Google AdWords Advertisers Now Allowed to Exclude Parked Domains

[netmeg]

A new announcement today from Google that AdWords advertisers are now able to exclude sites from their ad campaigns by topic and by category or network (Parked Domains being a network)

FYI - you could actually get this feature if you called up your account rep and requested it, but a lot of people didn't know it (or were too small to have a rep) Now they've made it self-serve.

What is not clear from the wording is whether or not this applies to just the AdSense for Google Domain Parking, or *all* parked domains that display ads from a Google feed. I think the wording is probably purposefully ambiguous, and I suspect it applies to all parked domains that receive Google ads.

Of course, the main issue (as I see it) is that they are allowing advertisers to exclude their ads from appearing on parked domains, without allowing them to see what, if any, conversions might be coming from those domains. As far as I know, all parked domains are still lumped together in the site placement reports.

What does all this mean? Given the largely negative perception of parked domains by advertisers, I expect we will see fewer ads, definitely fewer high paying ads, and possibly fewer clicks. I think we will also eventually see Yahoo do the same.

There's a huge number of smaller advertisers who still don't know or understand what the Content Network is, and won't make head nor tail of this. But they don't tend to be the big players.

My two zlotys worth.

From the Google AdWords Page:

What page types can I exclude?

The Site and Category Exclusion tool lets you prevent your ads from showing on certain types of pages. We've included a description of each page type below. Due to the quickly changing nature of the content network, we're unable to give you a list of pages in each category.

Network types
Parked domains are sites in Google's AdSense for domains network. Users are brought to parked domain sites when they enter the URL of an undeveloped webpage into a browser's address bar. There, they'll see ads relevant to the terminology in the URL they entered. The AdSense for domains network is encompassed by both the content network and the search network. If you exclude this page type, you'll exclude all parked domain sites, including the ones on the search network. Learn more.

Error pages are part of Google's AdSense for errors network. Certain users are brought to error pages when they enter a search query or unregistered URL in a browser's address bar. There, they'll see ads relevant to the search query or URL they entered. Learn more.

User-generated content
Forums are websites devoted to open discussion of a topic.
Social networks are websites offering an interactive network of friends with personal profiles.
Image-sharing pages allow users to upload and view images.
Video-sharing pages allow users to view uploaded videos.

 

[-NC-]

In theory if they blocked the parked domains, and then their revenue dipped significantly, they'd turn the parked domains back on? If their revenue didn't dip, then they were getting a bad deal anyway?

 

[netmeg]

In theory, yes, but there are too many variables to a revenue drop - without the transparency of seeing where ALL your ads are displayed, you can only guess. And the domains aren't going to be the ones getting the benefit of the doubt.

 

[matt_bodis]

The problem is that smaller advertisers will turn it off without even testing it. Therefore, they'll never know if parked domains would or wouldn't be profitable for them.

The bigger advertisers will know if they should/shouldn't advertise on parked domains. Chances are most of them will continue to.

What would be worse is if Google allowed advertisers to bid differently for parked domains than for their search networks such as Google and Ask. Then we'd really get to the bottom of the barrel.

I'm just curious how much lower the revenue within the domain industry will get. At the end it may be worth it more to go to second-tier than to stick it with Google for parking. But that's only if it continues at the path it is going.

 

[PowerUp]

Er.... I thought Google pulled the plug on Ask and has already exited the domain parking advertising arena? So..this new development shouldn't have any new impact on parked domains right?

 

[domainpark]

Interesting

We know its been coming now for a while that google had this sort of ad placement in the works.

I wonder what impact this will have on the overall ad placements of the industry as a whole.

As domainers we hope the advertisers stay within whats a still growing and evolving industry. We as a group have come a LONG way since the days of the crappy looking landers and parked pages just poping up all over the place.

I feel if advertisers were well informed on how their ads get the natural traffic, the purchased traffic( arbritrage), and knew of the overall good conversion style traffic that can come from a parked domain they'd stay with ads on a parked domain and even pay the HIGH click rates the industry overall deserves.

The industry overall has evolved and will get better everyday . The advertisers need to know this, and choose to to have the ads placed where good conversions will come!!!!!!!