Google Still Reliant On Text For Ad Placement

Plenty of multimedia options exist for giving a website or blog a unique look, but when it comes to placing AdSense units, Google needs text.

The advent of universal search enables search engines to deliver more than the ten blue links of days past. When an image or video relevant to the query is available, people may see those items appear along with the usual links.

This lead to site publishers, bloggers in particular, to embrace the idea of pictures being worth a thousand words with their posts. A new post might be an image or a video, with little added to the post in the way of text, beyond the typical enthusiastic 'check this out' message.

It turns out that doing this on a site running Google's AdSense units gives the search engine problems when it tries to drop ads alongside that content. As noted on their Inside AdSense blog:Bad targeting likely means far fewer ad clicks, and less revenue, for Google and the site publisher. Despite the passage of time, Google's business model has not changed from a need for text to place advertising. It's something to keep in mind before posting one's next cute hedgehog pictures.

AdSense Ad Review Center Goes Missing For Some Google Publishers

A WebmasterWorld thread reports that Ad Review Center, which helps Google AdSense publishers block advertisers, has dropped all the advertisers from showing up in the list.

But Google really did not hide all these advertisers from their publishers. It appears that based on how you actually access the Ad Review Center, you may see different options.

Russ noticed it seems to be a rendered bug of some sort. Russ had to click on the blocked tab and then re-click on the allowed tab. Once he did that, the ads showed up again.

I tried this myself and it is 100% a bug. You load up the Ad Review Center and the "Allowed" tab shows up empty. So I clicked on the "Blocked" tab and then clicked back onto the "Allowed" tab and the ads showed up again.

So this seems like a small bug that seems to be freaking out some AdSense publishers.

17 Google Tips for Web Businesses

Web site owners should follow these handy tips for using Google's Analytics, AdSense, and AdWords tools.

by Jennifer L. DeLeo
Buzz up!on Yahoo!

Whether you're a first-time blogger or you've owned a Web site for many years, chances are you're not doing it just for fun. Most everyone wants to make money with their online venture, or at least gain lots of exposure. If this is the case, then you may want to opt for some Google tools to track your success.

If one of your objectives is to have a lot of eyeballs on your site, you may want to set up an account with Google Analytics, so that you can track your Web site's referrals and run traffic reports. Next, you'll likely want to choose which advertisements are relevant to your site's content by using Google AdSense. This way, you can earn money every time a visitor clicks on these ads. (Yes, real money!) Finally, Google AdWords will help you customize your ads and choose the right keywords to make your site search-friendly.

The idea of using these tools may seem a bit overwhelming at first. That's why we asked the Google experts to provide PC Magazine with a list of tips for using Analytics, AdSense, and Adwords. Study them, because they may just help your Web site grow and profit.

How Do I Convert Web Traffic Data into Revenue-Generating Opportunities?

Understanding your Web site traffic will help you improve your site's revenue-generating potential by telling you what type of ads will work best on your site, as well as by offering advertisers proof that you're getting what amounts to prequalified sales leads. If you have ads on your site such as Google AdSense, AdBrite, or other off-server ads, you can set pricing and content requirements as you see fit. Be careful though about giving traffic data too freely: You don't want to compromise your users' privacy by selling their e-mail addresses (unless they provide their explicit consent), and you don't want to give away any information that might be of value to a competitor.For more on Web advertising, be sure to read What Is CPC-Based Web Advertising?

AllBusiness.com operates one of the Web's premier business sites, providing practical information and services for business professionals and growing businesses. See more at www.allbusiness.com.

Mention in-game advertising to video game fanatics and you’re likely to get one of two responses.

Mention in-game advertising to video game fanatics and you’re likely to get one of two responses. The first will be bitter complaints that lament the scourge cluttering their virtual worlds. The other will be an uneasy acceptance that harbors hope the included ads will somehow make future games more affordable. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, however, in-game ads are here to stay.

Watchers like the Yankee group predict the marketplace for gaming advertisements will exceed $1b by 2012 and few companies invested in ad sales will let that pass by unattended. For several years, companies like Massive (Microsoft (MSFT)) and IGN have been working to make ads streamed to consoles an accepted reality. Publishers like EA (ERTS) and Activision (ATVI) have signed partnerships. Advertisers are lining up and anxious to see results.

Wednesday, Venture Beat reported Google (GOOG) may be gearing up to dive deeper into the market. According to the article, Google has been quietly testing “AdSense for Games” for months. Their technology, the report says, can be applied to console games, local PC titles, web-based PC titles and cell phone games. Wider spread deployment, the article suggests, could happen quickly.

At this point there is no official confirmation or news to suggest if anything is imminent. It is possible, as the article also contends, that this will remain in Google’s labs.

