Do's and Don't of Adsense

Hey here are more does and don't of Adsense.

Don't

• Don't strive to be an Adsense Expert for the sake of being an Adsense Expert. When you're making enough money to live on comfortably to give you the lifestyle you believe you deserve, then you can be an expert who writes e-books, talks at seminars or publishes their methods. Until then we're all learning. But that doesn't mean we can't learn from each other.
• Don't cheat. Don't try and cheat Google, they'll catch you. If you think you can, then go ahead. The result will be one less Adsense Publisher for me to compete with to get hold of advertisers dollars.
• Don't label your Ads with anything other than "sponsored links" or "advertisements."
• Don't tell friends or families about your website, because they may be more than generous with there clicks.
  

Do

• Make a site which you love, and care about. The content will always be better and you will attract more visitors.
• Look around at forums about Adsense. A particularly good site is Digital Point. One of my favourite.
• Ask questions, even if they make you feel like a noob at the program. No one gets anywhere if you don't ask questions.
• Be patient. Earning wont come over night.
  

The Best Place To Put Adsense On Blogs

Hey

There are many places to put Google Adsense Adverts, personally I think there is only one good place to put Adsense on blogs.

The image shows a suitable heat map of where Adsense should go. The yellow represents content including the banner at the top. The green on the right is the navigational menus.

The red represents the ad formats. The long on at the top is the main banner, with the red square as a rectangular advert. The blue represent text links.

The reason this is on of the best, is that adverts continue down the page. With lots of content, adverts will mingle in and will help with your conversion ratio and earnings.

Adsense Now Allows 3 Link Units

There has recently been a change in the Google Adsense Terms and Conditions.

You are now allowed to have s link units on a page. As a result you can have up to 6 ad units in total (3 Ad + 3 Link)

Some uses of the new ads include been able to add link units in small spaces, such as the bottom of the page, in corners, or columns, hopefully these new units will bring in more revenue.

Do's and Don'ts Monday

Its that time again for Do's and Don'ts Monday to help you get the best out of Adsense.

Don't

• Spam you website, hoping to get clicks.
  
• Puts ads in areas where accidental clicks are possible
• Confuse users with your Adsense code.
• Generate illegal impressions
• Generate illegal clicks.

Do

• Focus on getting valid clicks
• Be creative with your colours
• Suitably blend
• Adhere to the rules

Hopefully these rules will help you with your Adsense account.

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Made For Adsense Sites (MFA)

You may have noticed that on the internet there is a lot of sites which seen to just have random content and Adsense adverts. These are called Made For Adsense Sites (MFA).

For example these sites generate content usually from RSS feeds, feed them onto a page. Then use Adsense to profit from people clicking on the sites. Google has recently changed the TOS so that you cannot do this. Many accounts are going to be closed as of June 1st.

This brings relief to publishers of Adsense as they don't have to worry about rubbish adverts appearing which link to these type of sites.

Many owners of these types of site would use a package like this. That enables them to make websites easily and quickly. That type of package which is also good for creating initial sites will hopefully bring and end to Adverts that appear which pay little and lead people to sites that are of no interest.

Creating A Good "Onsite Advertiser Sign-Up" Page

You may or may not notice that under adverts there are links to advertise on your site. These are used, mainly by Google, to draw people in to the Adwords program. But used effectively can bring additional revenue as people want to spend advertising on your site.

Setting up a good page is easy. In your Google Adsense account, go My Account > Onsite Advertiser Sign Up
By clicking edit what you want is a page that blends nicely into you existing color scheme, or if you have many websites a general color scheme.

The option that Google gives you are plenty full. For example you can change all the link colors, background colors and the advertiser message.


For the message I recommend keeping the default message but changing a couple of keywords to make it more personal to you. For example the name of your website, your names etc.

Experiment and try to make the best out of a single page. Heres mine which I created.

Hopefully this tip has helped you create a better looking page that will help advertisers advertise on your site.

Common Mistakes That Violate Adsense TOS

This post is a general round up of Common Mistakes that Violate Google's Terms And Coniditions.

1) Clicking on your own ad's.
- I've told you this many of times, don't click on your own Adverts.

