adwords until last November. Now it isn't.

The advice I've given advertisers in the past to set their bugdet to Google's recommended amount (out of necessity if you want your ads to be consistently displayed) is going to bite them big time if we don't take action.

Google would make far more money and I would gladly recommend clients pay them far more money by ensuring their system is profitable for advertisers. When traffic is bad businesses start losing money and must either reduce or stop advertising.

This is a really simple issue: if ads are profitable advertisers spend more and more. (If you can make $200 for every $100 you spend, how many $100s are you willing to spend?) If they are not, advertisers spend less or stop advertising altogether.