If a launch does happen, it would help settle questions about what Google’s been doing with the technology they acquired with the purchase of Adscape for $23m in February 2007.

For the near term, AdSense for Games is a story to watch.

At the end of June, Google expanded Adsense for video into a distribution service (Metue coverage of that deal is here).

Google Talks AdSense to Games

Earlier this month, we reported that had Google launched "Lively", its own browser-based virtual world. This seems to be the search giants' initial foray into the booming gaming segment, where Google virtually had no presence.

Well, looks like that will change soon, as initial reports indicate that Google has been quietly testing its "AdSense for Games" product for months. This according to sources is an in-game advertising technology that allows it to insert video ads into games. In demos of the technology, a game character can introduce a video ad, saying something like, "And now, a word from our sponsor". Google could launch the technology fairly sometime soon, since testing has been going on for a while now. Given that Google has been working on AdSense for Games since 2007, it's unclear why they haven't yet taken the plunge into the lucrative gaming pool. The gaming pool is occupied by established players like Double Fusion, IGA Worldwide, Microsoft's Massive, MochiMedia and NeoEdge Networks. Perhaps Google is waiting for some really innovative ideas to stir up the competition.

The Yankee Group predicts the gaming ad market will be worth $971.3 million by 2011. Google's top executives know that search advertising may not last forever, and in-game advertising could become a compelling technology over time as both games and in-game ad technology become more and more engaging.

Avoiding These Mistakes with Adsense

Don't you think it is fascinating that with so many Adsense publishers, all setting up hundreds of sites, they have absolutely no idea who their clients are? The first rule of setting up and maintaining a successful business is thorough knowledge of your client. Don't you think it is fascinating that with so many Adsense publishers, all setting up hundreds of sites, they have absolutely no idea who their clients are? The first rule of setting up and maintaining a successful business is thorough knowledge of your client.

Let's flip the coin and look at it from another angle. Google does not pay you for clicks on your site; the Adwords advertiser is forking out the money for your checks. The reason why he advertises is to sell a product or service or to drive people to his site for a subscription or whatever reason. He is doing it to gain a business advantage.

The question here is: Are you giving him an advantage or are you just costing him money?

You have heard "˜Adsense is dead' or "˜there is not so much money to be made from Adsense as in the past'. Most Adsense publishers think they have to set up a few more sites which will make up for the lost income. Dead wrong.

The reason for the downward spiral in Adsense income originates from untargeted ads on web pages. Most people would love to place the blame at the doorstep of Google, but this is not the case. The problem lies with the publishing of thousands of websites solely intended to get clicks, thus optimized for the search engine and not giving a second thought to the advertiser from Adwords.

The result from the misuse of Adsense is obvious. In most of the current Adwords information products one of the first warnings you are given when placing adwords ads is to remove the link to advertise on the content network. The reason is simple; the ads appear on untargeted pages leading to untargeted customers. This is a waste of the advertiser's money and a direct loss of income for the Adsense publisher. All the serious Adwords advertisers are not advertising on the content network, which in turn leads to less competition. The cost per click on a content page is far less that the cost on a generic page search.

Adwords and Adsense will never die and is and will remain one of the top income earners for many internet marketers.

So what now? The answer lies in improved sites with quality content. Play with the search engine not against it. If you want to compete with a search engine start your own. Not impossible, Google did it and succeeded.

So what exactly is improved content?

The keywords you are optimizing for should relate to your web content and add value for the visitor. This does not mean you have to write one thousand word pages all on your own. One to two hundred words per page will be fine as long as it answers the question or part of the question that the visitor was searching for with the search term. From there on the page can lead to Adsense ads and a click on the link will be a targeted visitor for the advertiser.

You also do not need to write each page yourself, you can still use PLR content and articles for your sites just make sure that the main question that the visitor would have when searching for that term is answered and lead them further to more specific information through Adsense ads.

Can you imagine the joy on your face when receiving a five figure check from Adsense, and think of the joy you would place on the face of the Adwords advertiser also receiving a five figure payday?

Once you have your site set up correctly there are a few elements that you need to give attention to. The truth about Adsense placement is that there is a trick to it. For high CTR your ad placement must be highly optimized.

I have seen this myself in testing different Adsense placement methods. One placement for all does not work. On certain pages it would be higher up and on others it would be lower down.

It is all dependent on the content of the page and the question you should ask yourself is at which point in the content is the visitor the most likely to want more specific information. If you write your content yourself you should write it in such a way that you give information and then raise curiosity, and it is at that point where your ad should appear for the first time. By utilizing this method and keeping your content targeted you will receive many clicks and your Adwords advertiser will receive the targeted visitors he wants.

Are you beginning to see how important it is to get the content and your ads right Now, let me ask you this: Are you one of the Adsense publishers who are costing advertiser's money or are you one that actually help make advertisers money?