2) Don't adversely change the Google Adsense code.
- This includes making it so the ads open in a new window, most of the time the code will stop working and violate the TOS.

3) Don't place more adverts than you are allowed.
- This violates the TOS again, most of the time Google will automatically remove the ads if there are too many.

4) Do not disclose your CTR or CPM
- These are confidential and should not be shared with other people.

5) Don't label ads other and Sponsored Links or Advertisements.

6) Don't launch ads in a new windows.
- Similar to #2, don't make them open in windows, it is against the TOS.

7) Having more than one account.
- You have 10 websites but you only need 1 account, never have more than one account. Google will find out. Every time you add your code to a website, the engine will pick up and automatically add your earning to your account.

8) Only place adds on content pages.
- Advertisers pay for ads on content pages. Don't put ads on none content pages, you will be out of the pages.

9) Don't mask ads.
- Never cover parts of the ad. Its against the rules and you will out of the program faster than you can say PNEUMONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVOLCANOCONIOSIS (lung disease, 45 letters)

10) Don't put your ads anywhere other than on a website.
- E-mails, programs. You don't want impressions from these sources. Don't do it.

11) Avoid keyword stuffing.
- This means stuffing pages full of words just to get adverts. Doesn't work against the rules.

12) Don't put ads adjacent to images.
- Putting ads next to images can confuse users and result in invalid clicks.

Hopefully these tips will help you in avoiding breaking the TOS of Google Adsense.

Do and Do Nots Monday

Its time for Adsense Hacks Do and Do Not's Monday. If you are ready lets begin.

Do

• Check earnings regularly.
  
• Make sure that your CTR is no higher than 10%, as this could report invalid clicks.
• Add e-mail alerts.
• Check your balance at the end of the month.
• Use advance reports to work out how much the average is between months.

Do Not

• Click your own ads.
• Let other people do your account.
• Constantly manage your Adsense account from different IP's as this could cause invalid clicks and Google remove you from the course.
• Ask people to click your Ad's.
  

When to Check Your Adsense Earnings

As a first time user you may get excited about the prospect of using Adsense. But there is such as thing as being to involved. For example you may want to keep refreshing your Reports page. This may be fine at first but it could cause problems.

Every time you login into your Adsense account Google will place a cookie on the computer you are using. If you log into it from your home account this will be fine, but login into some one else's internet and visit your ads that IP will be blacklisted against your account. The problem with this if they click on your ads it will come up invalid as you have used and visited that internet connection.

The solution of this is to only login in to your Adsense account from one IP, this will minimize the chance of invalid clicks and closer on your account.

What Part of Adsense Code Can You Change?

According to Google Adsense TOS you are not allowed to change any part of the code. After a bit of looking about there is a small part of code which you are allowed to change.

For example with my blogger layout it does not allow me to put in scripts into the page and leave in the <> tags, this is of course a problem. But you can change the <> tags for the XML equivalent which Google allows because you haven't changed to code, just the way it is formatted before being rendered in your browser.

What you need to do is change all the < with & l t ; and the > with & g t ; (With out the spaces) This will hopefully solve the problem.

Adsense Adverts Preview

There comes a time when you are on you website and you need to preview or audit and advert. Due to the terms and conditions of Google Adsense you are not allowed to click on your own adverts so what do you do?

A tool just released is Adsense Preview over at this website. A lot less hassle than Google's Adsense preview tool for Internet Explorer.

I recommend.

Do's and Do Nots Monday.

Its Monday again, can you believe it? And it is time for Adsense Do and Do Nots. This week its about colors of adverts.

Do

• Use custom colors in the Adsense set up blog.
  
• Blend the boarder and background exactly.
• Use colors that please your color scheme.
• Optimize colors for best effect.
• Change the colors around every so often.

Do Not

• Use garish colors.
• Oppose colors so much that they stand out and distract from your content.
• Use the same color for all the different elements.
• Confuse users with you adverts color scheme.

Well hopefully you have gain a little more insight into using colors with Adsense, till next time goodbye.

Accidental Clicks

Once in a while you may click on your adverts which are being served on your website. An according to Google's terms of service you are not allowed to click on your own adverts.

