Archive for June, 2006

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AdSense TOS Forbids Search Boxes

Sunday, June 4th, 2006

In my previous post I asked if the standard AdSense for Search program TOS could be use for a browser r application search box.

According to their FAQ the answer is no:

Client Software

A site or third party cannot display our ads, search box, search results, or referral buttons as a result of the actions of any software application such as a toolbar. No Google ad, search box, or referral code may be pasted into any software application. Web pages displaying our ads, search box, search results, or referral buttons may not be loaded by any software that can trigger pop-ups, redirect users to unwanted websites, modify browser settings, or otherwise interfere with site navigation. It is your responsibility to ensure that no ad network or affiliate uses such methods to direct traffic to pages that contain your AdSense code. Accounts involved in this type of activity may be permanently disabled.

Code Modification

Any AdSense ad code, search box code, or referral code must be pasted directly into Web pages without modification. AdSense participants are not allowed to alter any portion of the ad code or change the layout, behavior, targeting, or delivery of ads for any reason.

Link: Google AdSense Program Policies

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AdSense for Search – Are any organizations monitizing on their searches?

Saturday, June 3rd, 2006

Are any organizations monitizing on their own searches? Customizing / branding a browser is easy. All the popular browsers provide kits to make it simple. Is anyone using these to generate income? Can you do it with a standard AdSense for Search account?

Its no secret that Google pays Mozilla, Opera and other browser developers for seaches that come from the little search box in your browser. The developers make millions just from that little piece of real estate.

– Its been said Mozilla earsn close to a hundred million per year with this method.
– Opera was abel to stop charging for their browser, because they earned more on search.
– Google just signed a deal with Dell to buy the search box on those PCs.

Obviously an individual won’t earn that much doing this, but groups of users or mid to large sized organizations might.

For example:
– School districts, libraries, etc might be able to subsidize their IT budget with the searches of their students, patrons, teachers, etc.
– AfinitySearch: People install “afinity” browsers to support their favorite causes. (think afinity credit cards like LinuxFund. I guess you could call it “AfinitySearch”).
– Do any Linux distros modfiy their Firefox or Konquerer packages to include their own AdSense search box? or do they let that income income flow to the browsers developers?
– Companies could monitize their employee search and add additional income sources. Obviously it won’t move the bottom line that much, but it could be decent source of income. Especially in mid to large enterprises that already deploy internet custom browsers.

Take IBM for example. I’m sure they already have a custom firefox or IE browser they deploy enterprize wide. If they modified that little search box, they could be montizing the search habbits of over 300,000 employees.

There are plenty of otherways you could monitize on your organization or your users searches. I can’t be the first one to think of this. Is anyone doing it yet?

– Does the AdSens TOS agreement allow for this?
– Would google pay to be a large organization’s default search engine? Or does it only make “sense” for them to do so with the broadest customer base (PC mfgs, browser developers, popular websites)

Anyways, just some food for thought. I hope someone comments.

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