If you've been roving around the AdSense Help Center, you may have noticed there's now a bigger, better version of our Optimization Tips page. If you're new to optimization, or just looking for some new ideas to increase your earnings, you may find the new page especially helpful. We've added more info on choosing successful color palettes and how to enrich your site through effective use of Google services like Blogger, AdWords, and Sitemaps (among others). You'll also find new, detailed suggestions for improving your AdSense performance on specific kinds of sites like blogs and forums. Many of the entries now include images like screenshots and heatmaps to make our tips easier to understand, and we think the new layout will make the whole thing easier to absorb and implement.
Friday, 21 July 2006
Run, don't crawl, to the new Site Diagnostics page
If you've ever wondered whether our crawler is able to reach all of your pages, you should try out the new Site Diagnostics tool. To determine the meaning of your site and show relevant ads, our crawlers need to be able to access your pages. Site Diagnostics enables you to see some of the errors our crawler finds while it's crawling. You can find the Site Diagnostics page listed under the Reports tab of your account.
If our crawler is having trouble reaching any of your pages, you'll see those URLs listed in the Blocked URLs section of the Site Diagnostics table. At the moment, we're displaying two types of errors:
URL not found – this means our crawler wasn't able to reach your pages, most likely because your server was temporarily down
Robots.txt file – this indicates that your robots.txt file was blocking our crawler from visiting
For help resolving either of these issues, just head over to the the AdSense Help Center. You can also access more general information about our crawler.
If you don't see any errors listed on your Site Diagnostics page but still want to improve the relevance of your Google ads, visit the following entries:
Why are my ads not relevant?
Why am I getting PSAs?
If our crawler is having trouble reaching any of your pages, you'll see those URLs listed in the Blocked URLs section of the Site Diagnostics table. At the moment, we're displaying two types of errors:
For help resolving either of these issues, just head over to the the AdSense Help Center. You can also access more general information about our crawler.
If you don't see any errors listed on your Site Diagnostics page but still want to improve the relevance of your Google ads, visit the following entries:
Monday, 17 July 2006
Blogs launch in Spanish, Dutch
We're excited to announce the launch of two new AdSense blogs -- Inside AdSense: Het Officiële Nederlandse Google AdSense Blog and Dentro de AdSense: El blog oficial de AdSense en español.
Now Dutch- and Spanish-speakers can keep up to date with the latest AdSense tips, features, and announcements in your own language. You can look forward to localized case studies from publishers who have increased revenue through optimization, and read posts from the AdSense team members who support the Dutch and Spanish markets.
Subscribe today to have posts sent directly to your inbox!
Now Dutch- and Spanish-speakers can keep up to date with the latest AdSense tips, features, and announcements in your own language. You can look forward to localized case studies from publishers who have increased revenue through optimization, and read posts from the AdSense team members who support the Dutch and Spanish markets.
Subscribe today to have posts sent directly to your inbox!
Friday, 14 July 2006
Do you speak AdSense?
Do the acronyms EFT, PSA, and CPM make you break out in a cold sweat? Would you not recognize a destination URL if it bumped into you on the street? Then get thee to the AdSense Glossary, where you'll find a complete list of terms and abbreviations used in AdSense. We've recently made improvements to the glossary to help publishers become even more adept at jargon-izing. So give it a perusal when you see an unfamiliar feature or term in your account or in one of our emails. While we don't guarantee any of the terms will be allowed in your next Scrabble match, at least you can use the term "IP" with confidence.
Wednesday, 12 July 2006
Google Video now in U.K., Canada
We know you want to make sure what appears on your pages is relevant to your users -- that's why you're using AdSense. Well, for all of our Canadian and U.K. readers (we know there are lots of you), here's news: Google Video now has localized versions just for you.
Now when uploading your video content, you can be sure that users in your country can view it in a relevant local interface. And when looking for videos to embed on your site, you'll see specifically what's popular in Canada, or the U.K.. To embed videos into your site quickly and easily, look for the Email - Blog - Post to MySpace button next to the video you'd like to display.
In addition to the U.S., Canada and U.K. versions, Google Video has launched other localized sites for Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, and the Netherlands.
So don't delay - start uploading, viewing, commenting, and sharing today.
Now when uploading your video content, you can be sure that users in your country can view it in a relevant local interface. And when looking for videos to embed on your site, you'll see specifically what's popular in Canada, or the U.K.. To embed videos into your site quickly and easily, look for the Email - Blog - Post to MySpace button next to the video you'd like to display.
In addition to the U.S., Canada and U.K. versions, Google Video has launched other localized sites for Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, and the Netherlands.
So don't delay - start uploading, viewing, commenting, and sharing today.
Friday, 7 July 2006
Video post: Geoffrey Vitt answers your questions
Geoffrey discusses the following:
1. Why aren't all of my ad units showing? I've pasted 3 ad units into my site, but only 1 appears.
2. The postal service in my town is unreliable. What other options do I have for receiving payments?
3. How do referrals work and why should I use them?
See full transcript
NOTES:
Geoffrey mentions that receiving checks by secured express delivery costs $25. Please note that this amount varies from country to country. For more information about the cost where you are, log into your account and check the Payment Details section of your My Account tab. Geoffrey also mentions that publishers can receive checks in their local currency. You can visit our Help Center for a full list of countries for which we offer payment in a local currency.