Now this is not so much of a problem as Google can sort out which adverts are being clicked on legitimately and being clicked on illegitimately. Now Google have announced that if you accidentally click on your own adverts you wont be penalized to badly. Although they wont credit your account with the cash. This is not a problem if it doesn't happen that often. But it can be if this happens frequently.

Every time you click on your own advert a little red flag will be added to your account. Gain to many red flags and they will close your account. All in all don't click on your own adverts.

This article is to serve as a reminder to make sure that your Google Adsense account wont get closed.

Adsense Videos

You heard of the new Adsense Videos that are coming. Heres the blurb that is coming from Google.

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Click-to-play video ads: This is a video ad type on our content network. Any publisher opted into image ads and using one of the supported formats may see these click-to-play video ads on their sites.



AdSense video distribution and sponsorship: We ran 2 pilots that allowed publishers to choose video channels (short-form video clips bundled with video ads) to display on their sites.



In-stream video ads pilot: This is what we're announcing today - we're extending AdSense to online video content. Publishers in this test will be able to define at what point in their videos that streaming video ads will appear.

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They look good. Cant wait to try then out.

Do's And Do Nots of Adsense - Monday

Its Monday again and its is time for the Do and Do Nots of Google Adsense. This weeks theme is Ad units. Shall we begin?

Do

• Get a good colour scheme
• Use the same colours for the same ad areas
• Make sure that the ads are visible
• Use Skyscraper and large rectangle, they pay well.
• Use channels
• Use link units

Do Not

• Make your ads indistinguishable from your content
• Blend so much your ads disappear
• A colour scheme that does not match your site
• Block ad units
• Cover ad units
• Say "Click My Ads"
• Put ads on none content pages
  

A Firefox Tool To Automatically Check Your Adsense Earnings

Have you got a compulsions to check your AdSense account to see how much you have earned. Also known as Google Adsense Disorder (GAD). Then this is the tool for you.

Using the FireFox web browser download this little add on here. What it enables you to do is automatically check your account to a user specified time. For example I have set it to check every 15 minutes. The add on will then display your impressions, clicks, CTR and earnings (this can be customised as needed). This tool is better than having to manually login.

This tool is great to have. Download it now.

5 Best Places to Adsense Adverts

You can put Adsense pretty much anywhere on a page. This list is the 5 best places to put adverts. The list is in no specific order.

1) Under The Header

Under the header is especially good since that area of the page attracts a lot of attention. Placing adverts here is a great money earner.

2) Under Navigation Aids

Again these areas of the page attract lots of attention.

3) At the Top of Posts

Just under the title is good as many people s eyes will wonder towards your ads.

4) In the Middle of Posts

A half time break if you wish, give your readers a chance to try out different content.

5) At the Bottom of Posts

The best place in my opinion if you want to use link ads, gives the best chance of visitors to view your adverts.

Ulitising Adsense Referral Units

Referral link units come in two forms, link and button. This guide will tell you how to use them to your advantage and help make you money.

The main advantage of a referral button is that you can earn up to $2000 a year off one product by just referring people. The disadvantage is that people usually have to download something or sign up. But with some good optimisation you can start getting clicks and earning money.

There are 4 types of referral packages; Adsense, Adwords, FireFox and Google Pack. Each have there own different target audience. For example the Adsense and Adwords referrals are aimed at people who are setting up sites and ready to promote them. For example people visiting this site have an interest in Adsense and possible Adwords. Other websites such as my blog would have referrals of the Google Pack and Firefox, as those are the types of product they would use.

Each different referral pays a different amount. This was taken from Adsense help.

AdSense:


• When a publisher who signed up for Google AdSense through your referral first earns $5 within 180 days of sign-up, you will be credited with $5.
• When that same publisher earns $100 within 180 days of sign-up and is eligible for payout, you will be credited with an additional $250.
• If in any 180-day period, you refer 25 publishers who each earn more than $100 within 180 days of their respective sign-ups and are all eligible for payout, you will be awarded a $2,000 bonus (bonus payouts are limited to 1 per year).

Firefox plus Google Toolbar: When a user that you have referred to Firefox plus Google Toolbar runs Firefox for the first time, you will receive up to US$1 in your account, depending on the user's location. Your referral must be a Windows user, who has not previously installed Firefox, in order for you to receive credit.

