Many affiliate marketers use Google AdWords to get traffic to their pages. Some indulge in arbitrage, where a cheap PPC click brings traffic that might click an AdSense ad on the landing page that delivers a greater payout per click.
A recent post in the Inside AdWords blog brings bad news to some affiliates and others who fall in these categories. They will be awarded low Quality Scores if they have:
- Data collection sites that offer free gifts, subscription services etc., in order to collect private information.
- Arbitrage sites that are designed for the sole purpose of showing ads.
- Malware sites that knowingly or unknowingly install software on a visitor’s computer.
It would be interesting to know if such sites can be determined algorithmically. How can a human determine that a site has a “sole purpose” and no more?
Google is getting serious about quality and this should silence some sceptics who say that Google doesn’t mind who clicks an ad on any site — The following types of sites will no longer quality for cheap clicks:
- eBook sites that show frequent ads
- “Get rich quick” sites
- Comparison shopping sites
- Travel aggregators
- Affiliates that don’t comply with Google affiliate guidelines.
I don’t know what is meant by a “frequent ad” — do they show ads frequently? Where? Again, this list is bound to include some advertisers who don’t see themselves as dodgy.