FSA and OTF Online Sponsored Links Guide: the impact on financial services advertisers

September 17, 2009
by Paul OConnor

Last week the FST and OFT jointly released a document outlining guidelines for financial services advertisers in a bid to clear up some observed malpractice in the industry.

Often, advertisers focus on Google regulations and neglect legal requirements. There is no explanation needed on why this is a bad idea. Ultimately, PPC ads are self-regulating and the onus is on the advertiser to ensure that their ads are compliant across the board.

In most instances, agencies and clients have an ethical and transparent relationship in place. Indeed, this is a sure-fire way to prevent unwanted headaches down the line. In these instances, the compliance procedures for companies in the finance vertical are sufficient enough to prevent any non-compliant ads from slipping through the net.

However, when accounts are outsourced to a less-than-transparent agency, communication can break down and, in a bid to improve CTRs, ads can start to slip through the net without any consultation with the client. This is hazardous territory for financial services companies who are investing their limited budget into paid search in what is still a recession.

Ultimately, there is little benefit to be gained from a breach of the regulations. If anything, the guide merely seeks to ensure ads are relevant and do not mislead the user. Surely this is a benefit to all concerned and ensures clicks are pre-qualified as much as possible before incurring click costs.

If you are a company/advertiser operating in the financial services sector and have any questions regarding the guide and its contents, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Paul O’Connor
paul.oconnor@latitudegroup.com