Contrary to good blogging practice, this is my first post on this blog for a few weeks. Unfortunately I've been busy setting up a new business and moving to a quaint old thatched cottage in the English countryside. Many topical news stories have come and gone during my hiatus but there is one that I just cannot resist commenting on.
One of the big news stories of recent weeks was the closure of several AdSense accounts that were based on MFA (made for AdSense) sites and AdWords arbitrage. However, for me the biggest aspect of that story was the hypocrisy of AdSense guru Joel Comm when he blogged about this topic. To quote Mr. Comm:
What did those publishers do wrong?Do you see the blatant hypocrisy? No? Well, let me enlighten you. First, take a look at these 2 web sites run by Joel Comm, InstantAdSenseTemplates.com and SuperAdSenseTemplates.com. What are these sites selling? MFA web site templates! That is, Joel himself sells templates to create the very type of sites that he is disparaging in his own blog post. If that isn't hypocritical I don't know what is.
They had either built their site specifically for AdSense or they'd been practicing AdSense arbitrage (buying traffic cheaply from one place then selling it on to AdWords advertisers through their AdSense units.)
What both those practices have in common is that they put the ads ahead of the content.
That's just wrong. Google is making a good move for advertisers in drawing the line.
I'm certainly fed up clicking search results and finding myself on a page full of ad links instead of the content I want. And advertisers are fed up paying for clicks from people who aren't really interested in their services.
To make matters worse, I left a comment about this very issue on his blog but, of course, it didn't pass his moderation. That's the second time I've left a critical comment on his blog that he has refused to publish. Guess he's more concerned about protecting his online empire than actually being prepared to face honest, valid criticism.
I've had issues with Joel for quite some time (see this post and this one), now I've concluded that he's just a shallow money grabber and a hypocrite to boot.
Tags: adsense, opinion,
joel comm
7 comments:
I have to agree with you on this.
Joel is the type of guy that would sell anyone and everyone for a quick 50 cents...lol
It is scary that this type of person can be considered a "guru" and authority for many adsense information seeking people.
I guess no one pays him anymore! His books are on rapidshare!!
Nice.
Keep it up.
Don't hold back, Ian. Tell us how you really feel. :-)
Good post!
Eldon
http://www.wordpreneur.com
Too many times in my life I have learned the hard way and this is true of Joel Comm. I bought his "Getting Started with Blogging and Google AdSense" and found it outdated.
Then before I realized that his products are overpriced crap, he has no customer service, and does not bother replying to requests for refunds I spent $97 for his Monthly Templates...what a ^%%$# joke. I could have had my 10 year old daughter write those articles.
Joel Comm is a millionaire thief and I applaud you for saying so in your blog.
Too many hard working people interested in making money online will fall victim to his sales pages and spend their hard earned money on worthless crap unless people like you tell them like it is. Thank you!
Saw this on Google alerts and thought I'd correct a few things...
1) Instant AdSense Templates are NOT about MFA sites. I specfically say on the sales page that I only include FIVE articles with the templates and that you MUST create your own content. It has always been that way and will always be. The included articles are placeholders for people to demonstrate how content is placed on the site. Content is king... always will be.
2) My support desk is readily accessible at www.thehelpdesk.us. We help all my customers there. If the anonymous poster is having trouble contacting me in all likelihood they are not going through the proper channels. If you aren't happy with a product, we always make things right. Please use the support desk and we'll take care of you.
Joel
In response to Joel's comment - just because his templates contain only 5 articles doesn't meant they're not for MFA sites!! He even CALLS them ADSENSE TEMPLATES for goodness sake and is encouraging his buyers to add extra articles but solely for the purpose of earning AdSense income, which is exacly what an MFA site is! Perhaps Mr. Comm doesn't fully understand what is meant by an MFA site.
To quote the AdSense Program Policy:
"No Google ad may be placed on pages published specifically for the purpose of showing ads, whether or not the page content is relevant."
Nothing in Joel's comment contradicts the assertion that his AdSense templates have been created for the purpose of developing sites whose goal is solely to earn Adsense income.
Ian
MoneyTies.net
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