@TimCohn | Author Tim Cohn's Blog

Google AdSense offers “Category Filtering” where certain ad category themes are prevented from being displayed on a website.

Inexplicably, Google’s Adsense category filtering only allows for up to eight ad categories to be excluded while their list of dicey ad categories numbers eleven.

The following eleven categories appear in my Google AdSense account:

Google AdSense Category Filters

More About Google Adsense Category filtering:

Category filtering allows you to block ads from certain categories from appearing on your site. Our system classifies ads automatically and we don’t rely on advertiser-provided categorization. Right now, we’re only able to support category filtering for English, French, German, and Spanish. Ads in these categories will be blocked if they’re in any of the supported languages, regardless of how they’ve been targeted to your pages.

You can block ads from up to eight of the following categories:

• Cosmetic procedures and surgery: Includes lifts, suctions, lasers, hair removal and restoration, tattoos, and body modification.
• Dating: Includes dating services and online dating communities.
• Drugs and supplements: Includes pharmaceuticals, vitamins, supplements, and related retailers; does not include resources providing information about drugs.
• Get rich quick: Schemes promising fast earning.
• Politics: Includes politics or controversial social issues; does not include ads for news organizations that are not generally associated with a partisan viewpoint on issues.
• Religion: Includes religious ads and ads advocating for or against religious views; does not include astrology or non-denominational spirituality.
• Ringtones and downloadables: Mobile add-ons including ringtones, and other downloadable goodies such as screensavers and wallpapers for desktop PCs and profile layouts and graphics for social networks.
• Sexual and reproductive health: Includes sexual function and fertility ads; does not include normal pregnancy resources.
• Sexually suggestive: Provocative pictures and text.
• Video games (casual and online): Includes video games, online games and downloadable games; does not include video game consoles.
• Weight loss: Includes weight loss, dieting, and related products and programs; doesn’t include healthy eating or general fitness ads.

My question is – what happens when eight categories are excluded but three categories remain unblocked?

Does the Adsense publisher then have to risk the display of one of the three unselected ad categories?

Tags: Google AdSense Category Filtering, Google AdSense Category Filters

This entry was posted on June 8, 2010 at 2:28 pm and is filed under Google AdSense Category Filtering, Google AdSense Category Filters. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.