Either Google is kindly responding to its customers’ requests… or is looking for more and more revenue opportunities… or both, but the search engine has decided to allow Internet marketers to display ads that mention hard alcohol and liqueurs on Google Adwords.

In a follow-up to its decision to allow beer advertising in autumn this year, Google will now allow search engine marketers to advertise information about hard alcohol and liqueurs that target the U.S.

Advertisers will not, however, be allowed to directly promote the SALE of hard alcohol and liqueurs. They will need to comply with Google’s updated hard alcohol and liqueurs policy, which, among other things, states that they may use Google Adwords to promote information about hard alcohol and liqueurs that their websites contain, such as recipes and brand messages.

While ads that directly promote the sale of hard alcohol and liqueurs won’t be allowed on Google Adwords, ads for beer MAY directly promote its sale.

So, in simple terms, a Google Ads advertiser:

MAY offer a beer for sale at a certain price… MAY promote information about hard alcohol e.g. 50 Great Cocktail Ideas MAY NOT offer a liqueur for sale at a certain price.

Source: Amanda Kelly, “An update to the AdWords alcohol policy,” Inside AdWords crew Monday, December 08, 2008

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