Finally, Google is Cracking Down on Sneaky High-Ticket Schemes!
The day has come, and it usually does. Google has
For years, high-ticket coaching programs and products have relied on a premium bait-and-switch formula: offer something at a very low entrance point (“just $7,” “free trial,” etc.), then upsell clients to thousands of dollars’ worth of courses, masterminds, and consulting. Many consumers feel misled: the full costs, the added commitments, or the real results often are far from what was promised on the hook.
Today, that model is being challenged in a big way.
Google has announced new policy changes under its Misrepresentation and Dishonest Pricing rules, set to fully enforce in October 2025. These changes are designed to force advertisers to be far more transparent about what people will actually pay, not just upfront, but the full expense, including upsells, hidden fees, recurring costs, etc.
What Google’s New Policy Requires.
According to Google’s updated policy guidance:
- Advertisers must clearly and conspicuously disclose the payment model or full expense that a user will bear before and after purchase.
- Any pricing practice that creates a false or misleading impression of the total cost of a product or service is prohibited.
- Specific behaviors such as bait-and-switch (advertising something very cheap or free, with no intent to deliver it as advertised), promoting free trials without clearly stating trial periods or automatic charges, and exploiting vulnerable individuals with exorbitant charges are forbidden.
These changes will be enforced starting 28 October 2025, with a ramp-up period of about four weeks. Violators will receive warnings (at least 7 days) before serious penalties like suspensions.
You can see Google’s policy on Dishonest Pricing Practices.
Why This Matters for High-Ticket "Coaching" Schemes...
Many programs in the coaching / personal development / business opportunity spaces work exactly like this, and they have thrived on the following model:
- Low-cost entry: a webinar, workshop, or low-priced “intro” product at minimal cost or free, designed to build trust or get people in the door.
- Up-sells in the back office: once “inside,” clients are encouraged or pressured to buy more expensive coaching, consulting, or masterminds...often costing thousands of dollars Sometimes there are monthly subscription fees, renewals, or hidden costs within the upsell and down sell processes.
The problem arises when the initial ad or marketing deliberately underplays or fails to disclose those higher-cost upsells or additional expenses. When consumers realize later how expensive it will actually be, they feel misled or trapped.
Google is essentially saying: that model, when it hides or misrepresents costs, is no longer acceptable in the form it has been practiced widely.
This update to the Misrepresentation / Dishonest Pricing policies is part of a broader trend as Google has already cracked down on “misleading representation” in ads, phishing-like tactics, and exaggerated claims. Gone are the days of advertisers being able to "fool" people into their schemes using the ad platforms from within Google, and you are likely to see other platforms like Facebook to follow.
How Wealthy Affiliate Has Been Firing on This Front...
At Wealthy Affiliate (WA), we have long been advocating for ethical practices in online marketing and coaching. i have blogged about these scuzzy practices in the past. You can see my post from a few years back, "The Coaching Scam is Alive and Well."
The writing was on the wall then, and it certainly is now that Google has taken this step.
We have always been a proponent of a "customer first" approach to business, and we have seen our fair share of scams come and go within our industry over the years. The "high ticket" scam has been one that we have been vocally against, and one that we have even fought against this court and won over the years in a high profile defamation lawsuit.
Any ethical company knows that there are 4 pillars to building trust, and creating an ethical business in any niche.
PILLAR OF ETHICS #1: Transparency in pricing: WA has always made sure that all pricing is clear and upfront, including renewal fees, any recurring charges, and what services and tools are included.
PILLAR OF ETHICS #2: Focus on value over hype: We have consistently rejected hype tactics—promises of overnight riches, exaggerated returns, or claims that success is guaranteed with minimal effort.
PILLAR OF ETHICS #3: Education and empowerment: Rather than hiding behind “guru” mystique, WA emphasizes education: teaching members what genuine business building requires (time, skill, consistency), including failures and setbacks.
PILLAR OF ETHICS #4: Long-term, sustainable relationships: Our model is built around helping people gradually grow their business and skills rather than trying to pressure them into big purchases with little proof.
Because of these principles, WA is well aligned with the direction Google is moving. We believe the changes will force a healthier, more trustworthy online marketing ecosystem overall.
More Rules, Less Shady Players in the Market...
This is another win for those that are running ethical businesses. There is less room for shady ad hooks that bury the real cost in the back office. This means less competition in our industry within Google Ads.
This also means that there is a huge competitive advantage for those that are running or promoting transparent and ethical businesses like Wealthy Affiliate.
The old model of high-ticket coaching built on hyped, low entrance points and massive upsells hidden behind the curtain is being challenged. And Google is leading that charge. October 2025 is the turning point for full enforcement of these policies.
Love to hear your thoughts on this. Have you fallen into one of these schemes in the past? What are your thoughts on high ticket coaching in general?
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Recent Comments
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@Kyle, I'm so glad to heard this news for I was misled into doing business with low cost and in the midst of training I get shook into a high priced product to grow the business. I was devasted but I searched high and low and found WA. So glad to be on this platform for it is nothing like the few I've come across that just doesn't care about you but your money!
Thanks Kyle for a trustworthy educational business platform that we can learn at our own pace and grow slowly and see the manifestation of our work in all honesty!! Thanks Google for stepping up
Well I am really glad you searched high and low to find us. The thing is, that is what tends to happen when people sense that they are getting taken advantage of for, most people know at the time but some of these programs can be convincing and pushy.
Their bottom line relies on being that way, and their model only runs on being able to rip off a small handful of people and unfortunately they have been using paid ad platforms to promote these schemes (mainly Google Ads and Facebook Ads).
