No body parts on Google Base
AdSense publishers are quite familiar with the AdSense program policies, which are incorporated by reference into the AdSense terms and conditions. Not surprisingly, then, that Google Base has its own set of program policies. Base's policies makes for more interesting reading than AdSense's policies, however. Apart from banning affiliate products (whoops, there goes my book promotion, I don't actually sell copies of it myself, too much of a hassle) it has these prohibitions:
- Body Parts: Posting is not permitted for the promotion of body parts or human remains. (So does this mean you can't sell beef?)
- Miracle Cures: Posting is not permitted for the promotion of miracle cures, such as “Cure cancer overnight!”. (How many days is the minimum?)
- Prostitution: Posting is not permitted for the promotion of prostitution. (What about moral prostitution?)
The list is really quite detailed, and many of the prohibitions (no illegal stuff, no drugs, etc.) are shared with AdSense. Unlike AdSense, however, the program policies don't exclude legal adult content.
It'll be interesting to see if AdSense publishers can use Google Base to drive more traffic to their sites. But the restriction on not selling via affiliate programs really cuts out a lot of people. Don't be surprised if you see “free” e-books being pushed this way, though. I see people are already using this to push traffic to their eBay listings.
Eric Giguere is the author of Make Easy Money with Google, a real (printed!) introductory AdSense book for non-technical people, available at all fine bookstores. Be sure to download the free sample chapter for more information about the book. Or add it directly to your Amazon shopping cart!
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