Specific recommendations for individual ad units

We recently posted about personalized optimization tips you can receive via email or directly in your AdSense account. Today we'd like to introduce another form of optimization tips that we'll be rolling out over the next several weeks. These recommendations will show you how to make changes to your AdSense for Content ad unit type or format setting directly in your account in order to earn more.

To generate these new types of notifications, we use our technology to simulate the ad auction for a specific ad unit using different ad type and/or ad format settings. If our simulation shows that any of these changed settings consistently result in higher revenue for that ad unit, we’ll show a recommendation in your account. Please note that these simulations will not affect your live traffic or earnings, and you’ll only see a recommendation if our simulated auction demonstrated increased revenue for your account.

The recommendations are visible on the “Home” tab of your AdSense account so implementing a recommendation is quick and easy.

For ad type recommendations, simply click the “Do this now” button and your ad unit type will be automatically updated.

For ad format recommendations, clicking the “Create this unit” button will create a new ad unit of the recommended ad format on the “My ads” tab. To complete the implementation, replace the current ad unit code in your webpage(s) with the newly created ad unit code.

With multiple methods of bringing performance suggestions to you, we hope to help you simplify your ad management and maximize your ad revenue. For more information on personalized recommendations, please visit our Help Center.

Posted by Gregory Block, AdSense Engineering

Read more

Watch our video to learn how to integrate AdSense ads with your quality content

Placing additional ad units on your site can have a big impact on your earnings. However, sometimes publishers find it difficult to decide whether an additional ad unit makes sense for their site. We've created a short video below to help you make sure you're following best practices, as outlined on Google’s webmaster guidelines, when placing new ad units on your site.

Ultimately, great content is what will help your site stand out and engage your users. We recommend that you only place ad units on pages that are rich in original content and keep the user experience in mind as you think about where you place your ads.  Take a look at the video below for more information!



Posted by Caroline Halpin, AdSense Optimization Team
 

Read more

Personalized optimization tips explained

We’ve heard from many of you that the AdSense optimization tips we regularly discuss are helpful but you’re still not sure just how these tips apply to your sites. You understand that wide formats perform better, but which of your small formats should you swap out? And which format sizes should you replace them with? Over the last year, we’ve increased our efforts to bring publishers personalized optimization messages that address these kinds of questions with the goal to provide targeted, personalized and impactful tips to as many publishers as possible.

The criteria we review to determine eligibility for a tip varies depending on the opportunity but the same principle remains true for all of them: we will only contact you if we expect you’ll see a significant benefit from making the recommended changes. Several of the success stories shared on the AdSense blog are of publishers who implemented the specific suggestions we made for their websites. For instance, Surgery Squad, FunCheapSF, and CareerPlanner all saw AdSense revenue increases between 50-200% after making the changes recommended by a personalized optimization tip.

While we can’t guarantee the same results for all publishers, each tip is generated using rigorous analysis of our entire content network to identify opportunities for significant improvement in AdSense performance. We’re constantly analyzing the performance of different AdSense configurations across all site types, regions, and verticals to determine which tweaks and adjustments will work best for your site.

When we detect a specific improvement you could make to your AdSense implementation, you’ll receive a notification from us either in an email (to the address listed as your contact email and only if you’re opted in to Performance Suggestions) or directly to your AdSense account. These messages have been around for awhile but starting this month you’ll notice a new line indicating that the message contains a personalized optimization tip that’s unique to your website and ad layout. We're also continuously working on new signals and ways to get that information to you in your account.

Be sure to check your email and AdSense account for optimization tips. We want your site to succeed with AdSense and we hope these personalized tips will help you achieve higher levels of performance from our products. As with any of our optimization tips, we always encourage you to test to find the right implementation for your site and users!

Posted by Jane Brinkley-- AdSense Optimization Team

Read more

Set up a crawler login for increased ad relevancy on pages behind a login

This is the second post in our two-part AdSense Crawler Errors series.

Recently we discussed ways to improve ad targeting and relevancy by making sure that the AdSense crawler can view all pages that have AdSense code on them. Sometimes though, it can become problematic when a publisher has a members only site that requires the user to log in to view the site’s content. In cases like this, the AdSense ads that are located behind the login aren’t as relevant and targeted as they could be.

