Dan Friedman from AdSense Product Marketing just published a new case study on the Official Adsense blog that shares how GrownUpGeek.com doubled the Adsense income by optimizing the implementation of Firefox Referral buttons on their website.
By adding a referral button to his site, Brown realized he could direct users to Firefox with the Google Toolbar. When a referral connects a user to Firefox, Google pays Brown each time.This Adsense case study has left us perplexed. If we understand the Adsense Program Policies correctly, the site mentioned above is violating some of those rules.
Before we go further, here's a quick recap of Adsense Policies:
» Referral buttons are considered to be 'Google ads' for purposes of these program policies.
» No Google ad may be placed on pages published specifically for the purpose of showing ads, whether or not the page content is relevant.
» Publishers may not label the ads with text other than "sponsored links" or "advertisements." This includes any text directly above our ads that could be confused with, or attempt to be associated with Google ads.
» Web pages may not include incentives of any kind for users to click on ads. This includes encouraging users to click on the ads or to visit the advertisers' sites as well as drawing any undue attention to the ads. Now let's take a quick look at the site in question and why we think it may be violating Adsense TOS.
1. There is a specific page on the site designed for downloading Firefox browser using the Adsense referral button violating rule 2 above.
2. The text just above the Firefox download button says - "Click the button below to download for free" - violating rules 3 and 4 above.
Can anyone throw light here. The Firefox referral button on the front page is in absolute agreement with Adsense policies but the inner page causes all the confusion. Maybe our understanding of the Adsense referral policies is wrong or Google overlooked that.
Still, if anyone plans to implement Firefox referrals just like this site has done, we strongly suggest that you take prior approval from Google Adsense Support.
Read our previous Adsense case studies - Scott Hanselman, Guy Kawasaki, Rashmi Bansal
Update: Randy Brown, site owner of GrownUpGeek.com, just wrote back saying he has confirmed with Dan Friedman at Google that directing attention to the referrals in this way IS acceptable. He also points to the following referral tip from Google support website
Actively endorse the products you refer. Unlike with AdSense for content ads, we encourage you to endorse referral products by calling attention to the button or text link. If you believe in the quality of the product that you're referring, feel free to let your users know!Proves that our understanding of the Adsense product referral program rules was not correct. Unlike contextual Adsense ads, here you may use text like "click to download" nears the referral buttons.
Reader Comments
I too was astonished when I read the case study some time back
It was a clear violation of policies (or may be he got prior approval)
Written on 9/1/07 6:29 AM
I spot tons of similar discrepancies about google adsense, adwords, overture, ebay and many other "tools" I use to scrape a living online.
I never post about them on the net as I fear for my own accounts with these massive companies, eg: sh#t stirring can be dangerous and may lead to your account getting terminated. So I say nothing. One thing's for sure: nothing is solid on the net, and there are many situations opposite to the one you covered here: some people going the extra leg to make sure they break no rules whatsoever and yet they end up losing their account over nothing, imagine, someone might not like what you have written here, this person might grab your pub code and use it on some 350 all-rule-breaking adsense websites. Poof! your adsense account goes up in smoke.
Written on 9/1/07 9:00 AM
Didnt Adsense clarify those rules by allowing you to direct attention to referrals in this post:
https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=43870&topic=8972
Specifically, point #1 which reads:
# Actively endorse the products you refer. Unlike with AdSense for content ads, we encourage you to endorse referral products by calling attention to the button or text link. If you believe in the quality of the product that you're referring, feel free to let your users know! Of course, in line with our policies, you may not click your own ads nor encourage conversions for deceitful reasons.
Written on 9/1/07 11:11 AM
way to go. it was one thing "advising" blogs on how to "improve" their adsense, now you are just bugging bloggers.
Written on 9/1/07 11:35 AM
"now you are just bugging bloggers.."
why do you think so ?
Written on 9/1/07 12:16 PM
excellent man... 1 of the best blog entry i hv ever read...
Written on 9/1/07 12:18 PM
I do not think this post as bugging.. but rather you need to break a few rules these days to be seen.
Written on 10/1/07 7:02 PM
There is no violation. Because Adsense encourages people to point refferals. You can make pages, as I did one, and you can explain why you offer people to download Firefox or Picasa...
Written on 25/2/07 2:43 AM