AdSense for Domains on the AdWords Search Network

I recently wrote a post about the intersection of parked domains and search advertising (on AdWords Help Experts). I argue that the way Google has implemented the AdSense for Domains program blends contextual advertising with search advertising. This, not the potential quality of parked domain traffic, is why I choose to block AdSense for Domains traffic for any AdWords search advertising campaigns. Apparently, someone at Google understands this and included some honest text in the Ad Traffic Quality Resource Center Glossary entry for AdSense for Domains:



That section I've outlined in red needs to be understood by all AdWords advertisers (emphasis mine):

Note that certain domain park sites may include a search box to help users refine their search. Alternatively, the domain park may include certain highlighted words that act as search queries once users click on the highlighted word. At times, this may result in a sudden surge in clicks for keywords that do not generally accrue any clicks.

When you are attempting to buy pure search advertising, not blended with contextual advertising, you don't want your ads to be displayed for sites that mimic search queries. You want genuine search queries, where the potential customer is actively typing keywords searches, not clicking on links. That's contextual advertising.

So, to the person at Google who wrote that honest documentation, thank you! Likewise, thank you to Shuman and whoever else at Google was involved in implementing the AdSense for Domains opt out feature. Use it when you are not running contextual ad campaigns.

Tags: adsense, domains, adwords, search, network