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August 7, 2009
Microsoft adCenter Addresses Accusations of Illegal Pharmacy Advertisements
Earlier this week, a report from LegitScript.com and KnujOn stated that 89.7% of Bing's ads for online pharamacies were from illegally operating pharmacies. Microsoft's adCenter has responded by saying the report is true, but the number of violations is substantially lower.
adCenter uses PharmacyChecker.com to verify pharmacy advertisers. PharmacyChecker.com is a competitor of LegitScript.com.
Microsoft says that the illegal pharmacies essentially hacked the system:
Based on our initial findings, we believe the advertisers noted in the report found a way to work around the PharmacyChecker.com verification process after being validated to advertise on Bing. These rogue advertisers manipulated the system by "hijacking" and/or misusing landing pages. Our internal teams are continuing to investigate how these advertisers sidestepped the policy.
adCenter is taking several steps to address the problem, including:
- All pharma-related keywords have now been manually reviewed to sweep out any advertisers who are in violation of our policies
- The editorial team is validating the claims in the report around "hijacking" and misuse of landing pages
- The quality and editorial teams are reviewing our processes to document how these advertisers made their way onto our system. This documentation will likely lead to changes in process as well as product requests moving forward
What do you think of Microsoft's response to LegitScript's report? Do you think they'll be able to stop the "hijackers"? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on August 7, 2009 5:07 PM
Comments
What if the pharmacies use general keywords like cold treatment, pain treatment and drive traffic to their website by using very general ad copy? There are only certain words that gets restricted while uploading process.
Search Engine Marketing August 8, 2009 11:59 AM
i think that a search engine can get them who are using general ad copy. you can get help for your key words from any search engine.
square toe shoes August 10, 2009 2:02 AM
There is more than hundred thousands pharmacy keywords. Review it manually... eh :)
Max August 12, 2009 5:47 AM
I believe PharmacyChecker.com is also used by Google to verify that pharmacies are legit in order to be able to advertise with Adsense. However Google does not have an influx of Rogue pharmacy advertisements.
Online Pharmacy September 3, 2009 6:21 AM
like most things, education over policing should be the focus. if consumers want it, people will provide it. better to make efforts to inform consumers than to try and police the whole internet.
ryan November 2, 2009 9:46 AM
