Google Gone

      60 Comments on Google Gone

I finally dumped our Google reserved spots after readers alerted me that ads for lap-band surgery were appearing in one of them.

That’s the problem with Google’s ad-placement software:  if I write about the horrors of bariatric surgery, we get ads for bariatric surgery showing up.  If I write about the damage caused by high-fructose corn syrup, those annoying “Sweet Surprise” ads show up.  If I write a post explaining why the hypothesis that high cholesterol causes heart disease is bogus, the Google spots will display ads for Foods That Lower Your Cholesterol!

I kept hoping someone or some piece of intelligent software at Google would recognize that I often write about products and services I urge people to avoid and adjust the ads accordingly.  Apparently that will never happen.

I’ve turned down advertisers who wanted to buy space to promote products I don’t buy and wouldn’t recommend — low-carb junk foods and suchlike — so if Google is going to keep placing ads for products and services I would never intentionally promote, it’s time to live without their monthly checks.

The items I do actively promote here — DVDs and the tee-shirt we produced ourselves — are selling quite briskly, so thank you all very much for the ongoing support.  Every time we sit down to fill a slew of new orders, we feel blessed.


If you enjoy my posts, please consider a small donation to the Fat Head Kids GoFundMe campaign.
Share

60 thoughts on “Google Gone

  1. Denise G

    I bought Fathead on DVD, and one of the things I like best about it, is knowing it was sitting in your closet on the farm!

    They’re on shelves in my home office, but they did travel from the farm.

  2. Denise G

    I bought Fathead on DVD, and one of the things I like best about it, is knowing it was sitting in your closet on the farm!

    They’re on shelves in my home office, but they did travel from the farm.

  3. Cheese Is Not Murder

    I always enjoyed the irony of you having Pharma pay to get the truth out. Still, I ordered a t-shirt because I want to help get the message out… not because I know a few vegans it will peeve. OK, maybe that too!

    I appreciate the support. I’d rather all the income result from selling products I endorse … and of course I endorse my wife’s design on the t-shirts.

  4. Cheese Is Not Murder

    I always enjoyed the irony of you having Pharma pay to get the truth out. Still, I ordered a t-shirt because I want to help get the message out… not because I know a few vegans it will peeve. OK, maybe that too!

    I appreciate the support. I’d rather all the income result from selling products I endorse … and of course I endorse my wife’s design on the t-shirts.

  5. Brandon

    What is an example of a low carb junk food?

    Low-carb cookies made with soy flour and frankfats, low-carb dipping chips made primarily of gluten, low-carb anything full of artificial sweeteners, etc.

  6. Brandon

    What is an example of a low carb junk food?

    Low-carb cookies made with soy flour and frankfats, low-carb dipping chips made primarily of gluten, low-carb anything full of artificial sweeteners, etc.

  7. Deedle

    I feel silly referencing this website, but the system for ads they have is kind of neat. I have AdBlock because I find flashing/moving junk on my screen extremely distracting to the point of closing whole websites. However, AdBlock does not block the site-generated banner ads at the SomethingAwful forums. Users buy ads to promote other threads of interest, games they have developed, and products they’re selling. Since I read that forum, I’m naturally interested in those things.

    I don’t know how the programming works to get around AdBlock, but I actually enjoy seeing those ads. What if you sold tiny ads to other members of the paleo/primal/low-carb community to get the word out about their blogs/tumblrs/videos/etc? Obviously if I’m reading this site, I’m hungry for more information and wouldn’t at all mind seeing an ad for such things. I know you have a blogroll, but an ad for a new in-depth video, or a great new recipe site would be interesting to see and I bet a lot of people would want to click on it. This may be more work than it’s worth, but it’s just an idea 🙂

    I’d consider ads for products I believe in, but the only inquiries I’ve had from advertisers were for products I don’t use and wouldn’t endorse.

  8. Deedle

    I feel silly referencing this website, but the system for ads they have is kind of neat. I have AdBlock because I find flashing/moving junk on my screen extremely distracting to the point of closing whole websites. However, AdBlock does not block the site-generated banner ads at the SomethingAwful forums. Users buy ads to promote other threads of interest, games they have developed, and products they’re selling. Since I read that forum, I’m naturally interested in those things.

    I don’t know how the programming works to get around AdBlock, but I actually enjoy seeing those ads. What if you sold tiny ads to other members of the paleo/primal/low-carb community to get the word out about their blogs/tumblrs/videos/etc? Obviously if I’m reading this site, I’m hungry for more information and wouldn’t at all mind seeing an ad for such things. I know you have a blogroll, but an ad for a new in-depth video, or a great new recipe site would be interesting to see and I bet a lot of people would want to click on it. This may be more work than it’s worth, but it’s just an idea 🙂

    I’d consider ads for products I believe in, but the only inquiries I’ve had from advertisers were for products I don’t use and wouldn’t endorse.

Comments are closed.