If you’re a publisher with content behind a login page, be sure to set up an AdSense crawler login so that your ads are as well-targeted as possible. Doing so will give the AdSense crawler the ability to scan content on these pages, resulting in more relevant, targeted ads that can potentially increase your CTRs and revenue. Please note that adding a crawler login will only help to deliver better, more relevant ads to pages with AdSense code already on them, and will not have any effect on which pages of your site Google Search will index.

To grant the AdSense crawler access, log in to your AdSense account and click on ‘Account settings.’ From there, scroll down to the ‘Access and authorization’ section and click on ‘edit logins’ next to crawler logins.

Then click on ‘Add a Login.’ You’ll be prompted to fill in pertinent information that the AdSense crawler will use to log in to your site and crawl your content.

After that, you’ll need to log in to Webmaster Tools to verify your website, if you haven’t already done so. Once verified, the crawler will be able to log in successfully and scan your content to deliver more targeted ads.

For additional information, take a look at our help center article regarding displaying ads on login-protected pages.

Posted by Andrew Boni - Inside AdSense Team

Read more

AdSense crawler errors: Check your robots.txt file for improved ad targeting and relevancy

This is the first post in our two-part AdSense Crawler Errors series.

There are many ways that publishers can go about optimizing their site for AdSense; opting-in to text/image ads, upgrading to our preferred ad formats, and increasing ad coverage across a site are just a few of the more well-known ones. But did you know that there’s another straightforward optimization tip that many publishers often overlook?

A bit of context
Your site’s robots.txt file essentially acts as a gatekeeper that determines which web crawlers, web robots, and search engines have access to your site and which do not. Those that are granted permission can do things like view your pages and index your site. Those that don’t have permission are not able to view or index specific sections of your site, depending on what you’ve specified.

AdSense ads are displayed through the use of an AdSense web crawler. That crawler scans your page’s content and determines which ads to display, according to specific keywords. If our AdSense crawler is being blocked by your robots.txt file, we’re going to have a difficult time displaying relevant ads on your site. As a result, your users may see less relevant ads, which can lead to a lower CTR.

How you can help yourself
View the contents of your robots.txt file by going to [yourdomain.com]/robots.txt.  (If you have a subdomain, it likely has a robots.txt file as well, located at [sub.yourdomain.com]/robots.txt.) Be sure that the file is configured to allow our AdSense ad crawler to view your site. You can do that by simply adding the following two lines to the very top of the file:

User-agent: Mediapartners-Google
Disallow:

This will ensure that our AdSense ad crawler can access your site and will help display more relevant ads. As a result, you can potentially benefit from increased ad revenue. Please note that making this change will not impact your Google search rankings. Adding these two lines to your robots.txt file will only help to deliver better, more relevant ads to pages with AdSense code already on them. Pages that don’t have AdSense ad code will not be affected.

If you have URLs with any errors, you can see what they are by logging into your AdSense account and clicking on ‘Account Settings’ from the home page. From there, click on ‘View errors’ under ‘Access and Authorization.’

Stay tuned for the second post in our AdSense Crawler Errors series, where we’ll cover crawler login issues and how you can solve them.

Posted by Andrew Boni - Inside AdSense Team

Read more

Test your knowledge with the AdSense Academy

Whether you’re new to AdSense or have been using it for years, the AdSense Academy can help you successfully run your AdSense account by following six step-by-step learning modules. The Academy provides best practices on everything from implementing your ad units to building your traffic to controlling your ads.

The AdSense Academy includes checklists, videos and quizzes that you can take at the end of each module to test your knowledge.

	Join the Academy Now!

Please feel free to provide any feedback by commenting on this post or on the AdSense Forum.

Posted by Thomas Tran - Inside AdSense Team

Read more

Prepare for the upcoming holiday season with placement targeting

With the holidays right around the corner, premium brand-name AdWords advertisers are preparing for the season by increasing their marketing budgets and scheduling targeted campaigns. You can prepare too by taking advantage of placement targeting to allow advertisers to directly target your site.

