The AdSense content game

In my previous post What is an AdSense “content page”?, I went searching for the rules that defined what Google means by “content page” in an AdSense context. As it turns out, the rules are somewhat vague. There are definite statements as to what does not qualify as a content page, but no hard rules about what is a content page. The reality, of course, is that content is often in the eye of the beholder. To put it another way, with apologies to Hormel, one person's Spam is another person's paté.

Let's focus in again on the two rules in the AdSense Program Policies that seem to be the most important:

• No Google ad may be placed on any non-content-based pages.
• No Google ad may be placed on pages published specifically for the purpose of showing ads, whether or not the page content is relevant.

The first rule is easy to understand, but hard to define. Again, what is a “non-content-based page”? The AdSense Terms and Conditions give some examples (registration thank you pages, error pages), but it's not an exhaustive list. What about link pages, are they content-based or not? I think it depends: if a page is literally just a set of links, then probably not. If the page has some descriptive text accompanying the links, then I'd call it a content page.

The second rule is kind of funny, really. This is the rule that really forbids “made for AdSense” sites. But again, specifics are lacking. A lot of sites are being developed specifically to make their owners money. Many of these are quite legitimate sites full of original content. Technically, though, these sites are in violation of the program policies because they were created specifically to make money via AdSense. A whole cottage industry (including, of course, my own book) has sprung up around AdSense and similar programs.

Given the fact that there is no a priori checking of a site's content before Google allows ads on it — other than the first site you provide upon joining the program — then it's no surprise that there are sites out there that blatantly flaunt the rules. Yes, Google checks sites for policy violations at random and when complaints are reported, but they certainly can't catch all the sites that way.

And there's the crux of the matter: obviously, Google doesn't define what a “content-based page” is because they want to let the market determine it. If a site is up and displaying ads and getting legitimate (as opposed to fraudulent) clicks, then obviously someone thinks the page has value, and by that argument the site isn't violating the spirit of the program policies, even if it may in fact be violating the letter of the law according to those two rules above.

To paraphrase Justice Potter Stewart: “I shall not today attempt to define content, but I know it when I see it.”

Eric Giguere is the author of Make Easy Money with Google, a real introductory AdSense book for non-technical people. Be sure to download the free sample chapter.

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