Hat tip to PPCblog member George for pointing this out:
Google seems to be stretching the limits of the old ’70 character’ limit with their Webmaster Tools “Google Promotions” (not “Sponsored links”) ads:
Hey, it’s their inventory and ad system, they’ll do whatever they like…
I guess when setting up the DKI (Dynamic Keyword Insertion) on these ads they don’t have to worry about putting in an alternative keyword in case the user’s search query runs too long. Must be nice:)
Andy Beard had some commentary on this early as well, looking at this tactic from the webmaster’s point of view.
I guess Google is not violating it’s own rules here. Notice how it says ‘Google promotion’ in the right corner instead of ‘sponsered link’? Well at least they’re not bidding on keywords other people are using in their accounts…oh wait 🙁
10.04.10 at 10:13 am
I find it very interesting that this ad promo uses the blue background again….this color works across all browers. The “aesthetically pleasing” hot pink doesn’t, as I grumbled about before. So Google is saying to me, “We definitely want you to be aware of this as an ad – while our earning ads are much better being confused with SERPs.”
10.05.10 at 10:13 am
same situation here in Germany, and the link in the “ad” is no normal adwords link. It’s a direct linking without the adwords tracking system.
10.06.10 at 10:07 am