While all sites are eligible for placement targeting, there are things you can do to help increase the amount of placement targeted ads on your site. First, turn your custom channels into ad placements. Be sure to fill out a well-written title and description to help potential advertisers understand the audiences they’ll reach by bidding on your site. Some details to include in the description are your site name, vertical, ad position, ad size and site demographic.

Next, ensure you are using our most successful ad units and are placing them in optimal positions. Finally, claim your site in Ad Planner. Following these steps will help advertisers find your site to target and choose where to place their ads on a specific section or area. Placement targeted ads typically receive much higher RPMs, which results in higher earnings for you.

Creating targeted channels is easy and a great way to earn extra revenue, but it takes time for them to show up for advertisers, so act soon! Just follow the instructions in our Help Center. Once you've made the changes, not only will your ads be ready for this holiday season, but they'll also be targetable by advertisers for every premium campaign in the future.

Posted by Jamie Firkus, Inside AdSense team

Read more

Sulit.com.ph lifts revenue by 50% using Custom Search Ads on the Search result pages.

Sulit in Filipino means “worth it” and refers to the deals available on Sulit.com.ph. The site helps users in Philippines locate, buy, and sell products online. Co-founder RJ recently spoke to us to describe how he optimized AdSense performance and revenue by moving from AdSense for Content to Custom Search Ads on the search result pages of Sulit. As a refresher, Custom Search Ads is a special feature that allows publishers to monetize their search results pages with targeted and customizable search ads similar to those found on Google.com.

Inside AdSense: Can you tell us a little about how and when www.sulit.com.ph got started?
RJ: Sulit.com.ph started as a project for my then-girlfriend and now-wife Arianne and I in 2006. We launched it as an experiment to understand the online market potential for our business and we wanted to determine which category the users were looking for and where we could invest as an online business.

After a few months, the traffic to the website started to grow which made us decide to push through with the classified ads site. The decision to move ahead with Sulit.com.ph proved to be a great call as Sulit has become one of the most visited websites in the Philippines today. Our purpose was to help connect Filipino buyers and sellers online, in a marketplace if you may.

IA: What role does AdSense play in your business?
RJ: By November 2006, the traffic to the website had started to increase. Since this was a bootstrap project, we did not have any business model in place at the beginning. I was using AdSense on some of my smaller websites and understood the value of having AdSense on our site. So we decided to monetize the site by using AdSense. We signed up for an account in November 2006 and got our very first AdSense check in February 2007. It was easy to use and the returns helped us grow our experiment to a full blown corporation. AdSense served as our primary revenue source while we were growing the business.

IA: Why did you decide to try out Custom Search Ads on your pages?
RJ: I received an optimization tip from the AdSense team suggesting I maximize revenue by changing from AdSense for content to AdSense for search on my search result pages. AdSense for content was an effective system as it displayed related ads to the content of a webpage. AdSense for search takes the relevancy to a whole new level and hence its more effective. The code allows us to display ads related to what the user is actually searching for. It benefits us by providing value to our users. When our users see related ads and no clutter on our search result pages, we guarantee return and loyal visitors which in turn helps our business grow.

And since the the ads are relevant we’ve seen more click and this helps us to continue providing this free service through the revenue we generate through AdSense.

IA: What were the results? Would you recommend this strategy to other publishers?
RJ: It surprised me that it is possible to serve advertising that gives value to our users. It allowed us to add more development resources in tweaking and adding more innovative features to Sulit.com.ph which is helping to get more and more users to use the website.

I’d recommend that other publishers who have a search based site consider optimizing revenue by adding Custom Search Ads on the search results. If the ads are appropriately positioned, it will provide a great user experience and also ensure that you maximize your Google AdSense returns. I would also recommend that you test the ad units on your site since you the publisher will know how the user responds, and navigates through your site best.

Since the implementation of Custom Search Ads on our site we’ve seen a 50% increase in our overall revenue through AdSense, which is fantastic!

If you have a search-based site, we encourage you to learn more about Custom Search Ads and apply to use the feature.

Posted by Amrita Kamat, AdSense Partnerships Specialist

Read more

Targeted link units bring in 25% of MyPlayCity’s online revenue.

