Gmail ads are pretty unobtrusive...

Actually, they're gone

[edit_g]

I'm not seeing the ads on Gmail anymore (I hardly noticed them before) but now they're gone as far as I can see.

Is this just me?

[eWhisper]

Related:
[webmasterworld.com...]

I'm seeing the same thing as in the other thread still - very few ads for many terms.

[jbarr]

It really depends on the message. I see Ads and Related links quite often. To me, the important thing is that though they are often there, they are unobtrusive and pleaseantly presented. I'm sick and tired of the glitzy, flashing ads that make me think I'm in the middle of some gameshow. Gmail's ads are professionally presented, and surprisingly well targeted. Many have proven to bwe quite useful. They aren't perfect, but I welcome them far more than "typical" ads.

[edit_g]

Gmail's ads are professionally presented, and surprisingly well targeted.

Yup, just like adwords. Now we just have to learn how to optimise for them. ;)

This problem with ads not showing - I just assumed it was because of the new california legislation, but I guess (from seeing eWhispers' post) that it's a documented bug.

[Teknorat]

Hmm... Optimizing for emails could actually be surprisingly easy.

[jbarr]

I don't know. The fact that ads don't always shows up doesn't bother me at all (of course, I'm not marketing through the ads, I'm "just a user.") Anyway, I would rather have Gmail err on the side of showing less ads then showing "inapropriate" or "irrelevent" ads with a message.

[j4mes]

What I seem to be seeing is ads only displaying the first time I open the e-mail, after that, nothing.

Anyone having a similar experience?

[macrost]

When I setup my account, and read the email from the gmail team, I had ads. Now, if I get an email, there are no ads at all.(speaking of which, I just sent one to me, and still haven't got it... hmmmm)

I've only seen ads just once.

[jbarr]

It really depends on the type of message. On newsletters, I typically get ads. Emails containing "business" words (company names, technology items, etc.) have ads. Emails mentioning specific products often have ads. Typical "user" emails like "What's for dinner tonight?" typically yield no ads.

And as for ads only showing up once, my experiance has been if ads display once, they always display.

Also, sometimes if I "re-Label" an email (give it a different Label) the ads sometimes cahnge.

[Leosghost]

I posted this elswhere but due to
a) I'm basically lazy and b) I'm pushed for time ...gotta go out..I'll repeat it here ..

I have noticed ( by sending emails to my own account )that I can "optimise" to show certain ads only in incoming mails ...I presume that although the success is dependent on the industry which is serving the "adsense" ( BTW what do we call the ads in gmail and the eventual "science" of it's manipulation /optimisation )....
Then again this is for a niche area ..but I am surprised by the very small size of "manipulations" that are needed to tweak the "algo" ...

[eWhisper]

BTW what do we call the ads in gmail and the eventual "science" of it's manipulation /optimisation

Good question. This will become an artform for both AdSense publishers, and AdSense email marketers through the GMail interface - the manipulation of GMail ads does deserve its own name. Suggestions?

Mind: madding/madded

[ThomasB]

I'd go for Gapting (Gmail Ads Optimizing) which is also fimiliar to chapter, which is a part of a long story, where an email is also a part of a conversation. And the ads itself could be called GAds/Gads (GMail Ads).

But I think gapting takes a lot of work if you want to do it profesionally. You'd have to get your competitors newsletters/welcome messages/... and read them pretty soon that you miss as few people as possible due to the delay that exists till the adwords campaign is running and you have the perfect links, ... set up.

[Teknorat]

I presume of course by Adsense publishers you meant to say Adwords. Gapting sounds fine to me.

[eWhisper]

I presume of course by Adsense publishers you meant to say Adwords.

Nope, meant to say AdSense publishers.

AdWords people aren't necessarily publishers - they're advertisers.

AdSense people are running the content they want to get certain ads to show on.

[kwasher]

GMO

Google Mail Optimization

EMO

EMail Optimization

EAO

Email Ad Optimization

DOH

Something Homer Simpson Says

[roitracker]

AdSense people are running the content they want to get certain ads to show on.

As far as advertisers go, it'll be possible to target ads for emails, but I don't see how publishers can possibly influence or benefit from gmail (unless you're talking about arbitrage?).

[ThomasB]

Roitracker, that's true. Google will be the only one who earns money. The only thing we can do is optimizing AdWords to display our ads for emails/newsletters/mailing lists where we want to be displayed.

[eWhisper]

I don't see how publishers can possibly influence or benefit from gmail

It's not that we're deriving a direct benefit from GMail directly, we're using the data it provides for ads on our own sites/newsletters.

Inital thread about that idea here:
[webmasterworld.com...]

The highest CTRs for websites and newsletters that run AdSense are when the ads are directly related to the page content.

With a webpage/newsletter, you don't know exactly what ads will be shown before you put up the page. Now, one can send the page to GMail, see what ads G thinks the page is about, and then tweak copy to take advantage of the quick targeting.

This won't be exactly the same as AdSense on a page, due to several factors, but one imporntant one is the 'whisper effect' Jenster posted about recently (http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum89/2785.htm), of how the text near the AdSense code makes a difference.

Using GMail is a 'quick & dirty' method to at least get an idea of what ads G finds relevant for that copy, and then modifing the copy as necessary to get the ads you wish displayed.

<edit>Found Jenster's Post I was looking for and added URL</edit>

[ThomasB]

eWhisper sorry, thought about direct financial benefit only. But of course this is a good way to increase AdSense revenue.

[Leosghost]

agree entirely with ewhisper...It may in fact be even more interesting as a tool ..if the fact that the "storage category" is changed will result in changing the copy shown ..then its possible to identify unexploited niche markets where there is no ad shown upon "cat" change or where the ads if shown are particularly weak ..either ones own or those of the competition..
what I find interesting is what we could describe as the keyword density required to trigger the appearance of certain ads ...could be possible to make ads multi functional ...