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Google

Are these social AdWords ads?

by Scott McAndrew on February 15, 2010

Google Social AdWords Ads?

I was doing some searches today to see if anything was new and exciting with how Google was handling Social Search results and saw something in the Sponsored Links results that’s new to me.  I searched for Terralever (the online marketing company I work at) and one of the AdSense results was for another local company, bluemedia.

Social Google AdWords Ads?

I haven’t seen Google Ads like this before.

These aren’t geotargeted Ads triggered by the keyword “Terralever.”  These ads are different.

Google Related To AdWords AdsRight above the top Ad there’s a heading that says “Related to bluemedia”.  That’s new to me.  I took a quick glance at the AdWords blog and didn’t see any mention of how “Related to” ads would show up.  A few Google searches later and I resigned to the fact that this must be a Google experiment as sometimes the Ads appear and sometimes they don’t.  But, there’s a bigger question here.

What’s making these ads show up?

The “Related to…” leads me to believe this is likely based on social ties between our two companies.  I can think of a few ways that Google could conclude that Terralever is related bluemedia: Our two companies follow each other on Twitter, individuals from each company link to one other on LinkedIn, each company is a Fan of the other’s Facebook Page, and so on.

Just one more reason to buy AdWords ads?

Either way, this example is pretty innocent.  We don’t compete for business with bluemedia.  We do, however, communicate and (occasionally) collaborate with competitors in our local community and beyond.  If this is a sign of a new trigger for Google displaying AdWords ads, should we tighten down our social ties, or jump in and advertise, too?  My guess, assuming this experiment goes live permanently, is that Google hopes we just buck up and buy some ads ourselves.

{ 2 comments }

1 February 2010

Google puts some more social in its search

Google Social Search Example

Last week I did an internal presentation at Terralever talking about how search engines like Google and social networking sites alike were likely both attacking the idea of extending their understanding of both information and the social graph. Today I tripped over an example of Google Social Search and recollected on the presentation. In [...]

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13 May 2009

Google introduces Search Options and Snippets to SERPs

Google updates Search

If you’re a search engine optimization (SEO) practitioner, your world is about to get more interesting. For the rest of the planet, what can be expected from Google SERPs just got a whole lot better.

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22 April 2009

Marketers and Developers: There’s (finally) a Google Analytics API

Google Analtyics API

At long last, an API for Google Analytics. It’s going to be great to see what developers and marketers team up to do now that Analytics data can be accessed without hacking.

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12 March 2009

Google announces interest-based advertising for AdSense publishers

Google interest-based advertising

Google AdSense users were notified today of the upcoming launch interest-based advertising for AdSense.

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25 February 2009

Google outs self for pay-per-post scheming

Google Japan outed by Google HQ

Google has made no secret about its feelings towards paid link building, openly attacking the practice and going so far as to set up mechanisms to allow individuals to ‘out’ those using the tactic. Apparently Google’s Japan didn’t get the memo.

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15 February 2009

Know when websites link to your site

Link Monitoring with Google Alerts

Learn when sites link to your website or a mention of your domain is made on the web with a free tool and a quick tip.

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13 February 2009

What Google tells me about Valentine’s Day shopping – Part 1

Jobless claims are on the rise, housing foreclosures are spiraling out of control and our government is at odds about what to do to straighten things out. In times like these, companies often find themselves paralyzed, trying to guess how consumers will react, and more importantly where dollars will be spent. How can search engines help us make some rational, informed marketing decisions?

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11 February 2009

Brand monitoring with Google Alerts

Brand Monitoring with Google Alerts

Alerts is another in the stable of Google Experiments which wear the “beta” badge well into their useful lifespan. Google Alerts is a free, easy to use tool that you can use to monitor brands whether your tasked with reputation management or just need to keep a finger on the pulse of an industry.

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12 December 2008

SEO/SEM presentation for download

[ Download the Presentation Slides ]
Last night I had the opportunity to present to the Social Media Club here in Phoenix.  The topic was search engine optimization and search engine marketing.  As opposed to having a deck of tactical recommendations I instead chose to talk about how I approach search engines in the work we [...]

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