Google Adsense Wired Collection

Happy Halloween from the AdSense, DoubleClick, and Ad Manager teams!Posted by Arlene Lee - Inside AdSense Team

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Back in August, Google gave AdSense publishers more control over what ads appear on their sites by launching an upgrading the category filtering feature and extending the feature’s beta to the US and the UK.So in essence, if you don’t want certain kinds of sites showing up in ads on your site, you could block them. Google shows how the different ad categories contribute to your income, so you can take that into consideration.Today Google announced that it will be providing users with more ad filtering options. Soon, the option for 3 more filter categories will be added for a total of 8 different categories. These will be coming in the next few weeks.”To get started with category filtering, sign in to AdSense and visit the Ad Review Center, located under the AdSense Setup tab,” says Google’s Arlene Lee. “You can choose from the listed categories, which include religion, politics, and dating, and your selections will be applied to ads in English no matter how they’re targeted.”

“Please keep in mind that filtering ad categories may affect your AdSense revenue — we recommend first reviewing the percentages displayed in your account to understand the amount of revenue you may be blocking,” she reminds users.Google says its continuing to work on additional filtering capabilities as well, but does not get into specifics. They are of course encouraging feedback.

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We’ve posted a couple times about how the Custom Search Element can help provide a more customized search experience for your users while enabling you to earn money. Today we’re excited to announce two new features for the Custom Search Element that will enable you to further customize your website search to the look and feel of your site: themes and rich snippets. ThemesYou can now customize the layout and styles of your Custom Search Element. To select a theme for your Custom Search Element, just go to your Custom Search Engine account at http://www.google.com/cse/manage/all and click Control panel. On the Control panel page, in the left-hand menu, click Look and feel.You can now choose from a number of layouts and color styles for your Custom Search Element. You can also preview your selected theme. Here’s an example of the ‘Shiny’ theme:If you’d like to tinker further with the look and feel of your Custom Search Element and you’re familiar with CSS and JavaScript, take a look at this Custom Search Control documentation.Rich snippetsRich snippets are another new feature that allow you to customize the actual Custom Search Element search results with additional relevant content, like thumbnail images and actions. We like to think of rich snippets as a way to add more flair to your Custom Search Element search results. Here’s an example of search results from a Custom Search Element which uses both themes and rich snippets. The thumbnail image next to each search result shows rich snippets in action.Rich snippets require you to mark up the page with metadata. For more information, check out the Custom Search Developer’s Guide.If you have any feedback for us on either of these new features or on the Custom Search Element itself, please leave a comment. We love hearing what publishers have to say about Custom Search!Posted by Christine Tsai, Google Web Elements team

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This week I received a comment that peaked my interest and begged the question, When should I add Google AdSense to my website? This was not the first time that I heard this question. It always comes up when people launch websites and it is always in connection with generating traffic. So is it good to add AdSense on the first day of launch or should AdSense be added when web traffic reaches a certain level. Well, lets look at mindset and were you plan to promote your website.

Where you promote your website in the beginning will directly attribute to if you use AdSense in the beginning or not. I am a believer that when you first start launch a website you should use directories as some of the first linking partners. Directories like yahoo directories, DMOZ and Google directories are the perfect first starters. More on directories to post to in a later post. But because these directories are so hard to get in it has been said to NOT use Google AdSense until you have been accepted into these directories. These directories frown on websites that are primarily affiliate marketing websites and tend to make money off of Google AdSense. So, if these are the key resources that you use to promote your websites don’t use Google AdSense in the beginning.

If your are not going to use these directories are you main launching linking points then I would recommend adding Google AdSense in the beginning. As for traffic, if due diligence has been done for keyword research then there is a certain expectation that traffic will come to a website. As long as linking campaigns are done correctly and regular content is added to the site. And there is always PPC campaigns. Either one of these techniques will not warrant the removal of Google AdSense in the beginning.

Me myself I always stick to adding Google AdSense in the launch of any of my websites. Like I said before, I expect with careful research of keywords and a rock solid foundation, I will have traffic come to a website. And in some cases I could start earning AdSense money on the first day of launch. That is my expectation and I definitely don’t want to miss out on that money.

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A few months ago, we launched category filtering in a number of English-speaking countries to help you control the ads that appear on your pages. To provide you with more ad filtering options, you’ll soon be able to filter 3 more categories from your pages, for a total of up to 8 categories. You should notice this change within the next few weeks.To get started with category filtering, sign in to AdSense and visit the Ad Review Center, located under the AdSense Setup tab. You can choose from the listed categories, which include religion, politics, and dating, and your selections will be applied to ads in English no matter how they’re targeted. Please keep in mind that filtering ad categories may affect your AdSense revenue — we recommend first reviewing the percentages displayed in your account to understand the amount of revenue you may be blocking.We’re continuing to work on additional filtering capabilities, and we appreciate all the feedback you’ve provided so far. Feel free to leave us a comment, and visit our Help Center to learn more about category filtering. Posted by Arlene Lee - Inside AdSense Team

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Correct positioning of your Google adsense ads can make or break your success with the Google adsense program. Why is this true? Some studies suggest that eye positioning on website gravitate to particular sections of web pages. And if you don’t have the necessary ads in these positions you will not get the clicks.

