Adsense Addict

Recently Google Adsense announced the end of the Adsense video unit feature. The planned ending of Adsense video units is the end of April 2009.

The Adsense video units feature, which allows you to show YouTube videos and ads has not had the impact Google Adsense had hoped for.

As of the 27th of March, the option to sign up for YouTube Adsense video units will no longer be available to new publishers. If you are currently displaying Adsense video units, you are recommended to start removing the video code from your pages as soon as possible.

These changes in Adsense video units will not affect other video related ad options. Video ads may appear in your Adsense content if you use image ad units.

At the end of April 2009, any remaining Adsense Leaderboard or Skyscraper video units on your site, will direct users to YouTube.com. Other video unit sizes will automatically be changed to to standard embedded YouTube.com players.

If you have any earnings that you have received from Adsense video units so far, will still be credited to your Google Adsense account.

I wonder what will be the next idea that Adsense comes up with to help publishers earn money from their sites?

Are you sick and tired of websites that use copied content from your blog just so they can make money online using Adsense?

Well now you might be able do to something about it!

Recently Google Adsense gave us bloggers some great news concerning illegally copied content. Adsense has released some information about the procedures and tools we can use to protect our content.

This is quoted from the Google Adsense Blog

For example, let’s suppose you own a movie blog, where you recently posted an article about your favorite actor. After publishing it, you notice that another website has copied and published your article without your permission. The owner of the other website doesn’t respond to your requests to remove the content, and it is monetizing their pages with AdSense.

In a situation like this, where you believe that a site containing AdSense code is illegally copying your site’s content, you can let us know by following the process described in our Help Center. It’s our policy to respond to notices of alleged infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and other applicable intellectual property laws.

The notice should be sent directly from the owner of the copyrighted materials allegedly being infringed (in the example above, that’s you), as we are unable to accept third-party copyright complaints. Also keep in mind that we are unable to process copyright complaints received through the AdSense policy violation report form. Once we’ve received a notice of infringement, we will take appropriate action. If you’d like more information about our DMCA process, please visit http://www.google.com/adsense_dmca.html.

Additionally, if you find a site that is scraping (misappropriating and republishing) your content, you can report it for a potential violation of the Google Webmaster Guidelines. To do this, fill out the form at https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/spamreport (you must be logged into your Google Account to access this form).

Could these new terms on using the Adsense code and copied content be the death of spam Adsense websites?

How will this affect all those Adsense users who use a RSS Feed grabbing plugin just to make money online with Adsense?

If you have Adsense ads on your site and you are still not making much, you have probably thought “how can I improve my Adsense earnings”? To be successful with Adsense, one of the main things you need to look at is your Adsense ad placement.

To begin with, there is no guaranteed Adsense ad  that will improve your Adsense earnings, but some places do work better then others. Even Google recognizes this and have created a heat map on Adsense ad placement which you can see here.

My favourite Adsense tip would have to be – you need to experiment. Experimenting is often the best way to find what Adsense ad placements suit your audience. I have found the most profitable Adsense ads are the ones placed within the content, usually right above it. But this is not always the case.

If you have a blog site where you have mostly text, the left side of your page might work better. Text is written left to right, your readers will finish the line they are reading and their eyes will return to the left position, hopefully having a higher chance your ads will be spotted.

If your blog receives a lot of comments, you might earn more with Adsense by placing the Adsense ads at the bottom of your post. Your readers will leave a comment then they usually have a short moment where there looking for something to do next. Your Adsense ads can offer them that something to do.

With Adsense, there is also a little bit more then just having the Adsense ads placed in the right area. If your site has more then one Adsense ad, you also have to worry about where they are located in the code. And there is a very good reason to worry.

Adsense will place the higher paying ads in the order it finds them in the source. In other words, if your first ad in the code is not the one getting the most clicks, you might not be getting the most out of Adsense.

Another Adsense problem is placing to many Adsense ads on your site. If your ads are intrusive or you have to many ads not receiving clicks, you will have a lower click through rate and this will affect your Adsense earnings.

To get the best out of Adsense you need to have the ads blend in with your site and you should also regularly check how your Adsense ad placement are performing. By experimenting and using Adsense Channels, you can always be sure you have the best Adsense ad placement on your pages.

If you would like to make money with Adsense you need to be able to track which Adsense ads perform the best for your site. We can track everything from ad placement and format to even what color is the most effective.

The easiest way to do this is by using Adsense Channels. Any time you make changes to your site, take advantage of channels to measure and observe the effects. Whether you want to track a specific type of ad placement or an entire site, custom and URL channels will help you determine what will be most successful.

