Free the hops

Google has retracted its ban on beer search ads on AdWords. Advertisers are now free to bid on beer-oriented keywords.

The move is likely an effort to avail itself to more ad revenue in a tough financial clime, Search Engine Land speculates. Google has always allowed wine and champagne ads, but not beer ads.

The official Google policy on beer, wine and champagne is that they are products "intended for the sale and consumption by adults." Ads promoting these products, while fine to display, are given a Non-FamilySafe status.

But while the beer ban's been lifted, hard alcohol and liqueurs remain Restricted Products and "cannot be promoted in ad text or be the purpose of your site" (occupying a significant portion of the site), according to the Google AdWords policy page.

Two weeks ago, Google also reversed its June '07 ban on UK-based ads related to gambling. Gambling ads have long been a no-no on American soil, though the ban was loosely enforced until late last year.

Chris Lake at E-Consultancy predicts that "if things go awry" — if Google runs into financial trouble and its stock tumbles — Adwords will grow even more liberal, perhaps including ads for banned keywords like "anabolic steroids" and "escort services."

In other efforts to keep profits up, in March Google began running video ads on search pages. And last week it quietly slipped image ads into search results.