CONFLICTED VALUES AT GOOGLE

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Can pornography be more "moral" than gambling?

The respected British publication New Media Age uncovered some puzzling conflicts in moral values on the Google search facility this week when it compared search results for porno sites with those for gambling.

NMA staffers found that on a search for 'hardcore porn' on Google they were presented with a wide range of selections in both natural and paid results. However, when they searched for 'horserace bet' life suddenly became more complex and difficult. Market leaders like Ladbrokes and William Hill were found to be high in natural search but nowhere in the paid-search results.

"For such is the bizarre Google moral code," notes the NMA. "Gambling firms are barred from bidding on search terms, whereas such illustrious brands as Max Hardcore are welcomed with open arms."

The NMA piece goes on to reveal that both the UK gambling and search industries have issued strident calls for Google to change its policy. Quoting Mark Davies, MD of corporate affairs at Betfair, the article points out, "It's a curious place to draw the line if their reasoning is morality."

"It's especially incongruous as, unlike the US where online gambling is effectively illegal, the UK has introduced the most relaxed regulation of gambling to date.

"It's also singularly ineffective. Google does accept paid-search bidding from affiliates that direct consumers to gambling sites. And the policy does nothing to affect search optimisation. All it does is cut off a potentially enormous revenue stream for both SEMs and Google, and force reputable companies to look for loopholes in the system. For the GBP 42 billion-a-year gambling industry, it cuts off one of the most effective online ad media," the article explains.

NMA notes that the UK gambling industry is about to be revitalised by being allowed to advertise on TV from September, following the introduction of the Gambling Act 2005.

"So we're in the frustrating situation where an online ad industry - almost 60 percent of which is search advertising according to last month's IAB report - increasingly winning ad-spend share from TV is being held back by one of its largest players, Google. Why isn't the IAB lobbying to address this anomaly?" NMA asks.

In fact, the relaxation of TV advertising will only compound this issue, the article concludes. "Agencies are increasingly finding evidence of how TV ads and search work in tandem. An effective TV spot will often lead to a spike in search traffic. High-impact TV creative is merely the start of a consumer's journey with a brand, a journey continued, and often fulfilled, online. From September, this will be a disappointing journey on Google. For competitors like Microsoft, desperate to break Google's search stranglehold, this could be a lucrative opportunity."