Google AdSense Tips

Google AdSense Tips
By Sharon Housley (c) 2006

AdSense allows website publishers to display contextually
relevant advertisements on their website. If a web visitor
"clicks" on an advertisement, the web publisher will earn a
percentage of the advertising revenue generated as a result
of the click. Many webmasters have built content websites
around the Google AdSense model. In many cases the specific
intent of the webmaster is to profit from Google AdSense.
Other webmasters use Google AdSense to supplement their
revenue. Regardless of the webmaster's intent, the following
tips will help webmasters looking to profit from AdSense.

Top AdSense Tips:

1. Niche Sites.
Targeted niche sites that have a clear theme, tend to generate
more advertising revenue simply because it is easier for these
sites to achieve decent search engine placement. Be warned
though, you want to choose a niche where there is a sufficient
number of advertisements available.

2. Target Keywords.
When determining the site's focus, consider how much advertisers
pay for the advertisements. If the site is focused on ringtones,
like Ringtone Central http://www.ringtones-central.com the payout
per-click is going to be very small because ringtones are not
high ticket items and advertisers will not spend a lot on
pay-per-click advertisements. With less obvious markets use
Overture to determine how much advertisers pay-per-keyword. It
is usually similar on Google. Search Overture for a keyword then
click "View Advertisers' Max Bids" in the top right corner. This
will show the Overture inventory and how much is paid per
keyword. Because the market has become very competitive, it is
difficult to rank well in search engines with a new website that
is optimized for the terms that have the highest payout. Consider
targeting terms that are moderately priced.

3. Aged Sites / Time.
Over time as a website is spidered by Google, advertisements
will generally increase in relevance. In general, older websites
will rank better in search engines. The closer the advertisements
relate to the webpage's content; the higher the "click-through"
the publishers will see.

4. Coding.
In order to minimize a website's maintenance place the Google
generated AdSense code in the website template or an include
file. This will allow you to easily experiment with different
advertisement sizes and ad placement, and keep web maintenance
to a minimum.

5. Tracking Channels.
In order to know how effective a specific website or ad
placement is, use distinct channels and subchannels within
Google. This will allow you to discern what performs best on a
specific website. Using channels will tell you what sites are
making money, what advertisements are making money and what ad
position is the most profitable on a specific website. Keep in
mind that you should run an advertisement for a full week, in
order to properly test its effectiveness. Different days of the
week will have varying web traffic, so comparing one week to
another will give the most accurate reflection of how effective
a campaign performs.

The same is true when testing different advertisement sizes,
placement or color schemes. Be sure to leave campaigns in place
for one week. Again, different days will often result in web
traffic fluctuations. Comparing web traffic, week to week will
give a clear indication of what ad formats perform the best.

6. Integrated Ad Placement.
Many webmasters have been successful at integrating
advertisements into a website. The easiest way to integrate
an advertisement into a website is to remove the advertisement
border. This will allow the ads to better blend with the webpage.
Google recommends contrasting the link colors with the website
colors to increase click-throughs. It is also suggested that
webmasters randomize the color of the advertisements, so that
frequent users will not naturally "filter" the ads.

Examples of integrated ad placement:
http://www.golf-clubhouse.net or
http://www.security-protection.net

7. Number vs Value of Advertisements.
Place up to three advertisements on each page. Additional
advertisements drop in value and dilute ad inventory so
publishers should be cautious in adding more advertisement
units. In other words you want to serve the most expensive ads
at all times.

8. Hot Spots.
Like web copy, above the fold holds true with AdSense as well.
This means that advertisements that appear without having to
scroll will be read more frequently. Hot Spots are areas on a
web page that result in a higher percentage of click-throughs.
According to Google the highest paying advertisements are located
on the hot spots.

Hot Spots Map:
http://www.small-business-software.net/heat-map.htm

Google does not indicate if image advertisements or text ads
perform better, so webmasters are encouraged to experiment
with both.

9. Highest Performing Ad Sizes.
According to Google the 336 x 280 rectangle, the 300 x250
rectangle and the 160 x 600 sky scraper result in the highest
number of click-throughs. Depending on the website's design
and layout, publishers may experience different results with
different ad sizes, placements and color schemes. Expirement
and track the results for each website to maximize the AdSense
payout.

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Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll
http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing,
publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages
marketing for NotePage http://www.notepage.net a wireless text
messaging software company.
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