Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Google Uses Public Service Ads to Link to Own Election Page

Google AdSense ads are embedded in websites all across the web. As a webmaster, you have the option to let Google display Public Service Ads when they cannot find a fitting other ad; these ads will not earn the webmaster revenue. Now, as Wirememe and Digital Inspiration report, Google links to its own election special which provides election pointers based on YouTube, Google Knol, Google Reader, and a couple of clicks further, things like Feedburner or AdSense and AdWords. “Connect with voters using dynamic ads on the world’s #1 Internet search site,” Google says in relation to AdWords.
But is Google even eligible for using the Public Service Ads spot? Google’s help page on the subject says (my emphasis), “PSAs are non-profit organization ads that are served to pages when targeted ads are unavailable, or when Google is unable to gather content from the page.”

In other recent news, Google CEO Eric Schmidt endorsed Barack Obama in the US elections, arguing that he’s doing this “personally” and that “Google is officially neutral” in the campaign. The Wall Street Journal writes that Eric Schmidt considers this endorsement of Obama “a ’natural evolution’ from his role as an informal adviser to the Obama campaign.”

[Thanks Bilal! Image by Wirememe.]

Google Uses Public Servic ... by Philipp Lenssen | Comments (3)

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