You can create Adsense Channels before or after creating Adsense adverts. Once you have logged in to your Adsense account, click the tab at the top called Adsense Setup then click the smaller tab called “channels”.

Adsense Channels are easy to setup. We have two options, we can create a custom channel by clicking Add new custom channels and giving it a name, or you can use a custom URL and track your Adsense ads through a specific web address.

There is also a box you should tick called “Targeting”. Targetable ads are for advertisers, they will see the ad placement you defined among the available places on which to place their ads. Check the box marked Show this channel to advertisers as an ad placement and enter a description for your channel.

Advertisers will see the name and description, so provide something accurate and informative that will represent your site well. Be aware that should you choose to edit the name of the channel in the future, you will lose any existing advertiser bids for that channel.

To be honest I have never used “Targeting” but clicking this feature allows us to put in a description so we can actually see where our clicks are coming from.

For instance my zippo store has Adsense ads with the name of the ad unit and size (eg zippo468×60) and a description of where it is located (eg hometop).also have Adsense ads that just show on certain pages so I call these (tricks120×600) and a description of (tricks left) or I could use a “Custom URL” to track this ad unit.

On my other site I might call the channels (adsense300×250) and a description of (adsenseleftpost).

This way I can track all my Adsense ads to see which are successful and which ones are not working. If I was only getting a few clicks on a certain Adsense Channel, I could move it to see if it performs better or maybe try a different color.

Already have Adsense ads setup? You can just go to the Manage Ads tab, Edit Ad Settings on the right and towards the bottom you will see the Adsense Channels you have created. You can then add or remove a channel and click Save Settings.

You can also delete a Adsense Channel, just click the channel you wish to delete, then look for a little drop down menu box and use the removed checked line.

If you are anything like me you probably check your Google Adsense earnings page 20 times a day. I got sick of having to going to the Adsense page, logging in just to look for 2 seconds.

So i did some searching and found these handy little tools for checking your Adsense earnings. One is a desktop application and the other is an addon for Firefox.

Please Note: i cannot validate the security of these, so please take the usual precautions.

The first is a free tool called SynSense which is more of an AdSense monitoring tool. This sits in the tray and offers actualized AdSense stats as you hover your mouse over its icon. It’s a very nice tool for those which like to be informed on how their AdSense is doing at all times of the day. Once setup and running just right click on the icon in your tray, click accounts and your Adsense earnings page will be displayed.

Download SynSense here

If, however, you’re browsing content most of the time, and your tool of choice is the Firefox Internet browser, there’s an extension for this program that allows you to view the stats in your status bar.

Adsense Notifier displays your Adsense earnings on your Firefox status bar. It allows you to easily see your earnings at a glance instead of logging into the Adsense website multiple times a day. Again, this software is aware of Google’s 15 minute rule and enforces its usage, 15 minutes being the minimum time between updates.

The Google AdSense notifier for Firefox can be obtained from here.

Hopefully these tools will help with your Adsense addiction.

Got a big scare today with Google Adsense. Logged into my account And i saw this pink box saying “Your payments are currently on hold. Action is required to release payment. “.

With all the posts in webmaster forums i see of accounts banned, i didnt even read the notice properly and thought my account was banned.

After reading the more details part, i found out its on hold till i enter my pin number. But i only have $30 in it and they usually send it when you reach $50. That got me thinking some more.

So, off to read Google Adsense TOS again. Guess what i find?

This is from the Google Adsense site: ( link below )
When will I receive my PIN?

Once your account balance reaches $10, your Personal Identification Number (PIN) will be generated and sent via first class mail within 3-5 days. You can view the date it is generated by clicking the Please enter your PIN link on your Payment History page. After your PIN is mailed, you should expect it to arrive within 2-4 weeks, but it may take longer to reach you depending on the postal service in your location.

WOW! Google Adsense has changed the amount when you receive your pin.

Check it out here.

Google Adsense is a fun and easy way to make extra money. It’s important to follow the rules though as Google is serious about the integrity of this program. Not following the rules could result in your Google Adsense account being terminated. Here are a few Don’ts for using the program:

DON’T

Never, ever, ever click on your own ads. Google Adsense makes it very clear this won’t be tolerated.

Don’t ask your friends and family to click on your ads. Rather, earn money by referring them to the Google Adsense program.

Don’t participate in the Google Adsense program strictly for the money. This is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It will take time and hard work to make a profit.

Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything the first day. Although the Google Adsense program is extremely user-friendly, it may take a little time to integrate all the facets of the program. Be patient and above all, have fun!

Hopefully, these helpful tips will ease you into using the program and help you avoid mistakes that could possibly cost you a lot of time or money.