Tag Archives: AdSense Team

AdSense Beginner’s Frequently Asked Questions

What is AdSense?

In short, AdSense is a free, simple way to make money by placing ads on your site.

Google’s ad network connects advertisers looking to run their ads on the web with publishers like you, looking to monetise your website, making it simple for everyone to succeed. AdSense connects publishers and advertisers, giving AdWords advertisers the opportunity to bid on ad space on websites like yours.

By working with an ad network like AdSense, you can spend less time marketing and selling your advertising space and more time focused on creating the best content for your users. Learn more in the AdSense 101 article.

What do I need to sign up for AdSense?

As a site owner, you’ll need pages with unique content that's relevant to your visitors and that provides a great user experience. Before you apply to AdSense, make sure your site's pages are ready by visiting the AdSense Help Center. If you’re ready to turn your #PassionIntoProfit, sign up for AdSense today.

How do I know if I’m eligible to join the AdSense network?

Before applying for an account, make sure that the site you own has been active for at least six months, and complies with the AdSense program policies.

AdSense also works with products such as Blogger and YouTube to allow you to create host partner accounts. To be eligible for a hosted AdSense account via Blogger or YouTube, you must first meet certain eligibility requirements. Learn more about signing up for an AdSense account via YouTube.

How do I monetize my YouTube channel using AdSense?

To start earning money from your video content, you’ll need to apply for an AdSense account to link to your YouTube account. Follow these steps to become eligible to receive payments:

Make sure your YouTube account is enabled for monetization.
Submit your application to create a new AdSense account to link with your YouTube account. Once approved, you'll see a "Host account" label on your AdSense homepage.
If you also have your own non-host site where you’d like to show ads, then you’ll need to submit a one-time application form to tell us the URL of your site (you only need to complete this step if you want to monetize your site, and don’t need to take this action to earn money from your YouTube videos).

Providing that your site is following the AdSense program policies and you’ve completed 5 steps to getting paid, Google will send your first payment the month after your account exceeds $100 in earnings.

How can AdSense help me grow my online business?

AdSense helps you to create a revenue stream from the valuable content you host on your site. AdSense saves you time with a quick and easy setup allowing you to focus on the elements of your business that require your focus.

It’s like an automatic car -- it removes most of the manual adjustments, allowing you to cruise along with less effort. You still need regular “tune ups” to get optimal performance, but you won’t need to shift gears to get from point A to point B.

What is DoubleClick Ad Exchange?

DoubleClick Ad Exchange gives you real-time access to the largest pool of advertisers.The main difference between DoubleClick Ad Exchange and AdSense is that AdSense does a lot of the technical settings and optimization work for you, such as automating the sale of all your ad space to the highest bidder. With DoubleClick Ad Exchange you manage these adjustments yourself, controlling exactly how your inventory is sold.

As an example, DoubleClick Ad Exchange allows you to choose which ad space is for public sale and which is reserved for private auctions. This additional input from you helps you to get the best results from DoubleClick Ad Exchange.

Another important distinction is that through AdSense, demand is primarily from AdWords advertisers, whereas DoubleClick Ad Exchange pulls demand from multiple sources. This means that in addition to AdWords advertisers, you can also access other major ad networks and agencies. Check out the more comprehensive list of differences at our Help Center.

Should I use DoubleClick for my site?

Check out our Choosing the right tools for you article to figure out if solutions from DoubleClick are right for your site.

Can I use AdSense to monetize my WordPress site?

WordPress doesn’t allow advertising on their free hosting plan (WordPress.com). If you’d like to show ads on your WordPress hosted site, then you’ll need to switch to a self-hosted WordPress.org domain. Visit our product forum and learn how to make this switch.

Can I monetize multiple sites under a single AdSense account?

Yes! AdSense allows you to add multiple sites in association to the same account. This will enable you to monitor the inventory on your sites from the same place, saving you valuable time. Here’s how to set up multiple sites on your account:

Sign in to your AdSense account.
In the left navigation panel, click Settings.
Click My sites.
Click Add.
Enter the URL of the site that you'd like to add (e.g., example.com). If you're unsure which URL to enter, check the section on formatting the URLs of your sites below.
Click Add site.
Your site is added to your site list with a status of "verified".

Check out the Help Center for more info on this!

