Anti-touting campaigners in the UK have been cheering mightily at the news that Google is suspending secondary-ticketing service Viagogo from its paid-search results. That means that people searching for concert tickets will no longer see Viagogo listings at the top of their search results, but rather lower down, amid the ‘organic’ results that haven’t been paid for.
Google said that Viagogo had been found to be in breach of its advertising policies. “When people use our platform for help in purchasing tickets, we want to make sure that they have an experience they can trust,” a spokesperson told the Guardian. “This is why we have strict policies and take necessary action when we find an advertiser in breach.”
Industry body UK Music has been among the organisations encouraging Google to take this step for some time. Viagogo, as you’d expect, is protesting its innocence. “We were extremely surprised to learn of Google’s concerns today. We are confident that there has been no breach of Google’s policies and look forward to working with them to resolve this as quickly as possible.”
Get A Free Music Ally Account
Access unlimited News articles on the site, PLUS a trial of Music Ally’s subscriber-only services, including our industry-leading daily Bulletin email.
Related posts
The digital marketing guide: expert insight, case studies, fresh approaches, and overlooked opportunities.
