The Sleazy Ads of Google Adsense
I knew there were some pretty bad Google Adsense ads on my site, but I didn’t do anything about it.
The wake-up call came when Dawn made fun of my Buy Organic post, which made her reader Jessica check out my blog and comment that the “Asian Girls” ads are offensive. When I read Jessica’s comment, I finally came to my senses and decided to use the Adsense filter tool to block out the worst offenders.
When left alone, Adsense can become pretty wild. For your reading and viewing pleasure, here’s a quick look at a few of the ads that I blocked.
Meet Thin Women!
This one occupied the banner ad space on my post Empowering Our Daughters. How appropriate.
Meet Korean Girls!
I blocked many more “dating” websites over the past few weeks.
CatchHimAndKeepHim.com - Becasue Men Are Slippery
Cure Your Yeast Infection
Umm, not on my blog.
Women are Either Naughty Or Nice
Right now, there are around 100 sleazy sites on my Adsense “black list”, among them:
Brazil Cupid
Date a Millionaire
Female Finder
Filipina Heart
Sugar Daddie
And the list keeps growing.
Here is one that is going to stay:
Because it’s weird, but not offensive. I hope.
Related reading:
When Google Adsense Doesn’t Provide Relevant Ads
Google Adsense and You. And Us. And Older Women.
Image by Unkoine
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Alik | PracticeThis.com responds:
Posted: May 29th, 2008 at 4:36 am →
Vered,
You are full of surprises.
alikl
Joel Falconer responds:
Posted: May 29th, 2008 at 6:10 am →
It’s one of those annoying rinse-and-repeat situations where you just have to block each advertiser as you notice them! Irritating and inefficient - there should be a setting for this kind of thing.
Someone’s bound to be offended by the kabbalah ads, you always get fundies crawling the web! But what can you do?
Suzie responds:
Posted: May 29th, 2008 at 6:57 am →
Now I gotta know what are those three items?
The Other Dawn responds:
Posted: May 29th, 2008 at 7:00 am →
Wasn’t making fun. Was smacking self on forehead. These ads are a hoot.
I can see where Jessica was coming from, but I also don’t really take all of that ad business too seriously, either. I get the ideology behind being offended, but I just don’t think it washes. It’s not really that big a deal, ya know? Or maybe I have a small brain and can’t think about all that and also remember to match my socks.
That’s actually a more likely reason.
Ann responds:
Posted: May 29th, 2008 at 7:03 am →
I’ve been wondering how this works. I don’t have ads yet, but I have seen many, many around the web that I would never want on my site.
Joel is right, how inefficient that you have to block as you go.
Thanks Vered for being vigilant about what appears on your site - there are plenty of offensive ads we can’t avoid!
Ann
Chris responds:
Posted: May 29th, 2008 at 8:55 am →
This is one of the reasons why I’m very carefull with what goes on my blog. It’s not so much that I’m afraid of offending anyone, it’s more a case of my children and some of my students read my blog.
Other than that, I just laugh, even the very offensive ones. I weird that way.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: May 29th, 2008 at 9:02 am →
@ Alik: I would certainly hope so. My biggest fear is to be BORING.
@ Joel: I do find it highly inefficient. It’s a lot of work! Agree on the kabbalah ads, but I have to stop somewhere or it will turn into a full time job.
@ Suzie: trust me, you don’t want to know.
@ Dawn: I loved how you made fun of me. I thought it was hilarious.
Sometimes I do take myself, and this blog, too seriously. Re ads, I usually don’t notice them – on other blogs too – it’s like my brain has learned to filter them out.
@ Ann: Adsense is a joke… most small-to-medium blogs earn no more than pocket change from these ads.
@ Chris: I laughed too - not weird at all - until I realized that ads COULD offend others. That’s when I started filtering mine.
Hunter Nuttall responds:
Posted: May 29th, 2008 at 9:40 am →
And I thought you would be happy they said “thin” instead of “anorexic!” BTW, which of those women is the “nice” one? They both look too naughty for this blog.
