Part 3: Summary and Additional Resources

AdSense Do’s and Don’ts

Now that you know what AdSense is all about, we can offer the following do’s and don’ts – which more or less summarizes everything we’ve said so far.

Do’s

>The first rule of using AdSense is to follow their terms of service. Google has exceptional monitoring ability, and if they find any violation of their TOS, your account will be suspended, rendering all your efforts moot.

>Consider having a number of informative pages about varying topics but with a consistent theme for your website. That way you will have more ads to choose from and can possibly maximize your CTR.

>Use keywords to your advantage. Higher paying keywords will usually but not always yield more rewards. Think relevance. Also use variations of keywords for added advantage.

>Provide unique information on your web pages. The more specific the content of your website is, the more targeted your ads will be, and the more effective. Always focus on providing good quality information!

>Experiment with various ad formats on your web page and choose those that suite your website. You can choose to display ads with different formats on one page.

>Position your ad block in such a way that the ad is visible and yet it does not put off the readers. Ideally, place your ad in the top section of your webpage which can be viewed without scrolling down.

>Use the Google AdSense preview toolbar to your advantage and see how the ads will appear on your website. Get a hands-on feel of how the visitor to your website will view your web page.

>Use Google channels and other external tracking software to evaluate your performance on a routine basis.

Don’ts

Do not resort to fraudulent or deceptive means for generating clicks on the ads that are on your page. Some of the methods that are prohibited by Google AdSense are:

• Automated clicking programs

• Repeated manual clicks

• Using robots to generate clicks

• Clicking your own ads

• Tricking your visitors into clicking on your ads by using fraudulent means

Don’t have confusing layers of content. Content on your web page should not hide the ad text and URL. At the same time, it is advisable that you use same font type, size and color (background and font) for both the ads and the content on your web pages so that your ad does not announce itself as an outside ad. Ideally, your ad should look and feel like a part of your website.

Don’t have broken links on your site. Your website should not contain any broken links and should be easily navigable. Also, the content on your web pages should be informative, of high quality and the ads should be relevant to the content.

Don’t have old or illegal information on your site. Be careful about outdated information, plagiarized text and obscene or offensive material. Avoid using any of these on your web pages.

Two More AdSense Opportunities: RSS and Blogs

Adding Google Ads to your RSS feeds

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) has gained huge popularity on the Internet. RSS is an XML document format that organizes and stores news-like content from various sources into one source. Think of it like a newswire service, the kind of stuff that scrolls along the bottom of cable channels. A large percentage of the “news” items you find on any website that is not a major news portal got there through an RSS feed.

Google has introduced a specific program known as AdSense for RSS. You can join this program now and start making money with it. RSS offers a variety of interesting content options that most websites themselves can’t match.

Google AdSense for feeds has its own set of policies. These can be accessed at:

http://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/answer.py?answer=20134 Like the AdSense program, you must follow all guidelines in order to be accepted for the AdSense for feeds program.

Placing AdSense ads on your Blogs

Blogs are similar to RSS feeds in concept except they usually have one author rather than an aggregate of sources of the material they contain. Blogs (short for Web logs) are simple webpages where you can write articles and other content on a variety of topics, and both the famous and the unknown use these online diaries to share their thoughts, post pictures, and so on. The public can view this content and even comment on it in most cases.

Due to the considerable amount – and unlimited range – of content on Blogs, it may make sense to place AdSense ads on them. In fact, it is much easier to generate revenue from Blogs as compared to other web pages, at least in theory.

• First, blogs are full of content, most of which is original most of the time. The content may not be “good” from a human reader perspective but it is usually “good” according to Google’s scans. Thus, getting approved by Google AdSense may be easier.

• The content presented on the blog, in many cases, is quite diverse which, unlike a website that needs to be “about something” can be excused by the “everything and nothing” nature of most blogs. Consequently, the possibility of Google finding targeted ads that are relevant may increase.

• Google AdSense works only with those websites that are already indexed by Google. Blogs get indexed far more easily than regular webpages. Some blogs get indexed in as few as two to three days of submission. Thus, the chances of getting approved by Google AdSense increases.

• Blogs can be created at practically no cost – much cheaper than commercial websites.

