Information about Google

Article Navigation

Click Here for more articles

The Evolution of Google AdSense

by: Sharon Housley

Copyright 2005 Sharon Housley

The web has evolved into a complex "organism" which, to some, appears to have a life of its own. As the Internet has evolved, so too have online marketers and publishers. The dot-com balloon is said to have burst but savvy publishers have grabbed the coat tails of the Google search monster and employ Google AdSense on content-rich websites. Google AdSense, a pioneer for providing content-sensitive advertisements, has been a boon to webmasters looking for alternatives to amortize their web trafffic.

How Does Google AdSense Work?
The concept is simple: The publisher or webmaster inserts a java script into a website. Each time the page is accessed, the java script pulls advertisements from Google's AdSense program. The ads are targeted and related to the content contained on the web page serving the ad. If a web surfer clicks on an advertisement served from Google, the webmaster serving the ad earns a portion of the money that the advertiser is paying Google for the click.

Google handles all the tracking and payments, ultimately providing an easy way for webmasters to display content-sensitive, targeted ads, without the headache of having to solicit advertisers, collect funds, monitor clicks or track statistics, any of which could easily become a full-time job.

While Google AdSense, like many pay-per-click programs, is plagued by claims of click-fraud, it is clearly an effective revenue source for many reputable web businesses. There seems to be no shortage of advertisers in the AdWords program from which Google pulls the AdSense ads. Webmasters seem less concerned by the lack of information provided by Google and more interested in cashing their monthly checks from Google.

The Evolution of AdSense
While Google's initial system was fairly rudimentary, only providing publishers the option of displaying a handful of advertising formats, the technology behind even the first ads was anything but simplistic. The technology used to employ Google AdSense goes far beyond simple keyword or category matching. A complex algorithm is used to determine the content contained on the web page serving the ad. Once the content is assessed, and appropriate ads that contain related content are served.

Early on, Google implemented a system that allows publishers to filter advertisements from competitors or sites which they deemed inappropriate. Google also allows vendors to specify an alternative advertisement, in the unlikely event that Google is unable to provide related content ads.

The Progression of Google
Google has come a long way in understanding the needs of publishers and webmasters. Google now offers a system that allows full ad customization. Webmasters can choose from twelve text ad formats and can customize Google advertisements to complement their website and fit into existing webpage layout. The options provided allow webmasters to select and create custom color palettes that match an existing website's color scheme, making the ads a much more natural fit.

Many sites have been able to integrate ads into their site design using different ad formats.

Sample sites with integrated ads:

Investing Partners - http://www.investing-partners.com
Podcasting Tools - http://www.podcasting-tools.com .
RSS Network - http://www.rss-network.com

Online Reports
Google recently took a huge step forward, providing publishers the ability to track their earnings based on webmaster-defined channels. Recent improvements to the Google AdSense reporting have resulted in webmasters having the capability to monitor an ad's performance with customizable online reports that can detail page impressions, clicks and click-through rates. Webmasters now have the ability to track specific ad formats, colors and pages within a website. Webmasters can quickly spot and track trends. The new flexible reporting tools allows webmasters to group web pages by URL, domain, ad type or category, providing webmasters insight into what pages, ads and domains are performing the best.

Reporting is real-time, allowing webmasters to quickly assess the effectiveness of any changes. The new reporting makes it significantly easier for webmasters to optimize and increase click-through rates. Optional reporting allows webmasters to monitor traffic, viewing both ad impressions and page impressions.

Advertisers realize the benefits associated with having their ads served on targeted websites, increasing the likelihood that a prospective web surfer will have an interest in their product or service.

Truth Still Not Revealed
Google still does not reveal what percentage of the advertising revenue earned is paid to the webmaster serving the ads, but they have made strides related to disclosure, recently lifting the ban preventing webmasters from disclosing the amount they earn through serving Google ads.

About the author:

Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for NotePage a wireless text messaging software company.

Circulated by Article Emporium

Read Articles:

Search Isn't All About Google Anymore

Before You Register a Domain Name for Your New ...

Getting Approved by Adsense in a Jiffy�

Four Sure-Fire Ways to Generate Targeted Traffi...

Blogging for Dollars

Traffic Arbitrage- The new kid on the block

The Life Blood of Internet-Based Home Businesse...

"If an RSS feed is the Yahoo backdoor, is a Blo...

How to Find an Affiliate Program For Any Niche ...

Are You Ready for a Plain English Guide to Inte...

Adsense � The Powerful Passive Income Generator

Understanding what Reciprocal Linking means

Google Page Rank - important or just another nu...