Miranda responds:
Posted: May 29th, 2008 at 10:05 am →
Great catch! Now I’m going to check my blogs…
Pinay Jade responds:
Posted: May 29th, 2008 at 10:32 am →
Haha I actually took down my adsense because of the sleazy ads and also coz I wasn’t earning a dime on it …
ironman responds:
Posted: May 29th, 2008 at 10:37 am →
“because men are slippery”
Those ARE sleazy. Glad you’re filtering them out, the site just wouldn’t look good with this kind of crap.
Marelisa responds:
Posted: May 29th, 2008 at 12:52 pm →
If I stumble upon a site I’ve never been to before and I see a sleazy ad, I immediately think I Ianded in some “yucky” place and I leave (it’s amazing how much smut there’s on the internet). From the ads that you mention above it looks like there’s a lot of lonely people out there (with yeast infections and reading the Kabbalah
)
Amanda - The Mom Crowd responds:
Posted: May 29th, 2008 at 1:31 pm →
Thanks for filtering them out for us.
I always thought that Google Ads were some of the sleaziest ads. It seems that you have to be diligent to use their filter system. That is why I joined the BlogHer Ad Network none of their ads are offensive. But I have sometimes wondered if I would earn more money with Google Ads instead.
I have learned to just laugh at the Google Ads like some of the other commenters.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: May 29th, 2008 at 2:07 pm →
@ Hunter: yeah, at least they used “thin” and not “anorexic”. Not sure about the women, although I agree that they both seem a little out of place on my G-rated blog.
@ Pinay: Adsense earnings, for a small/ medium size blog, are rodiculous. I agree.
@ ironman: yes, that word that you used – I was thinking that.
@ “it looks like there’s a lot of lonely people out there (with yeast infections and reading the Kabbalah)” – lol I guess there are.
@ Amanda: I need to look at BlogHer ads. I don’t think you would earn more with Adsense, but I am going to research it some more.
phyllis responds:
Posted: May 29th, 2008 at 9:09 pm →
lol…this is really funny. i’m amused that you could look at the ones you *don’t* want and filter them out. this is why i don’t have adsense. i’ve considered it but just don’t need the worry….i do have blogher ads and they’re always very appropriate.
Evelyn Lim | Attraction Mind Map responds:
Posted: May 30th, 2008 at 6:41 am →
Hi Vered, I’m just wondering if you will have less of a problem with text links. You may also want to pay attention to the keyword phrases that you use.
At least now, you are now alerted to the type of banner ads that your site is being served. Do take them away! Your ability to laugh off your experience, is most endearing!
Tom Stine | Living from Consciousness responds:
Posted: May 30th, 2008 at 9:53 am →
I’m SO glad I’ve avoided advertising on my site thus far. I’ve thought about it, but I really don’t want some of that garbage. I can’t believe sugar daddie showed upon your site! I read an article a few months back that mentioned it and, well, Eliot Spitzer might have been a client. *wink wink*
Good luck, Vered!
Barbara Swafford responds:
Posted: May 30th, 2008 at 12:01 pm →
Hi Vered,
With AdSense using keywords to place their ads, we never know what we’ll get. I visit a blog and the author write about her daughter “Peanut”, so she gets ads for peanuts.
When we blog, we’re usually writing from our hearts, and don’t give a second thought to AdSense. It makes it even more difficult when we have to start self censoring so the ads are appropriate.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: May 30th, 2008 at 2:32 pm →
@ phyllis: I guess I should look into BlogHer ads. Sounds like it would save me a lot of headaches.
@ Evelyn: thank you.
I do find it funny. Will look into text links as well. I do want to write whatever I want, without considering SEO or ads issues. To me, it’s part of the fun of blogging – just saying what I want. If I think too much about key pheases etc., it would feel like WORK. I already have work, this blog is for fun. 
