Inapproriate google ads

Victor · 08-01-2008 10:10am #1

From time to time, I've seen some really inappropriate google ads. Some are just insensative. In a thread about a car accident, a car dealer might have an ad for "want a new car". In a thread about Kenya last week, the Kenyan tourist board was advertising holidays (I wonder if it said "there no time like now to visit Kenya").

From time to time, on PI, the ad really latches onto the keywords in the wrong way - people come to PI to resolve problems* not to make them worse - see attached ["Upload of file failed." - its a 'Married but looking' ad].

Is there some way of categorising such ads that they don't show in PI / don't show at all? I have reported it to google.

Although there is many a Marla Singer.

Cabaal · 08-01-2008 11:25am

Isn't this just the way googld ads work, the same if yoyur viewing a e-mail in gmail and they'll display what they believe to be relevent adverts to this.

How about remove google ads from PI as you don't have to be regged to post there and anywhere else, if people don't want to see the ads they register

Marksie · 08-01-2008 12:00pm

I notices the married but looking ad Victor. It was highly ironic as there were thereads in infidelity at the time.

jhegarty · 08-01-2008 12:45pm

Marksie wrote: »

I notices the married but looking ad Victor. It was highly ironic as there were thereads in infidelity at the time.

Not really ironic , the google ads system picked up on key words that told it thats what the thread is about....and then displays adds relevant to someone interested in that topic....

Victor · 08-01-2008 1:03pm

Are you saying on a thread called "Plane crashes - 200 killed" an ad with "Want to buy aircraft parts?" is acceptable?

I understand why it does it, I am saying what it is doing isn't acceptable? Google themselves carrying 'Married but looking' is fairly offensive anyway.

Peanut · 09-01-2008 7:28pm

There is no point in reporting this to Google as what you are requesting is human moderated ad placement - this isn't going to happen.

ixoy · 09-01-2008 8:20pm

Peanut wrote: »

There is no point in reporting this to Google as what you are requesting is human moderated ad placement - this isn't going to happen.

Surely reporting it and highlighting incidents would give them more examples of how their ads don't always work? It's not in their interest to annoy potential customers and I'm sure they're always fine tuning their ad selection formula.

DeVore · 09-01-2008 8:57pm

Afaik Vex does block reported ads from certain streams or accross the site. The problem is that a website simply hands over control of that area to Google and they decide what to put in that space. We can post-moderate them but we dont always see them ourselves. Try reporting the ad with the url to Vex and see if he can fix it. He may have a preferred way of reporting it, I'll ask him.

DeV.

Victor · 09-01-2008 9:27pm

Some are adultish, some silly, some just might be dubious.

There are some UK specific ads. Jesus can also save you from pornography.

http://tau2.com/?ref=8-moldova&gclid=CN7319776ZACFQxOMAodilINOA

http://www.sunshineworld.co.uk/Henweekends.html?gclid=CIPRg_r66ZACFQtIMAodOk9tPQ

http://partyinbournemouth.co.uk/?gclid=CLfyhIn76ZACFQiKMAodwGFKQQ

http://www.meetic.co.uk/signup/landing.php?mtcmk=085003&gclid=CIGIidb86ZACFQpOMAodjW63Og

http://www.mate1.com/profiles/me/step_1sr?sid=59f6916526c7ca17

Victor · 09-01-2008 9:37pm

"Married Dating
Married But Want More Fun? Meet Hot Local Married Women Now"

http://www.marriedflirts.net/

One of those girls looks mid-teens. And there is no way Newbridge women look like some of the rest.

Peanut · 09-01-2008 9:52pm

ixoy wrote: »

Surely reporting it and highlighting incidents would give them more examples of how their ads don't always work? It's not in their interest to annoy potential customers and I'm sure they're always fine tuning their ad selection formula.

The problem is that one ad might be ok in a certain context, but not in another.
Now trying to automatically decipher what the context of a page is, is not a trivial matter. They could try it, but it would probably be like a bad spam filter, working less than half of the time.

For ads that are just plain dodgy in any context, that's a different story..

Hobbes · 10-01-2008 6:49am

I doubt google is a fully manual system. They have some kind of lingustic analysis system most likely and when you flag it the keywords weights change based on URL and other words used on the page.

At least that is what I would do.

So reporting them works.

Peanut · 10-01-2008 6:07pm

True, they could block display of the ad per URL/domain after it's reported.

It still more than likely won't prevent it appearing in similar inappropriate contexts on other sites/URLs, i.e., they can't block inappropriate ads by default.

Sorry, I got the mistaken impression that the OP was asking "Why can't they do this automatically?".