Google Ads
Google Ads is an online advertising platform developed by Google, where advertisers bid to display brief advertisements, service offerings, product listings, and videos to web users.[2] It can place ads in the results of search engines like Google Search (the Google Search Network), mobile apps, videos, and on non-search websites.[3][4] Services are offered under a pay-per-click (PPC) pricing model.
This article is about the Google service aimed at advertisers. For the Google service aimed at publishers, see AdSense.Other names
Google Ads is the main source of revenue for Alphabet Inc., contributing US$224.47 billion in revenue in 2022.
Google Consent Mode[edit]
The introduction of Google Consent Mode in 2020 represents an effort by Google to navigate the complex intersection of aggressive digital advertising strategies and the stringent global data privacy standards that regulate them. This feature, which allows advertisers on the Google Ads platform to adjust how cookies are utilized based on user consent, is a response to heightened privacy expectations and legal frameworks such as the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).[41]
While Google presents Consent Mode as a tool that enables advertisers to maintain compliance with privacy laws while minimizing disruption to targeted advertising, its effectiveness and genuineness in protecting user privacy have been subjects of debate. Critics argue that while the tool ostensibly supports compliance, it also allows Google to maintain its dominant position in the digital advertising market by providing a mechanism that superficially addresses privacy concerns without significantly altering the underlying data collection practices.
Moreover, the introduction of advanced features in Consent Mode V2 in late 2023, which includes more granular controls over data usage and conversion modeling based on artificial intelligence, raises further questions. These enhancements aim to mitigate data loss from users who opt out of tracking, thus preserving the efficacy of Google Ads. However, they also underscore the ongoing tension between user privacy and the business imperatives of digital advertising, highlighting the challenges in achieving a true balance between the two.[42]
In this context, Google Consent Mode can be seen both as a strategic adaptation to regulatory pressures and as part of a broader industry trend towards more nuanced data handling practices. Nonetheless, the extent to which these changes genuinely benefit users, as opposed to primarily aiding advertisers and platforms like Google, remains a critical area for scrutiny.[43]
Technology[edit]
The AdWords system was initially implemented on top of the MySQL database engine. After the system had been launched, management decided to use Oracle instead but was eventually reverted to MySQL after the system became much slower.[44] Eventually, Google developed a custom distributed Relational database (RD) known as Google Spanner specifically for the needs of the ad business. The interface offers Spreadsheet Editing, Search Query Reports, and conversion metrics.[45]
Controversies[edit]
Trademarked keywords[edit]
Google has come under fire for allowing AdWords advertisers to bid on trademarked keywords.[56] In 2004, Google started allowing advertisers to bid on a wide variety of search terms in the US and Canada, including trademarks of their competitors[57] and in May 2008 expanded this policy to the UK and Ireland. Until 2023, advertisers were restricted from using other companies' trademarks in their advertisement text if the trademark has been registered with Advertising Legal Support team.[58]
In March 2010, Google was involved with a trademark infringement case involving three French companies that own Louis Vuitton trademarks.[59] The lawsuit concerned if Google was responsible for advertisers purchasing keywords that violate trademark infringement. Ultimately, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Google AdWords were "not a breach of EU trademark law, but that the content of some advertisements that are linked by Google keywords may well be in breach depending upon the particular facts of the case."[60] Additionally, in some American jurisdictions, the use of a person's name as a keyword for advertising or trade purposes without the person's consent[61] has raised Right to Privacy concerns.[62]
In 2013, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held in 1-800 Contacts, Inc. v. Lens.com, Inc. that online contact lens seller Lens.com did not commit trademark infringement when it purchased AdWords and other search advertisements using competitor 1-800 Contacts' federally registered 1800 CONTACTS trademark as a keyword.[63] In August 2016, the Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative complaint against 1-800 Contacts alleging that its search advertising trademark enforcement practices have unreasonably restrained competition in violation of the FTC Act. 1-800 Contacts has denied all wrongdoing and is scheduled to appear before an FTC administrative law judge in April 2017.[64]
IT support ban[edit]
In 2018, Google implemented a policy change that restricts the advertising of consumer technical support, including services related to troubleshooting, security, virus removal, internet connectivity, online accounts (such as password resets or login support), or software installation",[65][66] Google's Director of Global Product Policy, David Graff stated that the policy was intended to "address abuse" and "fraudulent activity" from third-party technical support providers, and that a verification program for legitimate providers would be rolled out "in the coming months".[67] This is yet to manifest, resulting in an effective ban on all IT support and repair related services on the Google Ads platform.[68] Commentators have expressed concerns that this is an attempt by Google to stifle consumers' right to repair electronic devices.[68][69]
Use by fossil fuel companies for greenwashing[edit]
Fossil fuel companies, funders and public relations agencies including ExxonMobil, Shell, Aramco, McKinsey, and Goldman Sachs are among the largest customers of Google Ads. One in five Google Ads for climate-related terms (e.g. net zero, carbon storage, carbon capture and energy transition) were paid by fossil fuel companies. A study by The Guardian and InfluenceMap found that Shell's ads appeared on 86% of searches for "net zero". Over half of users in a 2020 survey could not tell the difference between a normal Google result and a Google Ad.[70] One of the study's authors, InfluenceMap stated "Google is letting groups with a vested interest in the continued use of fossil fuels pay to influence the resources people receive when they are trying to educate themselves. The oil and gas sector has moved away from contesting the science of climate change and now instead seeks to influence public discussions about decarbonization in its favor."[70]
Anti-abortion clinics[edit]
A report conducted by the Tech Transparency Project found that women from low-income areas in US cities are more likely to be targeted by anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers than women in wealthier areas of the city. Many of these crisis centers have portrayed themselves as abortion clinics while advocating anti-abortion measures for pregnant women.[71]
The research was conducted in Atlanta, Miami, and Phoenix with women from three different income brackets, using the phrases "abortion clinic near me" and "I want an abortion." According to the results, Phoenix showed a 16% increase in crisis center recommendations from low to middle income, while there was a 49% difference when compared to high-income areas.[72][73]