Free Web Traffic Through Page Rank

Of Spam and Sandboxes

How to Get Targeted Search Engine Traffic Quickly

Winning the (r) Google AdSense War

A Smart Trick for Attracting Higher Paying AdSe...

Monitor and Increase Your Search Engine Visibil...

Understanding the Game of Search Engines.

Online Home-Based Businesses Can Give You Searc...

Why Google Blog Search Matters to Your Business

Your Online Home-Based Business Can Lead To Sea...

The Search Engine Optimization Game Is Getting ...

Tips for maximizing Your Google AdSense Revenues

The secret of how I got GoogleCash for free wit...

A Home Based Business Modeled After Google

Google's own AdSense Tips

A five minute task that is saving me $750 A MONTH!

The Ultimate Free Google Ranking Tool

Google Adsense Page Positioning

Introducing PageRank - shattering the myth

Meet Adwords, AdSense�s Fraternal Twin

6 more free steps to making money online

Press Release + PRWeb = Top Google Rank... True...

Grow your Internet Business with Pay Per Click ...

Keywords: They Unlock All The Right Doors

Is Click Fraud Really a Problem?

4 Tricks For Lightning Fast Indexing�

AdSense is Stupid When...

More Article Pages 1 - 2 - 3

5 Ways Google Will Help You With Your Traffic
by: Tinu AbayomiPaul

If you�ve ever had a severe drop in your Google rankings in search results, you may think of Google more of an enemy than an ally.

But if you knew what I do, you�d realize that there are tools provided by the search engine that help you learn more about your traffic, and may even help drive visitors to your site.

Here are five ways that Google provides free traffic assistance.

#1 - Google will Help Your Pages Get Discovered with Google Sitemaps
https://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/login

Google Sitemaps is a program that gives you the opportunity to present your site�s pages to Google in XML or text. Google will then come by and spider the pages, getting you indexed faster.

Take note that this doesn�t necessarily mean that your pages will be listed for your favorite keywords, only that discovery will take place a lot faster than with manual submission. Google Sitemaps will also give you some basic site stats if you verify your site, such as the top keywords for discovery, errors it found when crawling, and the types of documents at your site.

If you find compiling your sitemap for Google in the correct format difficult, try the SOFTplus GSiteCrawler Google Sitemap generator. It�s my favorite Sitemap generator, free and easy to use.

#2 - Google Will Talk To You and Your Webmaster In His or Her Native Tongue or Plain English with the Webmaster Section
http://www.google.com/webmasters/

The Google Information Page for Webmasters should be your first stop when you want to know more about anything that has to do with your site and its relationship to Google and any of its many flavors of search such as Froogle. Particularly for new site owners or operators, checking this page first has saved many from needless anxiety.

Most of the basic information is in straightforward language, with links to details for geeks like me.

#3 - Google will Tell You What It Knows with Web Page Information

If you type info:yoursite.com into Google, Google will tell show you a page that has your link at the top of the page, with a short description, and the following phrase �Google can show you the following information for this URL�.

This special page compiles several queries about your site including pages that contain your URL (all the pages Google knows of that are linked to you).

#4 - Google will Help You Analyze Your Traffic with Google Analytics
http://www.google.com/analytics/

After a recent purchase of Urchin Stats, a free online version has been made available, and re-branded as Google Analytics. This cookie-based invisible visitor tracker can give you information that go a bit beyond standard stats such as bounce rates, visitor loyalty, keyword discovery results for a single day, click paths through your site, and page views per visit.

With the ability to analyze your traffic, you can help learn where the holes in your site are, and how to keep them on your site for longer periods of time, as well as better ways to steer a visit towards a specific action, such as a subscription. Results come in flavors for the executive and the search marketer alike.

There�s currently a waiting list to use Google Analytics due to popular demand.

#5 - Google Will Advise On Getting the Most from Your Traffic with Conversion University
http://www.google.com/analytics/conversionuniversity.html

Google Analytics also has two content sections that are available to all, called Conversion University. While the articles are decidedly slanted towards AdWords users, a prudent read yields many clues that can be applied to preparing for visitors who arrive through organic search discovery. One reference area is called �Driving Traffic�, the other �Converting Visitors.�

At the end of the day, the process by which your site gets ranked in Google search engine results is a computation of a complex algorithm, which means Google - the search engine - really isn�t capable of being your best friend or your worst enemy.

Meanwhile, Google - the company - also provides access to resources that will help give your site a fighting chance.

This Static Spot is open for sponsor

This Static Spot is open for sponsor