Summary

There are no “magic bullets” or “get rich quick” schemes that work. As an experienced Web marketer or publisher, you already know that. But there are some ways to make really significant “passive” money on the Internet, and especially with Internet advertising. Of these, one of the best, and most legitimate, is Google AdSense, which you now know all about.

When you’re ready to get started with your AdSense program, the preceding information, combined with the following additional resources, will help you make the most of it!

Google AdSense programs: Choose your Tool(s)!

Google currently offers five programs: 1)AdSense for content, 2)AdSense for Search, 3)AdSense for Feeds, 4)Adsense for Mobile Content, and 5)Premium AdSense.

1)AdSense for content

AdSense for content is the main AdSense program – contextually targeted ads are displayed on your webpag

e, and you get paid for every click. These ads are specifically targeted to the content of your webpage. Consequently, if you change the content of your page, the ads that are displayed would also change. AdSense allows you good con

trol over what ads get served, since there might be some obvious problems if it didn’t. These include:

Blocking Ads – you choose

While the ad selection is automatic, you can block unwanted ads – such as those from your competitors. You just tell Google which companies to block from your sites.

Reviewing and filtering Ads – semi-automatic

Google has its

 own strict policies for ad content (no profanity, no racial discrimination, etc). These are filtered out automatically from your point of view. Additionally, you can choose to block additional content through custom filters. This is slig

htly different than blocking an advertiser, since with this method an advertiser you generally allow may submit ads that would individually be filtered out.

Allowing the publisher to select an ad

In the rare case where Google’s content engines can’t make a clear match of ads to pages, they will let you pick which ads you want served. If you don’t pick, y

ou’ll get public service spots.

The look-and-feel of Ads can be customized

Ads shouldn’t look out of place or be jarring on your website. Google allows you to customize colors and layout. You can choose options provided or have your own custom layou

t and color applied to the ads. The advertisers have no control over this; as the material appears on your site, you can and should select how it looks.

Tools for analysis

Tracking and analyzing the performance of any marketing campaign is critical. Google AdSense provides a range of comprehensive online reports that allow you to monitor and analyze your earnings as well as the performance of ads by many metrics, including size, color, and so forth, so you can make adjustments to maximize the value of the placements.

Here’s a simple equation that spells it out:

A content-rich page = Highly-targeted ads

Highly-targeted ads + Interested users = Healthy clickthrough & conversion rates

Healthy clickthrough & conversion rates = Success!

2)AdSense for Search

This is another program whereby Google allows you to ad a Google Search box to your website. By doing this, visitors to your site can search the entire internet fro

m your website itself. In a way, your site becomes a host to Google. Except you make money!

The search results page that is displayed when a visitor on your website searches through the search box on the site itself, also displays Google Ads (AdWords ads) next to the usual listings, just as it would on Google.com. If the visitor clicks on any of these Google Ads, you get paid as well. Thus, with AdSense for search you can enhance your income potential beyond what just the content of your actual site can provide.

AdSense for search offers all the same options and controls as AdSense for content. These include ad customization, ad filtering, monitoring and tracking results, and so on.

3)Google AdSense For Feeds

In May 2005, Google announced a limited-participation beta version of AdSense for Feeds, a version of AdSense that runs on RSS and Atom feeds that have more than 100 active subscribers. According to the Official Google Blog, "advertisers have their ads placed in the most appropriate feed articles; publishers are paid

 for their original content; readers see relevant advertising—and in the long run, more quality feeds to choose from."

AdSense for Feeds works by inserting images into a feed. When the image is displayed by a RSS reader or Web browser, Google writes the advertising content into the image that it returns. The advertisement content is chosen based on the content of the feed surrounding the image. When the user clicks the image, he or she is redirected to the advertiser's website in the same way as regular AdSense advertisements.

AdSense for Feeds has remained in its beta state until August 15, 2008, when it became available to all AdSense users.

4)Google Adsense for Mobile Content 

AdSense for mobile content allows publishers to generate earnings from their mobile websites using targeted Google advertisements. Just like AdSense for content, Google matches advertisements to the content of a website — in this case, a mobile website.

5)Google AdSense Premium service

The AdSense Premium service provides advanced functionality and features, provided your website qualifies for it – which in fact very few sites do.

As a base requirement, your website should received at least 5 million search queries or 20 million page views a month to qualify for the Premium service. (We’re betting if your sites qualify for this level of service, you already know all about AdSense!)