@ Tom: thank you. Yup, sugar daddie… although I think I brought some of it on myself when I published Wealthy Men, Sexy Girls.
@ Barbara: “When we blog, we’re usually writing from our hearts, and don’t give a second thought to AdSense” – exactly. And this is very important to me. Someone discussed Search Engine Optimization with me the other day, and I just refused to listen. I am writing the corporate blog for the company I work with, and I am more than willing to do SEO stuff there, but here? No thanks. Here I want to write from the heart.
Points of Interest for the 31st of May, 2008 | Joel Falconer responds:
Posted: May 30th, 2008 at 7:52 pm →
[…] The Sleazy Ads of Google Adsense by Vered: I knew there were some pretty bad Google Adsense ads on my site, but I didn’t do anything about it. […]
J.D. Meier responds:
Posted: May 30th, 2008 at 10:38 pm →
Good focus on user experience.
CharlesP responds:
Posted: May 31st, 2008 at 6:05 am →
It has been a while since I tweaked adsense settings on any of my sites, but isn’t there a “rating” checkbox to avoid certain categories or content levels somewhere? (instead of just having to block specific ads). *goes to log into adsense to see what he can find*
CharlesP responds:
Posted: May 31st, 2008 at 7:08 am →
Well, that was fruitless. Though I guess I haven’t hit it AS much on my sites as I tend to go for the text-only settings (and most of the sleezy ones are image based).
MomGrind responds:
Posted: May 31st, 2008 at 12:10 pm →
@ Charles: I wish I could just check if I wanted “sleazy” or “respectable” ads on my site, but I don’t think this option is available.
I agree that image ads are more problematic.
Shilpan | successsoul.com responds:
Posted: May 31st, 2008 at 10:26 pm →
Vered,
You’ve a knack of opening a can of worm.
I never knew that ad sense is add…sense
I have seen some blogs with spiritual content with side bar full of hot girls. I always wondered how can someone allow offensive content to be displayed to earn $$$ by jeopardizing their reputation? Thanks for bringing this issue in the lime light.
Shilpan
Shilpan | successsoul.coms last blog post..How I Transformed My Life with These 5 Simple Thoughts
crunchy carpets responds:
Posted: June 1st, 2008 at 11:57 am →
I have been pretty lucky with the ads..they have been bizarre but not too sleazy..nobody has called me on them yet anyway..but yeah…it is NOT worth the 2 cents.
Hyrcan responds:
Posted: June 17th, 2008 at 11:02 am →
I’m working on a project that I’m soon to launch, and google ads just arn’t going to cut it. I ran some tests and found the same outcome that you’re experiencing here. Google, i know, is basing the ads on content and what keywords the advertisers are paying to be displayed on, but it’s obviously pretty doubtful that the people interested in this site (or in the project I’m working on) are interested in those ads, and because you can’t opt out of a “type” of ad, you constantly have to add advertisers to the ignore list.
I found a alternative one for my project…but then lost the address *facepalm* I’m sure I’ll find it again.
I’ll second…er…third?… um… yeah… BlogHer ads, a friend of mine uses those. Same folks that bring you BlogHer, the ads seem to have some actual thought behind them. May beat the hassle of constantly adding new advertisers to the ignore list.
Though, it sometimes seems it’s all household/kitchen-y ads… of course her website is all about reviewing convenience food over at Heat Eat Review so that might have something to do with it.
Hyrcan’s last blog post..Change?
MomGrind responds:
Posted: June 17th, 2008 at 4:21 pm →
@ Shilpan: There’s a fine line between monetizing your site and selling out.
@ Crunchy: “bizarre” – yup. Many of them are just that.
@ Hyrcan: “and because you can’t opt out of a “type” of ad, you constantly have to add advertisers to the ignore list.” – and I recently discovered that this list is limited to no more than 200 entries so that’s another problem. I’m guessing that at some point I will be so fed up with Adsense that I will change to BlogHer ads.