• About
    • History of Dallas SEO
    • SEO Expert Witness Services
  • Contact
  • Topics
    • Bing
    • Blogging
    • Branding
    • Domain Names
    • Google
    • Internet Marketing
    • Link Building
    • Local Search
    • Marketing
    • Public Relations
    • Reputation Management
    • Search Engine Marketing
    • Search Engine Optimization
    • Search Engines
    • Social Media
    • Tech
  • Advertise
  • Email Newsletter

Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer on Search, Marketing, Tech, and Domains.

SEMrush

Home » Google » Google Ads Training Mistake Cost $1.6m in One Hour

Google Ads Training Mistake Cost $1.6m in One Hour

Posted on December 6, 2018 Written by Bill Hartzer

Google yellow ad

A Google Ads training mistake cost Google about US $1.6 million dollars in one hour, as a single yellow ad was shown across the United States and Australia. Apparently the ad was a “training mistake made by a Google team that helps customers learn how to use the platform” according to reports.

Ad Exchanger reports that from 7:00pm to 7:45pm on Tuesday, December 4, 2018, sites running Google Ads on their websites saw a weird yellow ads with a size of 300 x 250. Apparently the advertising came from an Australian fashion company called “The Iconic”, who ultimately wasn’t responsible for the error. Ad Exchanger confirmed that the ad campaign spent at least $1.6 million US dollars in less than an hour, but the total spend could have exceeded $10 million US dollars. Furthermore, some individual publishers saw more than $100k in ad spend in a 45 minute time span.

Some individual publishers saw more than $100k in ad spend in a 45 minute time span.

That means that some publishers and ad exchanges made over $100,000 in 45 minutes because of this Google Ads training mistake. Personally, I think that’s crazy. While Google does pay a refund at the end of the month for invalid traffic to those running Google Ads, apparently this advertiser from Australia won’t be responsible for the error. And, apparently Google is going to pay the publishers and sites that ran the ad the money that they’re owed.

Google’s official statement, emailed to Adage, stated “An advertiser training exercise led to an error where actual spend happened on publisher sites for approximately 45 minutes. As soon as we were made aware of this honest mistake we worked quickly to stop the campaigns running. We will honor payments to publishers for any ads purchased and are working hard to put safeguards in place to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

Yellow ad image credit: adexchanger.com

Filed Under: Google

SEMrush

About Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer is CEO of Hartzer Consulting, an SEO Consulting firm that includes services such as search engine optimization, technical SEO audits, domain name consulting, and online reputation management. As an SEO Expert, Mr. Hartzer frequently serves as an SEO Expert Witness and Domain Name Expert Witness in legal cases worldwide. He also oversees DNAccess.com, a company that provides brand protection and monitoring, domain name background checks, and stolen domain name recovery services.

Recent Posts

  • Google Search Engine Class Action Settlement: Google Referrer Header Privacy Litigation June 5, 2023
  • I Asked Twitter for SEO Advice. Here’s What They Said June 1, 2023
  • Web.com Launches AI Domain Name Generator and AI Writer Tools May 31, 2023
  • Artlist Launches AI-Powered Footage Search Engine May 30, 2023
  • Google’s Search Generative Experience According to Google Bard May 22, 2023
  • Is AIO the New SEO? May 10, 2023
  • Google Passkey Support to Replace Built-In Security Key for Google Accounts May 3, 2023
  • WisTL Launches WisTLing App to Explore The Filming Locations of TV Series and Movies April 28, 2023
  • BrandChamp Acquires CrewFire April 12, 2023
  • Facebook Won’t Verify My Identity for Meta Verified April 4, 2023
  • ChatGPT Versus Google Bard: Which is Better? March 22, 2023
  • All Domain Names Need SSL: Parked Domains Are Losing Traffic, Revenue March 17, 2023
  • Google is Finally Sunsetting Google Glass March 16, 2023
  • Microsoft Teams Free Classic Shutting Down April 12, 2023 February 21, 2023
  • GoDaddy Customer Loses Domain Name Due to Auto Renew Fail February 9, 2023
  • dotDB is Not Shutting Down February 1, 2023
  • Someone Stole My Domain Name: Here’s What You Do January 4, 2023
  • Web Hosting Services Market to Grow to $254.86 Billion by 2029 December 13, 2022
  • This SEO Blog Post Was Written by ChatGPT December 8, 2022
  • Facebook Rolling Out Facebook Articles December 7, 2022

Hartzer Domains

US Agency Awards Judge

DFWSEM logo

Bill Hartzer is a Brand Ambassador for:



Industry Friends

I Love SEO
WTFSEO
SEO By the Sea
Jeff Lenney
Jeff Gabriel
Phil Drinkwater
Dixon Jones
Brian Hartzer
Navah Hopkins
DNAccess
SEO Dallas

Connect With Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer on Twitter
Bill Hartzer on Instagram
Hartzer Consulting on Facebook
Bill Hartzer on Facebook
Bill Hartzer on YouTube

Categories

  • Advertising (19)
  • AI (1)
  • Bing Search Engine (6)
  • Blogging (42)
  • Branding (12)
  • Domain Names (213)
  • Google (240)
  • Internet Marketing (25)
  • Internet Usage (85)
  • Link Building (53)
  • Local Search (39)
  • Marketing (183)
  • Marketing Foo (30)
  • Pay Per Click (3)
  • Podcast (18)
  • Public Relations (8)
  • Reputation Management (9)
  • Search Engine Marketing (44)
  • Search Engine Marketing Events (48)
  • Search Engine Marketing Firms (19)
  • Search Engine Marketing Jobs (33)
  • Search Engine Optimization (165)
  • Search Engines (205)
  • Social Media (194)
  • Tech (7)
  • Web Analytics (17)
  • Webinars (1)

Note: All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only, and are mentioned only to help my readers. All other trademarks cited herein are the property of their respective owners. Use of these names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement.




Hartzer Consulting



Website, Content, and Marketing by Hartzer Consulting, LLC.

Copyright © 2023 ·