Google has shut down our advertising campaign !

[lk229]

Originally Posted by tortminder

If they won't give you a refund for unused adtime, how about rewording your ads to tout NRA membership and then contact the NRA if Google refuses that!?!

What refund? Google is a pay per click system. If they're not showing his ads, he's not paying anything!

[XDguy-Eric]

Originally Posted by lk229

What refund? Google is a pay per click system. If they're not showing his ads, he's not paying anything!

Well... Technically, they pre-charge the credit card and use that balance to pay. Then as the balance drops, they charge you again. Rinse and repeat... So, I do have a balance with them still. I do like that idea of using it for the NRA, or some other cause... Just to use it up!

[XDConvert9mm]

Originally Posted by XDguy-Eric

Well... Technically, they pre-charge the credit card and use that balance to pay. Then as the balance drops, they charge you again. Rinse and repeat... So, I do have a balance with them still. I do like that idea of using it for the NRA, or some other cause... Just to use it up!

That depends on how your campaign billing is setup. Mine is on an as used basis, not prepay.

[JBHorne]

Originally Posted by XDguy-Eric

Well, the number worked. I spoke with a rep who said that it is simply their policy to not allow any gun related material to be advertised. Both in keyword and if the non-gun related keyword leads to a gun related site.

They would not refund my money either since, "I should have known the policy". Can't argue much with that I guess... I could have read it... But, needless to say I am going to visit MSN and the others to see about campaigns there.

I asked if I could write to anyone at Google to ask about this insane policy (although I did not call it that to her) and she said, "no". HA!
She said I could only write to: adwordssupport@google.com which is who I have been writing to already with no real world results.

Basically, they said no guns, no refunds, no talkie...

BULL****. Did you sign up with a credit card? Dispute ALL charges. Done. Tell them the true reason too:
Google does not support my business and has ****ed up policies.

[Dark Knight]

Hey I like that. I will have Eric do that right now... THANK YOU for your input....

[XDguy-Eric]

Originally Posted by XDConvert9mm

That depends on how your campaign billing is setup. Mine is on an as used basis, not prepay.

Oh... I should have had us on that!

[JBHorne]

Do a google search for the word "tactical" and you get sponsored links for 5.11 products. Um...5.11 definitely manufactures "gun related" items, too.

That rule is BS.

[bigjimcalhoun]

I wonder if google would reject an ad from the "pink pistols" - a homosexual gun group. Google would be torn between guns and their political correctness.

Google routinely dumps out Republican ads but lets left wing ones stand. They celebrate diversity of everything except opinion.

[Oxycodone]

Marketing suggestions:

1. Make sure your meta information on all the pages of your site is comprehensive, with every possible word combination you can think of. For example: "XD, XDM, Springfield XD, Springfield Armory XD, XD9, XD40, XD45, parts, gun parts, xd parts, xd40 parts".... You get the idea.

2. Make sure that you mention your keywords in the actual copy of the page, as close to the top as possible.

3. Search engine spiders read from top left to bottom right. The first actual pieces of text on the site (this includes menus - they're usually text) will be considered the most important on the site. So rather than "Home" or "About Us" as the first menu item, consider just having a menu item called "XDGuys"

4. Do NOT load your site full of keywords the same color as your background. You will be flagged.

5. Add a newsletter component to your site, allowing people to opt-in. Send out a monthly or weekly newsletter/ad/specials to those who subscribe.

6. Create Flickr, myspace, and twitter accounts - this is free advertising. Post pics of your product on flickr with relevant tags. Same for youtube, if you have video.

7. Make sure you're tracking your site. Google tracking does a wonderful job, and it's free. See where your customers are coming from - not just parts of the world, but how they got to your site (search engine, referral, email...). Advertise accordingly.

8. Banner ads on community sites like this one are great. Look for high-traffic communities that are remotely related, even outdoors sites. And have a sharp ad designed for you... if you're not a designer, don't try to do this yourself.

9. Update, update, update!! Have some kind of news section on your site that can be updated frequently. Search engines look for updated sites, and that will help your ranking.

10. Make sure the file names of your pages are relevant and search engine friendly. For instance, instead of products.html, call it xd-pistol-products.html. Just dont get too long-winded with them.

[Lurch]

Now to play devils advocate against all the google-haters because of this thread, to their benefit they were the *only* major search site to fight the DOJ when they demanded them to release millions of search query information.. MSN, Yahoo, and AOL all rolled over on their backs and handed it over without a second thought.