I’d like help growing my business with AdSense, does AdSense offer performance growth tips?

Yes it does! When setting up your account, simply check the box beside the “I’d like to receive performance suggestions” message.

If you already have an account, go to the Settings tab and check the “Performance Suggestions” box.

If I’m not using AdSense yet, how can I receive performance tips?

Follow AdSense on social media for daily tips on how to optimize your account and product updates; Twitter, Google+, and Facebook.

Also, watch the AdSense Optimization Library playlist on YouTube to learn AdSense best practices, and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

How do I get more traffic to my site?

First, you’ll want to take advantage of the options within Google Search Console to make sure your site is visible for search users. The AdSense Help Center has all the information you’ll need to submit your site for index, diagnose any problems, and identify which keyword queries are driving traffic to your site.

Next, follow the Long-term revenue framework, a tool often used by our AdSense optimization experts, to better understand the four levers that can help you grow and develop your site.

Also, catchy titles are a way of pushing referral traffic from social media platforms, and Brandon Gaille wrote a great guest-blog for us that lays out how to approach naming your content.

Be sure to follow AdSense best practice policies when planning your strategy, to avoid violations on your account. It’s important to know that in order to maintain ad serving on your site and keep an AdSense account active, it's the responsibility of the publisher to keep up to date with, and adhere to, the AdSense program policies.

How do I increase clickthrough rates (CTR) in AdSense?

Please see our recent response to this question on Quora where Symone Gamble shared her best practices.

What are responsive ad units?

Responsive ad units automatically control the size of your ads using a single piece of ad code. They also allow ads to be resized after a screen orientation change. Using a responsive ad unit will allow your site to show the most appropriate ad size according to your user's device, and will help you to maximize your revenue potential. Learn more about how responsive ad units work and then check out how to customize responsive ads to match the style of your site.

How can I make my site load faster?

Tools like PageSpeed Insights and Mobile-Friendly Test can be used to audit the speed of your site, identify possible problems, and even suggest solutions. From there, follow these 5 tips to improve page speed published on the Inside AdSense blog and then print out the Ultimate Page Speed Infographic for mobile-specific advice.

Why do I have invalid traffic deductions in my AdSense account?

How do I stop my site getting hacked?

HTTPS protocol ensures your servers are talking to who they are expected to be talking to and the conversation cannot be interrupted by anyone else, and that content cannot be altered in transit.

Make sure your software is up to date: this might seem common sense, but up-to-date software means there are no holes or faults that might make you vulnerable to people with a less than honourable intention.

Passwords: Using safe, secure, and complex passwords will protect the security of your site. Avoid words that contain common words, names of friends, family and pets as these are all easily attainable using social media, leaving yourself at risk. Don’t forget to change your password regularly; set yourself a reminder to change your password every few months.

What can I do if a site that I don't own is using my AdSense code?

Since site code is readily available to anyone who inspects your page, it's possible for someone to copy your ad code and paste it on a site you don’t own. In this case, if the ad code ends up on a site that violates the AdSense program policies, your account will receive a policy warning.

To prevent this, site authorization is an optional feature that lets you identify your verified sites as the only sites that are permitted to use your Google ad code.

Learn more about site authorization on the AdSense YouTube channel.

How to stop certain ads from appearing on my site?

The AdSense 101: You’re in control video will show you how to control the ads displayed on your site.

Why is there a decline in my AdSense revenue?

If your earnings have taken a dip, we recommend you check 4 engagement metrics in the performance tab of your AdSense account:

Clickthrough rate (CTR)
Cost per click (CPC)
Page revenue per thousand impressions (page RPM)
Page views

Here’s a few resources to help you identify the potential causes, and nextstep solutions to solve them.

YouTube video: Why are my Google AdSense earnings declining?
AdSense blog post: Why are my earnings down right now?
AdSense Help Center: Earnings troubleshooter

What are AdSense experiments and how can I run an experiment?

AdSense recently introduced automatic experiments, which allow you to take a back seat as Google runs A/B tests on a small portion of your traffic. To enable the feature, just visit the "Experiments" page on your Optimization tab, and switch on "automatic experiments".

The opportunities generated from these experiments will appear in the “Opportunities” page on your Optimization tab. They'll be labelled "verified by experiment,” so you’ll know they’re backed by data and tailored to your site and users.