AdWords:


• When an advertiser you refer first spends $5 within 90 days of sign-up (in addition to the $5 sign-up fee), you will be credited with $5.
• When that same advertiser spends $100 within 90 days of sign-up, you will be credited with an additional $40.
• If in any 180-day period, you refer 20 advertisers who each spend more than $100 within 90 days of their respective sign-ups, you will be awarded a $600 bonus (bonus payouts are limited to 1 per year).

Pack: When a Windows user that you have referred to Pack downloads and installs the product, you will receive up to US$2 in your account.

Its obvious that the Adsense package pays the most, but its not necessarily the best for your site.

There are 3 types of formats that could be picked for referral units; link, button and big button.
The link units as the title describes is simply a link. Best for positions or sites that have a lot a links. The small button is useful, as in my case on the right, for sidebars and small areas that only need a small button to fill the area. The big buttons are better for large areas of your page that need to be filled, and a referral link is the best thing.

Remember that you are allowed 2 referral units on your page so fiddle around and see what gets the best position and clicks. Set up a channel and see what is working. Best of all experiment and see what your visitors want and click on, because if a visitor likes your products then they will click on your links and earn you money.

Utilising Adsense Link Units

Adsense link units are a really good money maker. I am going to share with you tips to making more profit. As you are only allowed one link unit per page, you are going to have to make it count.

For example link units are best placed were a lot of your links are already contained. The sidebar, at the bottom of a post. The placing of a link unit is important because only one or two words advertise what the advert is about. Putting a link unit in a low traffic area of your site is a waste of time.

Colour is also important. The best link colour is blue. All links on the Internet are blue so should yours. There is no need to reinvent the wheel are confuse your visitors. as well as this also make sure the background and boarder watch your sites background, they want to blend seamlessly.

Different link units work best it different positions. The long and thin units work best at the top and bottom of the page. The box link units look best either in the side bar or directly below your content. As if they were originally part of your website.
There is an option on how many links per unit. If there is small text as the main font on your page use five links, the ad size will blend better. If you have normal text size like mine then stick with four links per unit.

One tip, don't blend your ads so much into your site that a visitor cannot distinguish the ads from your content. This is against Google TOS. Don't risk it.

Finally use the competitive adverts filter within Google Adsense account settings to weed out adverts that are not relevant. Having adverts that don't relate to your content will not get many clicks. Use it to your advantage.

The best thing to do is make a channel for your links unit and experiment what position makes you the most money. Have fun.

Using Google Search Effectively

Google Search can be used as a good money earner. The reason for this is that every search that a user performs there is a resource of millions of Adwords ads at there disposal to click. For example every search can bring up to 8 Ads (4 Top 4 Bottom) that will all earn you money. This is great for publishers.

Advantages of Google Search

• Access to every advertisement available. Providing it comes up in a search.
• Users are more adapt to were the adverts are. They know the page layout since its the same as Google's main search results page.
  
• You can change the results to match your colour scheme.
• In my experience it pays more per click than normal ads.
  

Disadvantages of Google Search

• Users have to search before adverts appear.
• Can be hard to exactly match the colour scheme of your site.

Placing the Search Box

Google says that you can have only 2 search boxes per page. One is all you really need. The best place to put a search box is at the top of the page in the right hand corner (area). Most people are would normally find a search box here.

Formatting

When setting up the search box it is a good idea to keep the Google Logo. Why? Because people recognise it. This will draw people to the search box to get the ball rolling.
You also have the choice whether to open the results in a new page or existing. I would choose new page. Simply because it offers a reader to use your site again once as they have closed the tab or window (Your page will still be open).

Colours

Colours will play a major role in what the search page looks like. You have to real options. Watch your colour scheme, which can be hard to master, or use Google's. Each have there advantages.
Using a colour which matches yours reminds people that they are still using your site.
If you match a colour scheme which is the same as Google means that people are recognise the layout and as a result may stay longer.
The only way to find out is to monitor your reports to see what produces the best results.

Hopefully this article has helped out and you understand more about the Google Adsense Search box.

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