Google puts “ad” for new gPhone on Google.com
Google has always kept their search homepage free of clutter, unneeded text and of course ads. Well today I just noticed they added a link promoting the new T-Mobile G1 - the first android-powered phone.
When you click on the link it takes you to a splash page that lives within the Google.com domain, however that page is basically a shell to get you to click over to T-Mobiles website. I guess Google felt sending a visitor directly to T-Mobile from their homepage was pushing it - but man imaging the link-juice from that link if they did?
I am not against a company promoting its goods and services, especially on a website they own, but the Google.com homepage has always been a sanctuary for simplicity. Hopefully this isn’t a sign of things to come.
Comments
Comment from Michael Brito
Time: October 22, 2008, 1:56 pm
I kind of have an issue with this. Are they going to sell this placement to other advertisers?
Comment from TheAnand
Time: October 22, 2008, 5:06 pm
They do that a lot…they sell chrome on orkut, analytics on searches and a lot of other crap… :)
Comment from Ciaran
Time: October 23, 2008, 4:54 am
They did the same thing with Chrome when it launched.
“I kind of have an issue with this. Are they going to sell this placement to other advertisers?”
Err, I doubt it - it’s their homepage they can do what they want with it.
Comment from Kieran Hawe
Time: October 23, 2008, 8:26 am
Chrome and the G1 are completely different - Chrome is a stand-alone Google product, Android in a OS that lives on another companies device.
Comment from androo
Time: October 22, 2008, 12:14 pm
nicce… i guess the want to make a lil money so they aren’t having the same issues as Yahoo.. the whole laying off people…