Wednesday, 5 July 2006
Your ad targeting questions answered
Andre asks: We are an online travel agency and recently put some Google ads on our site. Is there a way to make our ads more targeted to topics such as airlines, hotels, and etc.?
We say: Andre, this is a good question. As you may know, AdSense technology automatically determines which ads to display on your pages based on the overall content of that page; we can't manually target ads to specific keywords or categories. However, if you'd like to display ads related to topics like airlines or hotels, you can add more text-based content about these topics to your site. Make sure to include complete sentences and paragraphs to help our crawlers gather information about your pages and determine relevant ads to display. Also, if you do make changes to your site, keep in mind that can take a week or two before those changes are reflected by your ad targeting.
Mike asks: I have a blog with posts on different topics. How do I ensure that my ads are always targeted to the most recent post?
We say: Mike, have you tried section targeting? Section targeting allows you to suggest sections of your text and HTML content that you'd like us to emphasize or downplay when matching ads to your site's content. We want to make sure you're always receiving your maximum revenue potential, so our technology automatically detects whether your targeting suggestions will improve your revenue and adjusts accordingly.
Jessica asks: I’ve noticed some dating ads recently, which are not really appropriate for our site. How do I filter all the ads that contain word ‘dating’?
We say: Jessica, we don't currently offer the option to filter ads by keywords or topics. However, you can prevent unwanted ads from showing on your site by using the Competitive Ad Filter in your account. You can filter ads from up to 200 URLs from advertising on your site.
Jonathan asks: We have a commerce site that sells kitchen appliances. As soon as we implemented AdSense, ads from our direct competitors began to appear. We're using the Competitive Ad Filter list, but do you have any other tips that might benefit a site like ours?
We say: Jonathan, first, we recommend testing AdSense on a few pages to see how it performs. Some commerce publishers find that AdSense complements their sites by adding an additional revenue source without affecting their bread and butter businesses.
If you find that's not the case for you, there are still ways you can use AdSense strategically. For example, you might want to place Google ads on checkout pages or sales confirmation pages to provide your customers another action to take when they've completed shopping. If you're an AdWords advertiser, you can place ads on the pages where you normally place your conversion tracking code. However, if you use this placement, please make sure you're in compliance with our program policies regarding non-content pages. You should only place the AdSense code on checkout or sales confirmation pages if they contain signficant text-based content, which ensures that we're able to serve relevant ads.
You can also use a web analytics tool to figure out from which pages your visitors exit your site. If you're losing traffic without sales on a few specific pages where your users aren't finding what they're looking for, AdSense might provide a good 'next step' to help you monetize this traffic without compromising your business objectives.
We say: Andre, this is a good question. As you may know, AdSense technology automatically determines which ads to display on your pages based on the overall content of that page; we can't manually target ads to specific keywords or categories. However, if you'd like to display ads related to topics like airlines or hotels, you can add more text-based content about these topics to your site. Make sure to include complete sentences and paragraphs to help our crawlers gather information about your pages and determine relevant ads to display. Also, if you do make changes to your site, keep in mind that can take a week or two before those changes are reflected by your ad targeting.
Mike asks: I have a blog with posts on different topics. How do I ensure that my ads are always targeted to the most recent post?
We say: Mike, have you tried section targeting? Section targeting allows you to suggest sections of your text and HTML content that you'd like us to emphasize or downplay when matching ads to your site's content. We want to make sure you're always receiving your maximum revenue potential, so our technology automatically detects whether your targeting suggestions will improve your revenue and adjusts accordingly.
Jessica asks: I’ve noticed some dating ads recently, which are not really appropriate for our site. How do I filter all the ads that contain word ‘dating’?
We say: Jessica, we don't currently offer the option to filter ads by keywords or topics. However, you can prevent unwanted ads from showing on your site by using the Competitive Ad Filter in your account. You can filter ads from up to 200 URLs from advertising on your site.
Jonathan asks: We have a commerce site that sells kitchen appliances. As soon as we implemented AdSense, ads from our direct competitors began to appear. We're using the Competitive Ad Filter list, but do you have any other tips that might benefit a site like ours?
We say: Jonathan, first, we recommend testing AdSense on a few pages to see how it performs. Some commerce publishers find that AdSense complements their sites by adding an additional revenue source without affecting their bread and butter businesses.
If you find that's not the case for you, there are still ways you can use AdSense strategically. For example, you might want to place Google ads on checkout pages or sales confirmation pages to provide your customers another action to take when they've completed shopping. If you're an AdWords advertiser, you can place ads on the pages where you normally place your conversion tracking code. However, if you use this placement, please make sure you're in compliance with our program policies regarding non-content pages. You should only place the AdSense code on checkout or sales confirmation pages if they contain signficant text-based content, which ensures that we're able to serve relevant ads.
You can also use a web analytics tool to figure out from which pages your visitors exit your site. If you're losing traffic without sales on a few specific pages where your users aren't finding what they're looking for, AdSense might provide a good 'next step' to help you monetize this traffic without compromising your business objectives.
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