Posted by: Jay Castro from the AdSense team

Source: Inside AdSense

3 tips to make your content easy to consume

Over the last month we’ve taken a look at what makes strong content including topics, length, and shareability. But telling a good story is only half of the process. You also have to present it in an easy-to-digest format for today’s distracted audience.

According to a Think With Google study, “67% of users will switch [to another site or app] if it takes too many steps to purchase or get desired information.” Different forms of media can greatly improve your content’s appeal, if it’s used strategically. With people giving less and less time to the things they read online, it’s up to you to keep visitors engaged and entertained. The following tips will help give your content a stronger impact.

1. Share your content visually

Whether it’s lists, infographics, images, gifs, or video, adding in dynamic elements to your story telling will keep things fresh and memorable. Visuals highlight your key points, and leave a greater impact on both loyal and new visitors alike. In fact, sites with video have been proven to encourage an extra 2 minutes of time on page compared to sites that don’t.

2. Break things up

Images can be a great way to break up long text. Unbroken, continuous text is time-consuming to read and can make visitors “check out” prematurely; no matter how interesting the topic is. By breaking up a longer content piece with related imagery, you can increase the chances of you audience staying to read more, and hopefully, fulfill a desired action on your site.

3. Make it Social

Seeing how “liked” or “shared” an article is naturally prompts visitors to share their opinion on it, too. Social proof is a powerful influencer when it comes to users engaging with your content. Ways to gain social proof include providing like actions, sharing actions, and even custom actions such as testimonials and reviews.

To learn more about familiarizing your audience with your brand, check out the AdSense Guide to Audience Engagement.

Posted by Jay Castro
Audience Development Specialist
@jayciro

Source: Inside AdSense

The secret to share-worthy content

People love to share things with their friends, family, and colleagues. Presenting your users with relevant and unique content is the best way to encourage sharing and give you a competitive advantage. Content that is underscored by emotion, in particular, can help you strengthen your brand’s presence.

Here are some tips to help you get into the minds, and hearts, of your audience:

1. Be relatable

Taking the time to research what your visitors are interested in is the first step to creating shareable content. Diversify to cover multiple facets of your audience’s interests by including work, lifestyle and social topics to keep things fresh and engaging. Contextualizing your stories also increases the chances of your audience relating to and wanting to share your site.

2. Know what’s trending

Staying up-to-the-minute can require a lot of time and research. Luckily, online tools such as Google Trends can help you identify what’s important to your audience as well as offer helpful insights about people in specific regions you are trying to target. Being a thought leader means not only sharing up-to-the-minute industry news with your audience, but also offering insightful observations and predictions of what this may mean down the road. A trusted source is a followed source.

3. Increase your content’s shelf life

While timely articles are great for generating instant buzz, having content that maintains its importance over time yields higher traffic rate overall. Evergreen content is information that stays relevant no matter when it is consumed. Make sure to interlace trendier content with evergreen pieces every so often.

To learn more about familiarizing your audience with your brand, check out the AdSense Guide to Audience Engagement.

Posted by Jay Castro
Audience Development Specialist
@jayciro

Source: Inside AdSense

Amplify your content with social

Social media is more than just vacation photos and stories about babies, it’s about sharing experiences and creating interactions with people.

Content on social media can instantly reach millions of users and create thousands of online stories. Do you remember the social media storm that Ellen DeGeneres created with a single photo? Her selfie from the 2014 Oscars started a global conversation and has since been added to Google’s 2014 web culture guide. Her content holds the win for the most retweeted tweet with more than 3M retweets, 6.8M site embeds, and even temporarily led to Twitter going down.

Big events like the Oscars create opportunities for publishers to interact with users through both original content and viral content. This summer, users will be searching, sharing, and consuming content like never before. Be sure to examine your content strategy, and find ways to spark conversations on social channels or, contribute to an existing digital conversation.

How can AdSense Publishers participate in big events? If you're new to AdSense, you can sign up now and turn your passion into profit.

Include editorial coverage around topical events.
Make sure your content is easy to consume and share.
Create a social media strategy around a big event.

Here are four tips to help jumpstart your social media strategy:

Know your audience. Trigger an emotional response from your viewers by humanizing your brand.
Be social to win on social by creating relationships with your users.
Don’t be afraid to follow the leaders and the trends. If there’s social proof behind it, do it.
Use tools to help you create great content.

