Yesterday Google updated their AdSense policy so as to prevent other advertising programs that look like AdSense from running on the same site that AdSense is being used.  The general consensus throughout the blogging community was that Google was making the change to further restrict publisher's advertising options.  Though there was some confusion amongst the ranks, most believed that the change forbid publishers from running other contextual ads anywhere on a site that Google AdSense was running.

Jennifer Slegg, of JenSense, contacted Google to get clarification on the issue and it would appear that most of us were wrong.  In fact, based on the response Slegg got from Google, it seems that Google has actually removed a restriction that had existed pertaining to other contextual advertising programs.  Brian Axe, senior product manage for Google AdSense had this to say to Slegg:

…publishers may now display other contextual ads on the same site or page as Google ads as long as they don't have the same look and feel as our ads.

As Slegg points out, this still doesn't open the door to use AdSense and YPN ads on the same site as Yahoo still prevents the use of YPN ads on pages with other contextual advertising.  But she's promised to contact Yahoo with her new found information and inquire as to the likelihood that Yahoo will institute a similar policy change.

So to clarify our former assessment of the change, Google simply wants other contextual advertising to look different than AdSense.  Publishers are now free to run other contextual ads on the same page as AdSense as long as they can't be confused for AdSense.

Thanks for the vigilant investigation, Jennifer!