Google ramps up efforts to collar counterfeit advertisers

In the last six months of 2010, Google shut down around 50,000 AdWords accounts that attempted to advertise counterfeit goods. In what they call a "cat-and-mouse game" Google says it has been constantly trying to improve practices to keep out "the bad guys".

"While our systems get better over time, counterfeiting remains a complex challenge, and we keep investing in anti-counterfeiting measures," said Kent Walker, Senior VP and General Counsel at Google.

"After all, a Google user duped by a fake is far less likely to click on another Google ad in the future."

So, what are these new three initiatives?

- A speeding up of the time it takes to resolve matters reported using the existing Counterfeit Good Complaints Form, first introduced in 2009, to 24 hours.

- Improved identification of websites linking to counterfeit goods (Google does not allow the placement of its ads on sites linking to counterfeit goods).

- New Help Page with information to make it easier for users and brand owners to identify counterfeit users along with forms to enable easier reporting of abuse.

"Ads for counterfeits aren't just bad for the real brand holder - they're bad for users who can end up unknowingly buying sub-standard products, and they're bad for Google too," said Walker.

Tags: AdWords, Google, search engine