In light of the recent proposed invalid click settlement, our friends at Inside AdWords interviewed Shuman Ghosemajumder, Business Product Manager for Trust & Safety, to answer some of the most important questions. We thought you would also be interested in reading the Q&A -- so make sure to check out this post from Inside AdWords.
Thursday, 9 March 2006
Tuesday, 7 March 2006
Tell us your feedback on referrals
One of our goals on the referrals team is to continually give you new and improved features. Now we'd like to hear more of your feedback.
Anything and everything is welcome -- this is your chance to tell us if there's a new button design you want us to create or a cool new feature idea you've been dying to tell us about. So, whether you simply want to share your success story or you have suggestions to help us improve your 'referrals experience', please feel free to send us a note!
Anything and everything is welcome -- this is your chance to tell us if there's a new button design you want us to create or a cool new feature idea you've been dying to tell us about. So, whether you simply want to share your success story or you have suggestions to help us improve your 'referrals experience', please feel free to send us a note!
Friday, 3 March 2006
Why the lower eCPM?
Now that site targeted and contextually targeted ads can be displayed separately in AdSense Advanced Reports, there seems to be some confusion about site targeted ads with lower eCPM. We'd like to explain why you should always feel assured that you're getting the best paying ads for your pages.
Site targeted ads compete in the same auction as contextually targeted ads. They will only appear on your site if they represent a higher eCPM than any combination of contextually targeted ads competing to display in the same ad unit. The AdWords auction process takes into account factors such as bid price and clickthrough rate in calculating Ad Rank, the ranking system determining which ads will appear on your page. Opting into site targeted ads should only improve your overall revenue potential by deepening the pool of advertisements competing to display on your sites.
So why is the eCPM associated with site targeted ads sometimes lower than the eCPM associated with contextual ads in your Advanced Reports? The answer is that site targeted ads are most likely appearing on lower performing pages within your account – in other words, pages requiring a lower eCPM to win the AdWords ad auction. For example, say your ad unit on 'PageA.com' has an eCPM of $5.00, and a combination of contextually targeted ads are displaying. Your ad unit on 'PageB.com' has an eCPM of $1.00, and a site targeted ad is displaying because it represents the highest revenue potential for this page.
If these are the only two pages on which you are displaying AdSense ads, your Advanced Reports will show an eCPM of $5.00 for contextual ads, and an eCPM of $1.00 for site targeted ads. However, all of your ad units are automatically optimized to display the highest paying ads available at that moment.
Lastly, please remember that site targeted ads pay on a cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM) basis, not on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis, so you will be paid whether or not your visitors click on them. For site targeted ads, clickthrough rate does not affect eCPM since advertisers bid on a cost-per-thousand impression basis rather than a cost-per-click basis.
Site targeted ads compete in the same auction as contextually targeted ads. They will only appear on your site if they represent a higher eCPM than any combination of contextually targeted ads competing to display in the same ad unit. The AdWords auction process takes into account factors such as bid price and clickthrough rate in calculating Ad Rank, the ranking system determining which ads will appear on your page. Opting into site targeted ads should only improve your overall revenue potential by deepening the pool of advertisements competing to display on your sites.
So why is the eCPM associated with site targeted ads sometimes lower than the eCPM associated with contextual ads in your Advanced Reports? The answer is that site targeted ads are most likely appearing on lower performing pages within your account – in other words, pages requiring a lower eCPM to win the AdWords ad auction. For example, say your ad unit on 'PageA.com' has an eCPM of $5.00, and a combination of contextually targeted ads are displaying. Your ad unit on 'PageB.com' has an eCPM of $1.00, and a site targeted ad is displaying because it represents the highest revenue potential for this page.
If these are the only two pages on which you are displaying AdSense ads, your Advanced Reports will show an eCPM of $5.00 for contextual ads, and an eCPM of $1.00 for site targeted ads. However, all of your ad units are automatically optimized to display the highest paying ads available at that moment.
Lastly, please remember that site targeted ads pay on a cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM) basis, not on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis, so you will be paid whether or not your visitors click on them. For site targeted ads, clickthrough rate does not affect eCPM since advertisers bid on a cost-per-thousand impression basis rather than a cost-per-click basis.
Channels are made for changing
If it ain't broke, don't fix it -- or so the saying goes. But when it comes to your AdSense account, toss that adage out the window and you could be on your way to earning more. Experimentation is the watchword, as we've highlighted in the new Optimizing with Channels guide.
