Google sued over confusing distinction of advertising programs

Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has been accused of charging clients for ads they really don't want. Google's AdWords, the hallmark of the company's revenue success, is under scrutiny due to a single "checkbox" inside the system labeled "CPC (cost-per-click) content bid." Check the box, and your ad will be displayed when a customer uses one of your designated keywords. Don't check the box, and no ads will be associated with your keywords. Maybe.

Plaintiff David Almeida claims that there is no clear distinction between Google's own AdWords program and its AdSense program, which is used to display Google advertising on partner websites, according to Information Week. Under the AdSense program, a customer must use an entry of "0" to ensure ads don't run on that network instead of leaving the entry blank. The suit states that "This action arises from the fact that Google does not inform its advertisers that if they leave the content bid CPC input blank, Google will use the advertiser's CPC bid for clicks occurring on the content network ... Google does this despite the fact that ads placed on the content network are demonstrably inferior to ads appearing on search result pages." Ah-ha -- so Google is displaying inferior ads on its AdSense program compared to its search engine-related AdWords program?

The suit goes on to say that "by redefining the universally understood meaning of an input form left blank, and then intentionally concealing this redefinition, Google has fraudulently taken millions of dollars from Plaintiff and the members of the class." This has huge implications for Google if the true meaning of its CPC business is either not well executed or if crucial pieces of verbiage are left out. that don't demonstrate where an advertiser's dollars "could" go based on what network (AdWords or AdSense) they use. This will be an interesting development to watch.