Life as an affiliate marketer can be tough and with the restrictions that Google has, it can sometimes get frustrating. Google is all about promoting user experience and has implemented many policies over the years in this vein. Google has implemented a policy on bridge pages to put a stop to low-quality content getting through to searchers. A bridge page is a page that is designed solely for the purpose of sending traffic to another page.
Google does not like bridge pages and will not allow any ads that direct visitors to them. For example, if you create a landing page for your AdWords campaign that is very thin content and does not offer the consumer anything of value and then include an affiliate link, this will not be allowed by Google. Does this mean that you can’t direct people to a page on your website with affiliate links on it? No, but you have to be careful what you have on the landing page.
One of the ways to get around this problem is to put high quality content on the page. For example, if you’re trying to get people to buy a product or service, you may want to include a thought-provoking review or article on the landing page. You may even be also include a video or audio clip so that visitors get something out of visiting your page. Then at the end of the content, include an affiliate link to the product that you are trying to promote. By doing this, you can still use traffic from Google AdWords and you won’t have to worry about having your ads shut down. The main thing is that you can’t simply direct people to a mirror page or a thinly disguised sales letter.
So what will happen if Google thinks your landing page is nothing more than a bridge page? Your site can be disabled in Google AdWords. This means that you will not be able to direct any advertising campaigns from AdWords to your site. If this happens, does not necessarily mean that you will never be able to direct traffic to your site again. It simply means that you will need to change the content on your site and then you can ask a review of your site from Google. If Google reviews the changes you’ve made and approves of them, you can be reinstated into the AdWords program. However, if you continue to violate these terms, your site or your account can be banned permanently from the AdWords program.
Quality content is what Google is after and you can’t really get around this issue. Spend some time crafting your website with quality in mind and you should be fine.
(Thank you James D. for your nice contribution)
The Adwords Bridge Page Issue,
Great contribution, James. However, please note that “One of the ways to get around this problem is to put high quality content on the page.” may get you into trouble, since it doesn’t really changes the status of a “Bridge Page Violation”. Nevertheless, it is a good tip.