Search Engine Land: Google Ads boss Jerry Dischler steps down. “The executive in charge of Google Ads, Jerry Dischler, stepped down after more than 15 years with Google. Google wouldn’t say whether Dischler will stay with the company, only that he would take on a ‘new challenge.’ Google confirmed to Search Engine Land that the decision was not related to the recent federal antitrust trial.”
Bleeping Computer: Google ads push malicious CPU-Z app from fake Windows news site. “A threat actor has been abusing Google Ads to distribute a trojanized version of the CPU-Z tool to deliver the Redline info-stealing malware. The new campaign was spotted by Malwarebytes analysts who, based on the backing infrastructure, assess that it is part of the same operation that used Notepad++ malvertising to deliver malicious payloads.”
9to5 Google: Google AdSense moving to per-impression payments in 2024. “Today, Google pays publishers when somebody clicks an ad on their site, or ‘per click.’ AdSense is soon moving to paying ‘per impression,’ which Google notes is the industry standard for display ads (banners, boxes, etc.).”
Daily Beast: Google Red-Flagged Kentucky AG’s Taxpayer-Funded Ads. “With less than a week to go before the Republican primary this May, the office of Kentucky attorney general Daniel Cameron launched a paid video ad campaign to raise awareness about human trafficking, featuring the gubernatorial candidate himself. To be clear, the video was not the work of Cameron’s political campaign. Instead, it was part of a public outreach program conducted by the commonwealth’s office of attorney general (OAG). And the costs weren’t underwritten by voluntary donors, but by a $175,000 taxpayer-backed federal grant that the OAG received from the Department of Justice in January.”
Bloomberg: Expedia’s Ex-COO Says Ad Fees Jumped After Google Remade Search. “About 500 million people visit Expedia’s Vrbo from Alphabet Inc.’s Google each year and that number didn’t increase even though the company’s search advertising costs grew from $21 million in 2015 to $290 million in 2019, according to Jeff Hurst, Expedia’s former chief operating officer.”
Bleeping Computer: Malicious Notepad++ Google ads evade detection for months. “Threat actors have been increasingly abusing Google Ads in malvertising campaigns to promote fake software websites that distribute malware. According to Malwarebytes, which spotted the Notepad++ malvertising campaign, it has been live for several months but managed to fly under the radar all this time.”
Search Engine Roundtable: Advertiser Lost Thousands Of Dollars Lost During Google Ads Experimental Test. “A respected advertiser in the PPC community said that a Google Ads experiment that the customer did not opt in to or have the option to opt out of cost the company thousands of dollars in lost ad spend.”
Euronews: EU regulators say Google breached antitrust laws in advertising technology industry. “European Union regulators said on Wednesday that Google had breached antitrust laws with its highly profitable digital advertising business that serves as its main revenue source. The US multinational should sell off part of its business in order to address the competition concerns, the European Commission suggested.”
AdNews: Online florist charged with false advertising in thousands of Google ads. “Competition watchdog the ACCC has taken online florist company Meg’s Flowers to court for allegedly falsely advertising itself as a ‘local florist’.”
Bleeping Computer: RomCom malware spread via Google Ads for ChatGPT, GIMP, more. “A new campaign distributing the RomCom backdoor malware is impersonating the websites of well-known or fictional software, tricking users into downloading and launching malicious installers.”
Android Police: Google shoves more ads into the Play Store, to no one’s surprise. “The banners themselves are wider, so you’ll see two per row, but you’re getting two rows, so you’re actually seeing more ads — four of them, to be more precise — on your screen. And yet again, you can scroll through them to see more.” *Altavista-ing intensifies*
The Verge: Gmail ads are getting more annoying. “Gmail is getting more persistent advertisements that have started popping up in the middle of some users’ inboxes, as first reported by 9to5Google. Several screenshots posted to Twitter show promotional messages mixed in with actual emails on Gmail’s desktop site, and users aren’t very happy about it.” Giving me strong AltaVista vibes.
New York Times: Google Promised to Defund Climate Lies, but the Ads Keep Coming. “In a report released on Tuesday, researchers from the organizations accused YouTube of continuing to profit from videos that portrayed the changing climate as a hoax or exaggeration. They found 100 videos, viewed at least 18 million times in total, that violated Google’s own policy. They found videos accompanied by ads for other major brands like Adobe, Costco, Calvin Klein, and Politico. Even an ad for Google’s search engine popped up before a video that claimed there was no scientific consensus about the changing climate.”
Cointelegraph: Google Ads data: $4M stolen through crypto phishing URLs. “According to Web3 anti-scam service provider ScamSniffer, malicious adverts for phishing websites have been prevalent on Google ads searches in recent weeks. The URLs lead to fraudulent websites that prompt wallet login signature requests that compromise users’ addresses.”
Reuters: Google’s parent Alphabet beats revenue expectations on ad, cloud strength. “Alphabet reported a slight dip in ad sales to US$54.55 billion from US$54.66 billion a year earlier. The decline is just the third in the company’s history since it became public in 2004 but follows a fourth quarter drop of 3.6 per cent.”
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