How to get around Google’s ban of advertising gambling sites using AdWords
We all know that you can’t advertise gambling sites using Google AdWords. So how do you get round it? Well, up until recently you could create sites that provided tips, tutorials and the like. However in June Google got wind of this and banned these sites too. So what do you do? Easy, you advertise gambling related jobs!
I searched on Google today for the term “bingo” and got this ad:
Work From Home In Bingo
Make Extra Cash Working From Home
Or in Bingo Halls. CM Jobs and More
www.BingoJobs.co.uk
As you can see the site is basically a tool for gathering email addresses from people who want to work in the bingo industry, the site says it has positions available like:
Chat Managers
Bingo Hall Attendants
Forum Managers and Posting
Bingo Callers
Editorial Writers
and many many more.
OK sounds interesting, I’m thinking of getting a part time job as a bingo caller in my local bingo hall so I sign up to the newsletter.
A few seconds letter I get my first email from BingoJobs.co.uk. Cool!!
Kieron,
Welcome to Bingojobs.co.uk. We will send a weekly email update with the latest bingo jobs and other work from home opportunities. Stay tuned for great opportunities. We’ve placed people in all sorts of online and offline positions.
CURRENT OPEN OPPORTUNITY
If you have a passion for bingo and like to chat and make new friends, BingoPort.co.uk is paying users for signing up and participating in their community.All you need to do is visit BingoPort.co.uk and register. You’ll be able to post on the forum and do other things on the site for points and redeem those points for Bingo Cash.
Visit BingoPort.co.uk now.
Watch out for more opportunities into your Inbox.Thanks,
The BingoJobs.co.uk team.
Well, as you can see the email is nothing more than a ploy to get me to go and visit BingoPort.co.uk. Funnily enough I’ve had a look at the whois records for these 2 sites and they are run by the same person, lol.
So is this clever marketing or just mis-leading? Let me know your thoughts.
What I’m listening to right now: Amerie ft Fabolous & Slim Thug - “That’s What U R”
Friday, September 21st, 2007 at 3:39 pm and is filed under Google AdWords. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Welcome to my blog. My name is Kieron Donoghue and I run UK Offer Media Ltd. I thought it would be fun to post a daily (well hopefully daily) blog, writing about my experiences in Internet Marketing and more specifically Affiliate Marketing. I'll include some personal stuff too, probably about my other passions, music and cars. Please feel free to post your comments and thoughts too.
September 21st, 2007 at 3:57 pm
I think it depends very much on whether this site does as promised, and updates you with available (real) jobs in the bingo industry.
If it does as it says on the tin, then I’ve got no problem with them also advertising a bingo site. we all know the “jobs” is a front to enable them to advertise the proper bingo site, but if they’re doing it legitimately, then good luck to them.
Of course, playing bingo and advertising bingo is perfectly legal in the UK, so we shouldn’t even have this problem, apart from of course Google likes to play nanny and tell us what we can and can’t see.
September 21st, 2007 at 5:14 pm
Firstly, I just want to agree with what John said above. Google’s gambling ban is a real pain in the posterior considering gambling is perfectly legal here. That said, I wouldn’t mind so much if they actually enforced it properly. Every weekend I see the same ads for the same bookmakers appearing on Google. Why are these Adwords accounts getting banned? Surely they can’t be signing up with a new credit card number every couple of weeks?
Anyway, bingo job websites. Is this really effective?
First you got to get people to sign up to your email - unlikely when there’s nothing on the site to suggest it is legit. Then you got to get them to respond to your email and join the bingo site.
The power of Adwords is in precisely targetting people who are in the market for what you are selling and this is putting at least two more “sells” between the Ad and the commission.
Maybe I’m underestimating. If the ad’s still running in a month’s time we can assume it’s at least not losing the guy money.
September 21st, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Yeah, as has already been mentioned - I’d like to see the click through to conversion ratio on that. If I was looking for a game of bingo, that would be the last one I clicked.
On a side note - I’ve tried getting ads to run for my bingo equipment site. Completely sales related - felts, calling machines, etc. Can I get it to get past the filters? Can I arse…
September 21st, 2007 at 7:57 pm
I thought “clever marketing or just mis-leading” was the same thing! LOL
September 21st, 2007 at 10:36 pm
Hmm, I dunno ’bout that Dio..to me there is only one way to “Make Extra Cash Working From Home” that has anything to do with Bingo, and that is to play it online.
September 24th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Seen even worse examples from the gambling industry.. Really would like to know where and how google draw the line.
October 9th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
[...] How to get around Google’s ban of advertising gambling sites using AdWords [...]
August 17th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
Yeah I’ve seen those style’s of sponsored results before,
under the keyword ‘online casinos’. Most sites that appear
on this keyword tend to be casino or poker equipment
suppliers or gaming recruitment sites, funny though when
you click through to their home page and discover online
casino/poker and other types of gambling links!