The Evolution of Google AdSense
by Sharon Housley
Published on this site: May 12th, 2005 - See
more articles from this month...
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.
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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