Google's Miserable Failure

Distribution fraud is Google's miserable failure. This particular post is a continuation from AdWords Advice: Ban Parked Domains in Search Advertising Campaigns. Please read that before the rest of this post. If you want background going back a couple of years, start with this very detailed post: Not Search Engine Spam. The fact that Google has been well aware of this problem for years is part of their miserable failure.

There are two key reasons I'm calling distribution fraud Google's miserable failure:

1. Google's failure to protect advertisers from fraud
2. Google's failure to organize the world's information

Let's start with point #2. Google has declared that its core mission is "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." However, there is some information they are well aware of but have chosen to hide, in the reports they provide to AdWords advertisers:



How does Google explain the decision to detail clicks from individual domains on their pay per click advertising network but to hide the individual parked domains from advertisers? Over nine months ago, they said (emphasis mine):

The Placement Performance report provides site-by-site performance metrics -- including clicks, impressions, cost, and conversion data -- for domains or URLs in the content network where your ads have appeared. The report also provides a new level of transparency for traffic you accrued from sites in our network that are participating in the AdSense for domains program. Currently, AdSense for domains statistics are collectively reported, but we are working to give you site-by-site level statistics soon.

After almost a year, they still haven't organized this information for advertisers! That's a miserable failure. For a company that develops new products and services at the pace that Google does, this is a stunning failure. I'm not convinced they will ever complete their mission. So, I'll organize some of this information for them. I wanted to know the source of these 916 clicks from parked domains on the search network (NOTE: content network was OFF for this campaign):



I dug through web server log files to find the origin of these clicks. I was stunned to see where they came from. To borrow a phrase from renowned domainer, Frank Schilling, it will "blow your hair back" to see the high quantity but very low quality of these domain names. Here's a sample of the garbage traffic on the Google AdWords *SEARCH* network:

• 555sss.com
• abtanet.com
• allinz.com
• amazingpornstrar.net
• amexassurance.com
• autohu.com
• b.com.cn
• babrie.com
• bodjoj.com
• buding.cn
• clikjogos.com
• europassist.com
• iaj.cn
• infotube.tv
• jshopper.com
• manullife.com
• noo.net
• roter.com
• sekstutkunu.com
• sexpaty.tv
• specialityrisk.com
• thaionlinemaket.com
• topmusicasnet.com
• travelgaurd.com
• tubou.cn
• tutkusu.com
• ufeng.net
• wuae.cn
• wwwbmg.com
• xirin.cn
• xise.com.cn
• zfotoz.com
• zoili.com
• zzxxx.com

Now do you understand why Google has a miserable failure on their hands? Can you believe advertisers are unwittingly paying for this, for lack of a better term, crap? Can you see why Google chooses to aggregate domain ads clicks in reports rather than detail individual parked domain names? Domainers, can you see why PPC advertisers are wary of parked domains? These are not generic keyword domains. These don't belong on the AdWords search network. I don't think they even belong on the content network. For this reason, I repeat my advice to block parked domains on the search network.

I honestly cannot believe that Google turns a blind eye to this sort of garbage traffic on their own advertising network. They claim to sift through their log files to help prevent fraud. Don't they see this traffic? Note that the actual parked domains are not visible in the log files. All of the clicks are routed through complex URLs with domain names like:

• searchportal.dnparking.com
• searchportal.doma1nsponsor.com
• searchportal.information.com (click to see detailed examples)
  

I think someone at Google recognizes they have a miserable failure on their hands. They simply cannot fulfill their mission to organize the world's information because that would reveal the fact that Google is profiting from typosquatting. Instead, they've decided to let advertisers opt out of AdSense for Domains traffic. Unfortunately, that means advertisers will be losing some good traffic from valuable generic keyword domains. It also doesn't go far enough. Google should apologize for their wrongdoing, proactively issue retroactive refunds for this garbage traffic, and keep search network traffic clean going forward.

What do you think? Is this a miserable failure or something else?

Apogee Tags: google, miserable failure, distribution fraud, pay per click, advertising, adwords, adsense for domains