Latest update on my “Google Slap”
As I’d written previously, I logged into my Google AdWords account late last week to find zero traffic for the day. I investigated further, and noticed that every last keyword in my entire NeverColdCall.com campaigns had been given a Quality Score of 1, based on poor landing page quality.
In other words, I’d been hit with the dreaded Google Slap!
I’m not the only one lately. Fortunately, I was able to fix my problem – the use of a pure “squeeze page,” which Google frowns upon. I simply changed it to include site navigation and company information, therefore meeting Google’s guidelines. But not everyone is so lucky….
I say that because although I was hit with the Google Slap, where all of your keywords are reduced to QS 1, thousands of AdWords advertisers have been shut down completely over the last couple of months, and even banned for life!
The reason?
Flagrant violations of the Google AdWords terms of service. You know, that button you clicked “I Agree” on when you signed up for AdWords.
The fact of the matter is that certain kinds of sites, most namely PPC arbitrage sites and affiliate “review” sites, have never really been permitted by Google. That’s where the Google Slap originated – Google’s attempt to frustrate and discourage the PPC arbitrage and affiliate “review” site crowd to cut the crap and stick with legitimate marketing.
Unfortunately, many of them didn’t get the message, and starting around September of this year, Google dropped the hammer on them. Banned. For life. And no chance of opening a new account under a different name/address/domain either. There are stories on the web of people who used a friends’s name, billing address, credit card, set up sites on entirely different domains, and even logged in with a completely different internet connection, IP address, and to be totally safe, different computers and routers since it’s suspected that Google tracks hardware mac addresses.
No go. Big Brother Google somehow always knows.
So, let this be a warning: If you’re trying to run “get rich quick” PPC arbitrage or other schemes that are outright banned by Google, the chances are that you’re going to get banned too. If you want to make money in Internet Marketing, you need to sell legitimate products through legitimate business models. “Get rich quick” was never a reality to begin with, and the enforcement group at Google AdWords is making damn sure there’s no “get rich quick” nonsense happening in their system, either.
