In one of the more humorous gags to target the search engine marketing industry, specifically Google, in recent memory, someone has set up a fake web page offering a Google Content Blocker utility.
The fake Google utility offers to block web content in order to view your ads by themselves. However, it’s not only the idea of gag that makes it so effective. To celebrate the content blocker, the jokesters made a thorough site, done in the traditional Google style, complete with an awesome white paper (pdf file) describing how the device works.
The faux site also includes a mission description, which says:
Google’s mission is to organize the world’s advertising for maximum exposure to Web users. Unfortunately, annoying Web content often overwhelms the page, causing many users to become distracted and overlook the ads. That’s where Google Content Blocker comes in. It effectively blocks all Web site content, leaving only the advertisements.
In a move that some would consider fair, Google Content Blocker does not block ads from non-AdWords sources. This is also explained by the content blocker site:
Google Content Blocker does not block other ads. This is consistent with the “we are not evil” spirit that our PR department always talks about*.
While the asterisk’s disclaimer states: *Google reserves the right to redirect non-AdSense clicks to Google AdSense advertisers.
Good stuff indeed. Hopefully, the gag developers won’t be hit with a cease and desist from Google.
Thanks to Google Blogoscoped for the heads-up.
Chris Richardson is a search engine writer and editor for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest search news.
