Um, wow. I know search ad algorithms are mysterious, but seriously, what Google ad algorithm matches Dating Ads with Rape Stories?
Checking out the news on the latest rape allegations against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, I was presented with a Google ad proclaiming:
“Date Pretty Chinese Girl: Chinese women for dating and marriage Join free and find your love now.”
Okay. It’s disturbing enough that Google thinks people watching (or reading) a news story about the repeated alleged rape accusations against Strauss-Kahn (and his other questionable sexual activities) are ripe for conversion to a dating service.
But the ad copy for ChnLove.asia doesn’t help … it sounds an awful lot like a Walmart ad … like the women will arrive via UPS.
And in all fairness, it prolly has as much to do with ChnLove.asia’s settings in their campaign as anything. But it’s Google’s software that takes those settings and compares them to content, and determines relevance. Right?
Apparently, if you’re watching a video about an accused rapist, Google, and by extension ChnLove.asia, think you’re in the frame of mind to find a desperate Chinese woman to import and green card. And maybe lock in the cellar.
The buying cycle
Relevance of ads to customer psychology leads to conversions, and that’s the core of online advertising.
So which part of the search marketing “buying cycle” is the viewer of this Strauss-Kahn rape allegation video in the frame of mind for? Are they in the “building early interest in rape” phase, the “researching victim acquisition” phase, or the “ready to import a victim” phase?
Or is this, maybe, all part of an elaborate To Catch A Predator sting?
On a (somewhat more) serious note:
Gentle reader, if you’ve got a profile on ChnLove.asia, you might want to ask the guy (or girl) chatting you up online if they came to ChnLove.asia via a Google ad embedded in a rape story.
Seems like a good thing to know.
And if you’re the ad buyer for ChnLove.asia, you should know that Google Ads is pairing your service with content about rape and sexual misconduct.
Also seems like a good thing to know.
And Google: If your algorithm assumes relevance between rape and dating, something’s wrong. Seriously. I’d look into it.
Just sayin’.
*NOTE* Now I’ll probably be sued by ChnLove.asia for defamation. Sorry. It’s not about your service … it’s about your settings, your ad copy, and Google’s placement of it. So I guess I’d suggest you review your settings and your copy. Maybe add a few negative match keywords… like “rape”. And call your Google rep. IMHO.