"Isaac Garcia from Central Desktop Blog writes, 'How much does Google pay *itself* to claim the top ad position for searches relevant to its own products? Google holds the top advertisement (Adword) slot for the following key words: intranet, spreadsheet, documents, calendar, word processor, email, video, instant messenger, blog, photo sharing, online groups, maps, start page, restaurants, dining, and books... ...if you are trying to advertise a product that is competitive to Google, then you'll never be able to receive the Top Ad Position, no matter how much money you bid and spend. How different is it than MSFT placing its products (Internet Explorer) in a premium marketing position (embedded in the OS)?'"
Crap. I think they're right. I don't really know how adwords work (who does) or how the rankings are determined but it does seem like Google may inflate their services to stay on top of other advertisements. Hang on let me go turn the advertisements on in FireFox...
Yeah, Google services turn up as sponsored links for all those searches. Sometimes with a competitor, sometimes alone. So now the question is if someone could out-bit Google for those spots. I'm thinking that they can't; but that's just a guess.
But its alright. I've got a work around. Just take away the "sponsored link" text and return it as a suggestion. Kinda like the answer to life the universe and everything or how you get a link to Google maps when you search for Phoenix, AZ. They're not sponsored and not part of the adwords system, they're just links to other Google services.
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