Viagogo ‘Surprised’ About Google Advertising Suspension

For the first time since Google announced to take action against ticket resellers in November 2017, actual results can be seen. Or rather not seen: Right now, when searching for tickets on Google, viagogo is nowhere to be found in the top results, where it would usually occupy one of the top slots.

Looks like Google succumbed to the pressure exerted by fans that felt ripped-off purchasing on the secondary market, industry groups against for-profit resale and, increasingly, politics.

A Google spokesperson said: “When people use our platform for help in purchasing tickets, we want to make sure that they have an experience they can trust. This is why we have strict policies and take necessary action when we find an advertiser in breach.”

Adam Webb, campaign manager of FanFair Alliance, called it “a landmark moment, and a major step forward to preventing exploitation of audiences in the secondary ticketing market.

“After publishing extensive research highlighting the impacts of Viagogo’s misleading search advertising, FanFair Alliance has been in constructive conversations with Google for over two years in an attempt to address this issue. We are delighted they have finally acted and suspended Viagogo’s advertising. We now hope other platforms, particularly Facebook, can follow Google’s example.”

Viagogo stated: “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.”