I talked to countless people that have great traffic, some with 300 to 1000 new visitors a day that say that they only make approx. at max $10 to $20 dollars a month on the adsense program. What a shame. But when I look at their websites the ads are either buried in wording that no one usually pays attention to or the ads are located in positions that just don’t call any attention to their presence.

So were is the best locations for you Google adsense ads. Well, I have found the number one best place for the ads are near or in proximity to your main menu. Why near your main menu. Because you know that visitors eyes will and always look for the menu structure of your website. So the common places for placement should be to the top right, the very top under your menu, or the top left. These are the most common locations for you main menu.

But what about the color scheme of the Google adsense ads? Yes, color is very important. You have to make the ads looks as seamless as possible. Here is an example on one of my website ISaved Home Decor. Here I decided to position the ads at the very top right under my main menu. In direct eye contact. Also, I removed the borders; just these two changes will increase your adsense proceeds one hundred percent.

By using these tactics I was able to increase my adsense click through rate significantly depending on traffic level and people’s interest.

Take my advice and give it try. I believe you will see a change and hopefully make adsense a more pleasurable experience.

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This Thursday, October 22nd, our Dublin-based AdSense team will host a webinar geared towards publishers with sites related to education. We welcome you to join us for an hour, starting at 9am PST/5pm GMT, and learn how you can improve your ad performance. We’ll talk you through our top tips and show you sample implementations, and you’ll be able to put your questions live to an AdSense specialist. Please be sure to sign up via our Help Center if you’re planning to attend.Posted by Siobhan McCormack - AdSense Optimisation Team

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Recently, we introduced Google Web Elements as a new way to easily add dynamic content to your site. In this post, we’d like to focus on one of the Web Elements which you can use to earn more revenue: the Custom Search Element.As our optimization tips point out, adding search functionality to your site can improve the user experience on your pages and overall make your site “sticky”. Here are some commonly asked questions about the Custom Search Element to help you get started: Q: What do I need to do in order to start earning revenue with the Custom Search Element?The first thing you should do is activate AdSense for search in your AdSense account. Sign in to your AdSense account and visit the AdSense Setup tab. Then, choose ‘AdSense for search’. Once you click the “Get started” button, your account will be activated. After you’ve activated AdSense for search, the next steps depend on whether you’re creating a Custom Search Element that searches your own site or one that uses an existing Custom Search Engine to search across multiple sites of your choice. If you’re creating a Custom Search Element that searches your own site:You can create your Custom Search Element from the Web Elements site at www.google.com/webelements/customsearch/. Under “Configure”, be sure to select “Search my site and use AdSense for search.” In the AdSense Publisher ID field, be sure to enter your unique publisher ID properly (should start with “pub-”). You can learn how to find your publisher ID in our Help Center. If you’re creating a Custom Search Element that uses an existing Custom Search Engine: Link your AdSense account to your Custom Search account from the Custom Search control panel as follows: First, go to your search engines at www.google.com/cse/manage/all.  Click the “control panel” link for the corresponding Custom Search Engine.  In the left-hand navigation bar under “Control panel”, click “Make Money”. You’ll be taken to a page like below where you can link your Custom Search Engine account to your AdSense account. All you need to do is input your AdSense account information. Q: Do I need to create a Custom Search Engine in order to use the Custom Search Element?No. By default, the Custom Search Element wizard gives you the option of searching only your own website. However, if you wish to have your element search websites other than your own, you’ll need to first create a Custom Search Engine at www.google.com/cse/manage/create.Here are a few examples of publishers who’ve implemented the Custom Search Element:Yin Yang House On the Yin Yang House site, search results using the Custom Search Element appear inline on the page, allowing users to search without leaving the current page context.Digital InspirationVilliard.comFor publishers who like to tinker with code, you might find this post useful - it outlines how to further customize your Custom Search Element with CSS and JavaScript.If you’d like to share your use of the Custom Search Element, leave us a comment! We’d love to see what you’ve done. Posted by Christine Tsai - Google Web Elements Team

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Google has started adding “Ads by Google” to more of its ads around the web. The reasoning for this is that a lot more advertisers are using Google’s rich media ad formats these days, and the fact that they come from Google may not seem so obvious all the time.”You’ll soon notice a small ‘i’ (for ‘information’) icon overlay in the bottom right-hand corner of these ads, which will expand when the user hovers over it,” explains Dan Friedman from Google’s Inside AdWords crew. “This was specially designed for rich media ads. This new message will appear on your AdWords rich media ads, and will show up on standard AdSense ad units.”It will look something like this:

Just as in the past, when users click “Ads by Google,” they will be taken to a page where they can learn about Google advertising. Google says tests have shown that this doesn’t affect ad performance.Google also recently started adding YouTube promoted videos into the AdWords/AdSense mix. In addition, they have introduced a new way for local businesses to advertise, and given advertisers more tracking options.

