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Quote:Researchers at Microsoft Corp. have blown the lid off a large-scale, typo-squatting scheme that uses multi-layer URL redirection to game Google's AdSense for domains program.

Using five programmatic typo-generation models, the researchers pinpointed a series of domain-registration structures being used by "major typo-squatters" to steal traffic from some of the biggest Internet brands, including Amazon.com, Expedia.com and Mapquest.com.

According to data from Microsoft, domain names are being registered with deliberate missing-dot typos, character omission typos, character permutation typos, character replacement typos and character insertion typos.

Quote:Google AdSense For Domains Program Overdue For Reform -- And Yahoo & Microsoft Should Also Take Note...

Navigation is a big part of search, and you'd think the search engines would want to ensure people were navigating to the right site. Instead, Google and Yahoo both seem happy to benefit by making money off these misspellings. That should change. Forget whether there's a trademark violation. Just outright ban the use of domains where it's obvious the site owner is hoping to tap into typo traffic.

At the very least, Google should make AdSense For Domains a program that really is independent of AdSense For Search and allow people to opt-out.

Quote:Google Inc., which runs the largest ad network on the Internet, is making millions of dollars a year by filling otherwise unused Web sites with ads. In many instances, these ad-filled pages appear when users mistype an Internet address, such as "BistBuy.com."

This new form of advertising is turning into a booming business that some say is cluttering the Internet and could be violating trademark rules. It also has sparked a speculative frenzy of investment in domain names, pushing the value of some beyond the $1 million mark.

Google specifically bars Web addresses that infringe on trademarks from using its ad network, but a review of placeholder Web sites that result from misspelled domain names of well-known companies found that many of the ads on those pages come directly from Google...