Not a very long time ago Google decided to ban the use of the term “e-gold” in its PPC adverting.
Many supported this step saying that E-GOLD deserved it due to a lack of regulation while others described it as “fascism” and that it’s against free market principles. So what went wrong?

E-gold is another way of exchanging funds, it’s a form of commodity money, which allows an instant transfer of gold ownership between users and each transaction is backed up by Gold and Silver Reserve Inc.

The company has been criticized on numerous occasions due to non-reversible transactions and absence of online security which exposes its users to phishing (an attempt to criminally and fraudulently acquire sensitive information) and malware (software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner’s informed consent). As a result many online con-artists chose e-gold as a medium for their pyramid schemes and High Yield Investment Programs (HYIPs).

The result was a large number of allegations and an order by US government to block some of the account and liquidate its assets.
Despite all this the company is still in business and grows at a rate of 95K new accounts a year and regarded by many as a first provider of truly borderless global currency system independent of exchange rate variations, where you can choose a number of commodities apart from Gold (Silver, Platinum & Palladium) to back up your transactions.

In regards to Google….Its decision is very arguable, considering that it was based on an idea of preventing ponzi scams (a fraudulent investment operation that involves paying abnormally high returns out of the money paid in by subsequent investors).

E-gold is regarded by many as a currency (as it’s backed up by precious metals reserve) as much as US Dollars or Pound. So why ban it from PPC advertisement? If Google really wants to fight Online Fraud, why doesn’t it concentrates on the term “HYIP”, “e-gold investment” or just “gold investment” which can be used for the same purposes? Just look at the ad below!!!
And to be really fair, it should ban “HYIP” term as well as it triggers ads with suspicious site content, which promise sky high profits for no money.
If Google really wants to be “moral” why not start on its own territory by fighting PPC Fraud, which is booming and costing advertisers across the world millions of dollars?

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As you might expect, when it comes to internet advertising, PPC (Pay Per Click) agencies know all the dirty tricks. Corners can be cut, rules can be bent and grey areas can be wholeheartedly exploited … it all depends on how ethical the agency is and whether or not they want to play fair. As more and more companies take their advertising budgets online and away from traditional media, such as TV and print, the desperate scramble for PPC dollars has become increasingly ugly.

One such corner-cutting, rule-bending, grey-area-exploiting trick of the trade is when maverick agencies set up two or more websites for the same PPC service. The agency buys two or more similar domain names, creates two or more slightly different PPC websites, and then sets up two or more AdWords campaigns for these websites. So when Joe Bloggs types “Pay Per Click” into the Google search bar and scans the sponsored links in the search results, they see two or more sponsored link ads for the same agency.

Now everyone hates a monopoly, don’t they? It could be your corner shop or petrol station who ramp up their prices for people in the local vicinity that find it inconvenient to go elsewhere. It could be that service station, theme park or cinema that charges £5.00 for a hot dog once you’re trapped in their establishment. Or it could be Microsoft and their Windows operating system that is hated and frequently targeted by hackers all over the world. Not only are monopolies free to charge consumers whatever they like (there is no alternative), but they kill the competition and market forces that make companies and industries efficient and profitable.

I would never name-and-shame a fellow PPC agency for attempting to monopolise Google search results, but … **cough!** nudge-nudge, wink-wink … you may want to Google “Pay Per Click” and see whose doubling or even tripling up on their sponsored link ads!

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