Glad Google has stepped up here, and I think FB/Meta ads will be soon to follow.
Oh, yes, I know this program very well and one of the companies who do this regularly on their platform. I was ticked and fooled into this low start-up high payment increasing, claiming that you need the product to grow your business. Then there are the hidden clauses that they don't tell you in the T & C the subscription fees... It took me months of solicitors time to end this nightmare. (The next day I had my first operation.) They cleaned out my bank account. I had to open new bank accounts. I was lucky, my bank refunded me my all my money. The police are now in search... Then one day all the products I purchased were no longer available. All the links to the products where 404 error messages could not be found.
This platform is very well-known, it provides a market for create etc...
For those members who want to know who the company is, direct message me. I will not post the company name on this platform... Be careful when you see these business start-up for stilly money $2,3,4,5,6,7 dollars These are the scams...
This is one of the reasons why I returned to WA.
There are MANY programs like this, and that is why Google is working to tackle them with a broader brush here. I think there must have been a lot of complaints and potentially lawsuits against Google for allowing this sort of scheme to be promoted within their network.
Sorry to hear what you have had to deal with, you are not alone. We were in a contentious lawsuit where we called out one of these schemes and they try to hit us with defamation, ultimately we won the case and they were taken out by the FTC (it was a scam of over $300 MILLION, and we spent close to $1MM on the lawsuit).
They still exist though, and the most common traits are starting with low ticket, and then moving to a high ticket product or coaching program in the back office. Entire software platforms have thrived on providing an infrastructure for folks to do this over the past few years...and those are starting to crash as well.
Glad to hear you found your way back here Tim, it is great to see you!
Great post Kyle!
On the WA join page it says, "Set up your FREE trial account" so as a WA member how does one comply with Google's "promoting free trials without clearly stating trial periods or automatic charges" as the WA homepage doesn't say how many days the trial is over? Can WA possibly remove the word "trial" from the join page if WA are not offering a free trial?
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/join
The trial doesn't end. It's actually not a "trial" either, as it is free forever as a Starter member.
And there are no subsequent charges, so we wouldn't fall under this umbrella in any way...but we will remove that language.
Good morning Kyle,
This sounds like good news. It's a really bad way to do business, we all need to be upfront with our products and to be treated how we would like to be treated.
In the early days, I have tried these types of products, it's really not clever. I think many of us can be purchasing, what we feel is a genuine product, but it can end up having nine up sells, or something similar. I understand if someone is perhaps buying a camera on Amazon and they may offer them a tripod or carrying case, or something similar. However, up sells, that just take people's money is just wrong.
It's especially wrong when people are genuinely trying to change their life and do something different and companies or people are just trying to take their money, no one should do that or want to do that.
Have a fantastic day.
Roy
It is like going to the store and them advertising a price, and then you get to the till and they tell you that it is $1,000's more if you want to be able to use the actual product you purchased. It wouldn't be allowed, under all ethical and legal rules and for some reason this has been allowed for far too long.
As you say, it is playing on people's weakness when they are truly trying to improve their situation, and this is the reason people go into a lot of debt (and I have heard even selling their cars, taking out loans, etc) to join such schemes.
That's a very good way of looking at it, Kyle, and something that we wouldn't expect or accept!
I would never want to promote a product that isn't genuine! On my garden equipment website, there is some budget equipment, but I try and tell people that, in the long term, it often works out cheaper to buy a quality tool, rather than something too cheap. This is also something that I genuinely believe, buy a quality product and look after it, it's cheaper in the long run.
Have a great day, Kyle.
Roy
Yeah, that is ethical marketing right there and I wouldn't expect anything less out of you. You are putting yourself in the shoes of the person on your website, and offering the most value and insights possible.
There are also high quality, lower price products...and this is where this "coaching" trap falls...people are promoting those simply because they carry high commissions, while totally disregarding their actual audience and what is best for them. That is what leads to a very short term business.
Thank you, Kyle! I think most of us like to do to others, what we would like ourselves, if that makes sense! Regarding garden/landscaping machinery, I see so many people buying the wrong equipment, for the wrong job and making it difficult for themselves. So the idea is to try and direct people to the right product.
That's interesting about the coaching, Kyle, which is kind of totally different to physical products. There is a tendency to think that expensive coaching will make everything come together, but we know that's not true.
I was speaking to someone recently, who is doing affiliate marketing, we were talking about various programs, etc. I could see that some of the things we were talking about were near the line, or certainly for me. I definitely don't want to go down that route, it's far better to have a good name and make less money, but I believe that long-term, honesty pays off.
Have a great weekend.
Roy
Well a bad name with "lots of money" doesn't last...that is the thing, it is short visioned to think that you can take advantage of your audience/customers and sustain a brand (and business). They are fleeting, and that is why you see so many of these "gurus" popping up brand after brand after brand...it is to wash away that bad reputation they created with their last one.
I believe that, Kyle! It's certainly not a good way to do business!
Thankfully, I think most of us want to do business, in the right way, or at least I would like to think that!
I hope you had a good weekend.
Roy
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This is good to hear. I know I've been duped by many of these practices.
I'm just thankful I came across Wealthy Affiliate when I did. I love the Wealthy Affiliate program and the classes that have taught me so much. The community here is so generous with their knowledge.
Sorry to hear you have been duped by a few of these, but you are definitely not alone. There are PLENTY of scams just like this still out there, but the fortunate part is that they cannot use Google Ads any longer to get reach (as many were).
We are so happy you found us as well! :)