The European Commision Puts Google on Spotlight For AdSense's Panda 4.0 Algorithm and Other Changes

Google has been on EU's cross hairs for last one and half years and so far has been fined a total 6.76 billion euros ($7.7 billion) for favoring its comparison shopping service and for leveraging Google's own Android mobile operating system to further its search engine market power.

Now the European Commission is wrapping up a third case which involves Google’s AdSense advertising service. This case was brought about by a complaint by U.S. search and advertising company Yelp (YELP.N) and other competitors in travel, restaurant and accommodation industries.

EU authority sent questionnaires to Google competitors last month, requesting information on the Google’s practices and the impact on their services between January 2012 to December 2017. The focus is on the

search algorithm changes introduced by Google, including the introduction of its Panda 4.0 algorithm. Also among the questions were, if Google’s introduction of the Local Universal or One Box had a substantial impact on their local search services. Local Universal handles hotel ads and One Box is a tool for local businesses to get more visibility in Google search results.

Via Reuters.

Methbot and 3ve Taken Down by FBI With The Aid of Google and WhiteOps

Two global botnets, Methbot and 3ve have completely been shutdown and the culprits have been identified. Of the two botnets, the Methbot was shutdown in December 2016. 3ve, pronounced Eve was shutdown by the recent operations.
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The DOJ unsealed the indictments on Tuesday. They were against eight people from Russia and Kazakhstan accused of running the schemes, who bilked millions of dollars out of the advertisers of all levels over several years.
The FBI, collaborated with White Ops, Google and a group of other ad tech companies to detect and demolish the operations. Methbot was shut down in December 2016, close to the time White Ops went public with the more than 4,000 compromised IP addresses involved in the plot.

Sandeep Swadia, the CEO of White Ops, called it a “very complex, ever-shifting maze,” while Scott Spencer, a Google product manager, labeled it a “multiheaded beast” in exclusive interviews with BuzzFeed News.

The accused are Aleksandr Zhukov, Boris Timokhin, Mikhail Andreev, Denis Avdeev, Dmitry Novikov, Sergey Ovsyannikov, Aleksandr Isaev, and Yevgeniy Timchenko. Three of the men have been arrested and are awaiting extradition to the United States, while the rest remain at large. The details are available here.
One could get more information on this complex issue at the Buzzfeed.
Also here is a white Paper on the subject, very interesting read.

Manage your Google Hotel Ads within Google Ad platform

Google started showing hotel information in a more useful way with sponsored hotel prices in Google Maps in 2010. We all have used this feature coupled to Google Maps, from simple trips to major vacations. Now the initiative has expanded to provide Google Hotel ads to more than 150 countries on Google.com and Google Maps. These features are helping travelers finding hotels on mobile devices and grab hotel deals. I my self is a happy user of the service.
Hotel ads leads to partners grew 65% year over year. With the growth, Google received feedback from ad partners the difficulty in managing  their Hotel ads in a separate platform from their other Google Ads.
Well the feedback have provided positive results, Google Hotel ads will become a part of the Google Ads platform with a new campaign type. Hotel campaigns in Google Ads will launch later this year.

Hotel Ads will launch as an open beta available to advertisers later this year. If you’d like to stay up to date on the Google Ads integration and Hotel Center launch, beta test Hotel ads in Google Ads or learn more about Hotel ads in general, please fill out this interest form.  VIA Google Ads

‘Palessi,’ a Fake Luxury Store, Sells $20 Shoes For $630 for Payless Chain!

Payless Opened a Fake Luxury Store, Palessi,  to See How Much People Would Pay for $20 Shoes and yes all were surprised. A lot more than $20.

Payless  took over a former Armani store in Santa Monica, and stocked up the shelves with $19.99 pumps and $39.99 boots. The discount footwear chain, via agency DCX Growth Accelerator, invited groups of influencers to the grand opening of “Palessi” and asked their opinions on the “designer” wares.

The bling crowd went bling with the store and the wares, having no idea they were looking at discount shoes from the chain store, offered hundreds of dollars for the stylish shoes, while admiring and gloating over the look, materials and workmanship. The best offer was: $640, which translates to an 1,800 percent markup.

Doug Cameron, DCX Growth Accelerator’s chief creative officer said that the retailer “wanted to push the social experiment genre to new extremes, while simultaneously using it to make a cultural statement. “Payless customers share a pragmatist point of view, and we thought it would be provocative to use this ideology to challenge today’s image-conscious fashion influencer culture.”

Ads will run on cable TV networks like Bravo, Lifetime, TBS, Telemundo and USA and on social channels like YouTube, Facebook and Instagram through the holidays.  

Agency: DCX Growth Accelerator

Concept: Doug Cameron and Tommy Noonan
CCO/CW: Doug Cameron
ECD/Art Director: Tommy Noonan
CD: Mauricio Alarcon
Account Director: Patrick McCormick
Client: Payless
CMO: Sara Couch
Brand Manager: Lisa Contino
Creative Director: Jeff Vandeven
Creative Services Manager: Cheri Bernand
International Marketing Director: Bernardo Meza
VP Marketing: Dominic Bonadio