There, whether it's
wanted - or not

Having officially launched its "Advertise on this site" program last month, a couple of months after rumors of the feature first emerged, Google's link, which now appears next to all its placements on publishers using AdSense, has begun to rile up some publishers, who have effectively been opted in to the "site targeting" program that lets advertisers target specific sites.

One problem, in the eyes of complaining publishers, is that Google is essentially taking away advertisers from them.

That is, when potential advertisers click on the "Advertise on this site" link, they're not necessarily (depending on the site) presented with the opportunity to advertise on that site; rather, they end up here, on the general AdWords page, where they'll be offered a list of sites Google deems relevant based on keywords they enter.

The second problem is that because many publishers sell their own ads and also have AdSense hooked in, the Google-promoting links make it seem as though Google IS the sales department, thus luring away potential advertisers and subverting publishers' internal sales efforts.

On various search bulletin board this morning, there has been some confusion regarding whether there is an ability to opt out:

- www.threadwatch.org/node/4071
- www.threadwatch.org/node/4729
- forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=8152