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Tomorrow marks Diwali, a festival of lights in India, and so we’d like to wish all our publishers a happy and safe Diwali. We hope this festival brings you good luck and prosperity!Posted by the AdSense India Team

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You’ve probably noticed the “Ads by Google” label that appears with ads on your site — we display this label because we want users to have an awareness and understanding of the ads they see online and where they come from. As more and more advertisers use rich media ad formats, such as Flash and interactive ads, we want to provide the same benefit to users for those ad formats. So today we’re starting to add the “Ads by Google” message to rich media ads in a way that’s unobtrusive to the ad creative and your site, but as user-friendly as our current “Ads by Google” notices on other ad formats. You’ll soon notice a small “i” (for “information”) icon overlay in the bottom right-hand corner of these ads, which will expand when the user hovers over it. This was specially designed for rich media ads. This new message will appear on ads created by AdWords advertisers, and will show up on your website’s standard AdSense ad units.Just like before, users who click on the “Ads by Google” label will be taken to a page where they can learn more about online advertising and the ads they’ve just seen. Our tests of this new message format on rich media ads showed that they provided information to users without affecting ad performance. Posted by Robby Stein - AdSense Product Marketing

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We’re pleased to announce that our Dublin-based AdSense team has just released a new webinar schedule. Over the coming months, we look forward to helping you discover how to take advantage of the full potential of your site. Choose from a range of topics, including optimisation, AdSense for search, Analytics, and Google Ad Manager, and see how you can make the most out of AdSense.During each of these webinars, an AdSense specialist will guide you through a presentation and will be available afterward to take questions related to the topic. We’ve heard from previous attendees that they found our webinars worthwhile, particularly for the chance to ask questions and learn more about solutions suited to their sites. We encourage you to join us, and to let us know which webinars would interest you in the future.The first webinar will take place tomorrow, October 14th, and will cover the essentials of optimisation. To find out more or to register today, visit our Help Center.Posted by Siobhan McCormack - AdSense Optimisation Team

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Our engineers will be performing routine site maintenance this Saturday, October 10th, from 10am to 2pm PDT. Although you’ll be unable to log in to your AdSense and Ad Manager accounts during this time, we’ll continue to track your clicks, impressions, and earnings as usual. In addition, your ad serving and targeting won’t be affected. Here’s the maintenance start time, converted for a few cities around the world:London - 6pm SaturdayBucharest - 8pm SaturdayMumbai - 10:30pm SaturdayTaipei - 1am SundaySydney - 4am SundayThanks for your patience, and in the meantime, you might be interested in reading more about what our engineers are working on during these maintenance periods.Posted by Arlene Lee - Inside AdSense Team

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Start spreading the news: the Content Revenue Strategies (CRS) conference and expo is coming to New York City on November 5th. Formerly known as ADSPACE, CRS will take place alongside ad:tech New York and offer sessions tailored to small and medium sized publishers. You’ll have the opportunity to meet other AdSense publishers during the event, and a variety of speakers will share their experiences and techniques to help you increase your AdSense revenue. You’ll also hear from a number of Google representatives at CRS, and we especially hope you’ll join us for the two keynote sessions. During the first keynote, Group Product Manager Jonathan Bellack will share insights into our team’s product vision and discuss how recent product enhancements can help you grow your business. The second keynote will feature the return of the AdSense Publisher Forum, an open Q&A session where attendees can ask questions directly to a panel of AdSense team members. The panel will be moderated by Jennifer Slegg of JenSense.com, and feature Head of Publisher Solutions Gavin Bishop, Online Sales and Operations Manager Christian Ashlock, and Product Manager Tim Evans.Lastly, a team of AdSense optimizers will be present at the conference to meet you and answer your questions. Stop by our Optimization Lounge to receive customized performance tips for your websites, and share your product feedback and suggestions. Register today using our Google promotional code CRSGoogle, and you’ll receive $100 off the price of a conference pass. (And if you register by this Friday, October 9th, you can take advantage of the Early Bird price.) Your CRS conference pass will grant you access to all of the sessions and keynotes, a CRS attendee lunch, and the ad:tech New York Expo Hall. For more information about the conference, including the full schedule and confirmed speakers, visit the official CRS website.We look forward to seeing you in NYC in November!Posted by Arlene Lee - Inside AdSense Team

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