Free Website Content
Adsense Tips
AdSense Tips
By S. Housley
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 to achieve decent search engine placement.
Be warned though, you want to chose a niche where there
is a sufficient number of advertisements available.
2. Target Keywords.
When determining the sites focus, consider how
much the 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, as ringtones
are not high ticket items, 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 will
be 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 websites 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 the 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
vary the web traffic so comparing one week to another
will give the most accurate reflection of how effective
a campaign performs.
When testing different advertisement sizes, placement
or color schemes be sure to leave campaigns in place
for one week, 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.
example of integrated ad placement: http://www.golf-clubhouse.net
or http://www.security-protection.net
7. Number vs Value of Advertisements.
Up to three advertisements can be listed on each
page. This decreases the value of the advertisements
served, so publishers should cautiously add advertisement
units, as it dilutes ad inventory. 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.
About the Author:
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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This article may be used freely in opt-in
publications and websites, provided that the resource
box is included and the links are active. A courtesy
copy of the issue or a link to any online posting would
be greatly appreciated send an email to sharon@notepage.net
.
Additional articles available for publication available
at http://www.small-business-software.net/free-website-content.htm
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