Google Cracks Down on Arbitragers
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Any time Google tweaks its algorithms, it sends SEOs scurrying to figure out what’s going on. The latest tweaks are no exception, even though they don’t affect Google’s organic search results. If you have a pay-per-click campaign going, though, you’ll want to keep reading.
If you've been web surfing for a while and click on search engine ads regularly, you've probably encountered "Made for AdSense" websites. These sites entice with ads or sponsored links that turn up near the top of the search results for keywords with high click through rates. When you click on the ad to visit the site, however, you are greeted by a landing page that is full of other ads and very little content. What happened? The owner of the site may pay a little money to the search engine every time his ad is clicked in Google, but he more than makes it back from the web surfers who land on his big page of advertising when they click on THOSE ads.
As a group, these folks are known as arbitragers. Google's guidelines for webmasters specifically discourage made for AdSense (MFA) websites, but the monetary rewards are still seductive. While arbitragers make money from their MFA sites - and, let's face it, so does Google - they degrade the user experience. If a searcher clicks on an ad expecting to reach a site that's highly relevant to her search and lands on a page with more ads instead, what does that tell her?
It sends a message that search engine ads can't be trusted to deliver relevant content. In the future, this web surfer will be less likely to click on ads or sponsored listings. Multiply the one web surfer by everyone who has had this experience, add to that the percentage of Google's revenue that comes from advertising, factor in the long term, and you have an equation that is not good for the search engine's eventual bottom line.
Next: Coming in for a Landing >>
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