More on the fourth tip, here are a few tools to help you #drawthecrowds through social channels:

Buffer is a well-known tool used by social media marketers. It helps streamline your social media management.
Pablo is a tool created by Buffer that is “the simplest way to create beautiful images that fit every social network perfectly”.
Canva is another image creating tool that can help you create visual content on a budget.
Feedly can help you organize and read relevant content in your industry to help fuel your content creation.
Google Trends is a widely used tool to help you identify key trends happening around the world.
IFTTT is a popular tool used to streamline many tasks. For example, here’s a pre-built recipe that will automate the process of tweeting each new wordpress blog post.

According to the New York Times, 68% of users share [online content] to give people a better sense of who they are and what they care about. To amplify your content this summer, be sure to create content that resonates with your audience.

New to AdSense? Sign up now and turn your passion into profit. Let us know your thoughts on Twitter @AdSense.

Posted by Barbara Sarti and Jay Castro from the AdSense team

Source: Inside AdSense

Tips for writing a successful invalid traffic appeal

In a previous publisher blog post, we discussed tips for writing a successful policy appeal. In today's topic, we’re exploring what happens when publisher accounts are disabled due to invalid traffic, when to submit an appeal, and tips for making those appeals successful.

Invalid traffic includes any clicks or impressions that may artificially inflate an advertiser's costs or a publisher's earnings. Invalid traffic covers intentionally fraudulent traffic as well as accidental clicks.

In the ads ecosystem, advertisers rely on the relevance of our ad placement and the quality of the interaction their ads receive. Publishers in turn count on advertiser participation that contributes to the success of their apps and business. Without this trust, the Google advertising network could not exist. Google treats invalid traffic very seriously, analyzing all clicks and impressions to determine whether they fit a pattern of use that might artificially drive up an advertiser's costs or a publisher's earnings. If we determine that an account might pose a risk to our advertisers, we may take actions against the account, such as suspending or disabling it, in order to protect our advertisers' interests.

Before we continue, let's clarify the difference between an account suspension and an account disablement.

If your account was suspended due to invalid traffic, ad-serving has been turned off for a fixed period (typically 30 days). While suspensions are not currently appealable, if you would like to provide additional feedback to help us improve our processes and communications, you may do so using our suspended publisher feedback form. If there are no further compliance issues with your account, it will be automatically unsuspended after the fixed period. For more information about account suspensions, please visit our AdSense Help Center (or AdMob Help Center).

If your account was disabled due to invalid traffic, your account is no longer serving ads, and you will be unable to monetize with any Google ad solutions. You're eligible to file an invalid activity appeal, but please be aware that that filing an appeal does not guarantee reinstatement. For more information about account disablements, please visit our Help Center.

If you would like to file an invalid traffic appeal for account reinstatement, please first review the AdSense program policies and top reasons for account closure. These policies and reasons apply to all Google ad solution products, including but not limited to AdMob and YouTube.

Here are some tips that you may find useful in writing your appeal:

Review the top reasons for account closure. Think about if any of these reasons applied to you and your content. Did your friends click on your ads too many times? Did you purchase traffic that led to a surge of invalid activity? Can you make content and/or behavioral changes to prevent the activity from happening again?
Review ad implementations on your desktop site, mobile site, and/or mobile app. Think about what your typical user journey would be, and see if the ad implementations may cause users to accidentally click on your ads.
In the appeal form, provide the e-mail address that is associated with your disabled AdSense account. This will help locate your account and reduce delays in appeal processing time.
Tell us what changes you’ll make for the future. Once again, carefully consider the top reasons for account closure. What systems or behaviors have you put in place to ensure this won't happen again? For example, tell us how you've adjusted your ad implementations, evaluated your traffic sources, hired testers to properly test your content, etc. We will appreciate your honesty in the appeal.

Publishers are a vital part of the online ads ecosystem, and we want to see you succeed while keeping your users happy and engaged. Everyone in the digital ecosystem benefits when publishers provide engaging content and useful resources, which in turn incentivizes advertisers to bid for space on your content. We hope that these resources can provide some guidance.

Posted by Danielle Chang of the AdSense Ad Traffic Quality Team