MyPlayCity.com offers more than 350 full-version, downloadable games, all for free. Ksenia Kazak, director of marketing and PR, shared her experience with growing MyPlayCity’s revenue and improving AdSense performance just by adding link units to their pages.

Inside AdSense: Tell us a little more about MyPlayCity. When did it launch?

Ksenia Kazak: We created the site in 2006, and today have more than one million visitors daily. We offer casual games, which are easy to play, small, colorful and suitable for all ages. None of our games have time limits, and users can download them and play for as long as they want, for free. It’s great for our users, because gamers usually have to pay for their games.

IA: How do you use AdSense on your site?

KK: We’ve used AdSense from the very beginning – it was a clear choice for us. We’ve used features like AdSense for search, AdSense for feeds, and we recently implemented AdSense for games which has worked really well for us. From time to time we’ve tried using other ad networks, but they haven’t worked as well as AdSense – it is our main source of revenue.

IA: Why did you decide to start showing link units on your site?

KK: We learned about adding link units as we were setting up AdSense on our site. We’re always eager to try new things, so we decided to give link units a go. We learned that we could add up to three link units in addition to the three AdSense for content units we already have on each page, so we decided to give it a shot.

We wanted to ensure the site would stay user-friendly and create a positive user experience. So, we thought carefully about ad placement, as it’s important to us to emphasize our content and build a loyal user base that will keep coming back. Following recommendations from the AdSense team, we implemented a wide 728x15 format with four links on the top and bottom of the pages.

IA: What were the results? Would you recommend this strategy to other publishers?

KK: The link units are very efficient in terms of revenue – they bring in 25% of our total online revenue. The ads are quite targeted and they generate a huge user interest. Compared to our other AdSense for content ads, the link units perform very well. With this additional revenue from link units, we’ve been able to add more games to our collection. We’re able to improve our site and bring in a larger audience that’s increasingly loyal.

In terms of placement, our link units at the top of the page perform well, as users are more likely to see them there, yet they do not distract from the page content. At the same time, the link units also work really well at the bottom of the page, as users tend to scroll down to change the language of the site. It’s another opportunity for users to find the links. The AdSense team recommended using four link units instead of five, since the font is larger and they are more visible to the user.

I’d recommend other publishers adding link to their sites, as they are an excellent solution in limited space. They take up very little room, but the revenue is significant.

If you’d like to add link units to your site like MyPlayCity, sign in to your account today.

1. Once you’re signed in to your AdSense account, click the “My Ads” tab in the new AdSense interface
2. Scroll to the bottom of the ‘size’ drop-down and select your link unit size. We recommend trying one of our top-performing sizes: 728x15, 160x90 or 468x15
   

Once you've updated your pages, link units will appear immediately. If we haven't yet crawled your page, we may initially show your alternate ad or a 'View ads about' search box in the link unit.

Some additional link units tips and best practices from the AdSense team:

• Try wider formats with fewer links – for example, 728x15 (4 links), 160x90 (4 links), or 468x15 (4 links).
• Effective placements include the top of the page (after navigation and before page content) and at the bottom of the page (at the end of an article). Horizontal ad link units usually work better for this (728x15 and 468x15 formats).
• If the horizontal format is not adapted to your site, you can use vertical formats (such as 160x90 or 200x90) to fill small spaces in the sidebar. Or try wrapping text around the ad units inside an article to serve as a content breaker.
  

Posted by Jane Brinkley - AdSense Optimization Team

Read more

AdSense is in town: Join our publisher event in the UK

How can I make the most out of my AdSense revenue potential? Which opportunities are coming from current trends on the online market? How can I improve the user experience on my website?

We’ll be addressing these questions and many more at our upcoming AdSense publisher event, taking place in the London area the first week of June. We’d love to see you there. Sign up through the form below until Friday, May 27th and we’ll follow up via email with additional details if there's still room. Scheduling will be done on a first-come, first-served basis, but we’ll do our best to include as many of you as space will allow.

Sign up now!

During the event we’re offering many interesting workshops and presentations on website monetization. You’ll also have the opportunity to meet our optimization specialists for one-on-one optimization consultations.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Posted by Sophie Emmerich - Google AdSense Optimization Specialist

Read more