Google Vs The Firearm Industry ?

I heard this before and recently read on another gun blog that Google is sending out emails to firearm vendors stating that their products will be removed from Google shopping.

I remember a few months back I was trying to get an affiliate campaign going for a FFL product by advertising it in Google Adwords.

I created the ad and budget but after submitting the category I was told that these types of ads have to be approved before they run in Google's ad network. I waited patiently but never got a response from Google regarding the ad. I left it alone deciding to focus on how I normally earn online which by selling ad space on my blog to programs like Google's adsense and Infolinks. Its not much money but this does help me to keep the blog going with funds for reviewing new items.

Then I noticed that I had a 33% drop in ad revenue from Google Adsense and I could  not figure out why. The next month my earnings again fell another 7% from the previous month.

This month I attended Google's Adsense in your city seminar here in New York to learn some more ways to optimize my Ads in the hopes of bringing back up my blog earnings.

First the seminar had two presentation sections then they had a 1 on 1 session with an Adsense specialist who would review your site / blog and advise of better placement options to increase revenue.

I saw this as the opportunity to hear from the horses mouth so I asked the question. Can you tell me why my Adsense earnings are decreasing ?

The Adsense rep was very straight forward and stated Google is trying to phase out use of its products or services with firearm related sites. It now dawned on me the rumors were true.

I immediately started checking the ads that appear on my site from Google Adsense and realized that the big name advertisers like Brownells, Frontsight, Cheaper than dirt,Outdoor Nerds, Optics planet were all no longer in the rotation. Replacing those gun related ads were ads from Ford and Planet fitness.


Which would explain the significant drop in earnings. (1)The ads are no longer targeted so I am now getting less clicks and (2) the big name advertisers that would pay top dollar per click have all left the Adsense program or were forced to leave, who knows.


I don't know what is Google's beef  with the firearm industry and did not bother to ask the rep why because this decision was clearly above his pay grade, but this a very unfair practice on Google's part.  Several gun bloggers like myself depend on their Adsense earnings to monetize our blogs.


I guess now I will have to start selling my own ad space ? Guess what ? Google has an app that can help me do that too for free it's called DFP. Which can be used to serve Adsense ads along with your own ads as well as any other third party ad. 


Some how I dont think I will be using it. I hate the idea that I am so heavily reliant on services from a company that seems to have started a covert war with the industry that I love.