This down to earth refresher will ease you through the seemingly daunting process of testing with channels so you can realize the best AdSense implementation for your site. Been using a leaderboard for months? Try switching to a medium rectangle. You know that funky eye-grabbing color scheme you've been using for your ads? See what happens when you blend your ads into the rest of your site.
With a little trial and comparison, you'll know which formats, colors, and placements earn the most money for you. Implement your findings on a site-wide basis, and bingo -- suddenly you're making more money than before. And all because you spent a few moments schooling yourself in the art of channels.
This down to earth refresher will ease you through the seemingly daunting process of testing with channels so you can realize the best AdSense implementation for your site. Been using a leaderboard for months? Try switching to a medium rectangle. You know that funky eye-grabbing color scheme you've been using for your ads? See what happens when you blend your ads into the rest of your site.
With a little trial and comparison, you'll know which formats, colors, and placements earn the most money for you. Implement your findings on a site-wide basis, and bingo -- suddenly you're making more money than before. And all because you spent a few moments schooling yourself in the art of channels.
Thursday, 2 March 2006
Advanced site targeting and referrals reporting
You've worked hard to create site content that's valuable to users and appealing to advertisers. But how do you know if any advertisers are targeting their ads to your specific site? With the latest improvements to your Advanced Reports, you can find out with the check of a box. Just follow these steps to view separate reports for contexual targeting and site targeting:
1. Visit your Advanced Reports page
2. Choose AdSense for content as the product
3. Select to show data by 'Individual Ad Unit' from the drop-down menu
4. Click the checkbox marked 'Show data by targeting type - contextual or site'
5. Generate your report as usual
Now, you can be in the know about how much of your traffic is viewing site-targeted CPM ads and how much is viewing contextually-targeted CPC ads.
We've also added advanced reports for referrals. This will allow you to track referrals clicks, sign-ups, conversions and earnings over a more flexible date range.
1. Visit your Advanced Reports page
2. Choose AdSense for content as the product
3. Select to show data by 'Individual Ad Unit' from the drop-down menu
4. Click the checkbox marked 'Show data by targeting type - contextual or site'
5. Generate your report as usual
Now, you can be in the know about how much of your traffic is viewing site-targeted CPM ads and how much is viewing contextually-targeted CPC ads.
We've also added advanced reports for referrals. This will allow you to track referrals clicks, sign-ups, conversions and earnings over a more flexible date range.
Wednesday, 1 March 2006
Time limit for AdSense referrals earnings is now 180 days
You may have noticed today that the time limit for AdSense referrals is now 180 days. Based on the feedback we heard, we agreed that 90 days may not provide enough time for your referred publishers to complete earning $100. Therefore, we decided to double the window. This change is retroactive, so it will also apply to AdSense signups that occurred more than 90 days but less than 180 days ago.
AdSense gets a facelift
As your website grows, it's important to take a step back occasionally and make sure your users' needs are still being addressed. We do the same thing here on the AdSense team. Over the past year, we've added lots of features and we're pleased to unveil a new account interface so it's easier to use them.
You can now access all AdSense products from the AdSense Setup tab within your account -- edit your color palettes, get code snippets, access your channels, and more. As we add even more products and features, they'll all share a consistent style to keep AdSense easy to use. For example, try out the new AdSense for content color picker for choosing and customizing new color palettes on the fly. Explore the link unit wizard with its new live preview feature and expanded explanations of this unique advertising option. These are just a couple of the many features we're planning to offer, so keep an eye out for new options soon.
We also wanted to improve the experience for new publishers, especially those who signed up through our new AdSense referrals program. These changes should help them get to their first $100 even faster, which in turn helps experienced publishers earn their referral bonuses, too.
We hope you'll enjoy using the new interface, and we look forward to making it even better with your feedback!
You can now access all AdSense products from the AdSense Setup tab within your account -- edit your color palettes, get code snippets, access your channels, and more. As we add even more products and features, they'll all share a consistent style to keep AdSense easy to use. For example, try out the new AdSense for content color picker for choosing and customizing new color palettes on the fly. Explore the link unit wizard with its new live preview feature and expanded explanations of this unique advertising option. These are just a couple of the many features we're planning to offer, so keep an eye out for new options soon.
We also wanted to improve the experience for new publishers, especially those who signed up through our new AdSense referrals program. These changes should help them get to their first $100 even faster, which in turn helps experienced publishers earn their referral bonuses, too.
We hope you'll enjoy using the new interface, and we look forward to making it even better with your feedback!
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