Open Adsense in a new Blank window

quick way to do it and, will I be violating the agreement

[TomJones]

I'm VERY new to Adsense (just put code on a few dozen pages). Needless to say, I have lots of learning to do. One very quick question/concern that arises is that when an Ad is clicked, the visitor leaves my site. Can I alter the Javascript code to open the Adsense Page in a new blank window? Will this get me in trouble with Google?

[ogletree]

You will probably only get PSA's because you won't have any text on that page for Google to find. If you just put a title on that page and one line of text they may have a problem with that.

[Ally_Cat]

The way I read that question is that he is looking for a way to open the advertiser's site in a new window - not that I know how to do that, but I think that is the information being looked for here (kick me if I'm wrong! ;))

[Chndru]

As per Adsense TOS, the code can't be modified. So i guess this is a potential violation of it.

[dragonlady7]

I think it's not allowed. I'm no expert, but I recall this being discussed earlier, and it becoming plain that Google does not want links opening in a new window, for whatever reason.

Sorry to be so vague, but I haven't time this second to look it up. But that's my impression. I'll check back later with specifics.

[mipapage]

TomJones,

Modifying the Adsense JS would be in violation of the TOS.

You should go and re-read the Adsense TOS, just in case you've missed something else. It seems to me that they are quite strict with people who violate the Adsense TOS.

"Adsense TOS" - just had to type that one more time ;-]

[edited by: mipapage at 9:48 pm (utc) on Dec. 3, 2003]

[ganderla]

It is not allowed at all for the little publishers. Also, to find out that it did not open in a new window, did you click on an ad?

[Chndru]

>to find out that it did not open in a new window, did you click on an ad?

oh..Duh!

[andrew_m]

Clicking on adsense ads -- is that such a big deal? I've clicked a couple of times when the ad was interesting enough to click and browse the target site. Just as I would click on someone else's site..

[Chndru]

Well..reading these sources will help you in a long run. Needless to say the peace of mind that comes with it.

[google.com...]
[google.com...]
[google.com...]
[google.com...]

Also, the Jenstar's excellent updates on these. (do a site search for it)

And nope, in theory, you are not allowed to click your own ads. And Google suggest that..If you are interested in the url, you can run your mouse over it to see the url and type it in your browser or you can right link and grab the url of the site (from a long url with tracking etc).

[ganderla]

Clicking on adsense ads -- is that such a big deal?

If it is on your own site it is a big deal.

[jomaxx]

I certainly wouldn't click on my own site's ads as part of day-to-day surfing. I don't even like to mouse over the ads for fear of accidentally clicking - because the whole box appears to be a hotlink, not just the blue text.

As for the new window thing: Yes, visitors are leaving your site. Advertisers are paying a lot of money for these surfers, and the thing for us all to do is try to give them their money's worth.

[andrew_m]

Chndru, thanx.
I stand ashamed. Will cut-n-paste in the future.

[TomJones]

MAN! Adsense is an active forum! Thanks for the numerous quick responses. I posted here rather than rereading my TOS because you all have first hand experiences. It really is a negative that my visitors leave my site when they click on an Ad. I'll give the whole Adsense thing a whirl for a month and see what it's worth. I generate several thousand visitors a month so, I'm not expecting Brewster's Millions.

TJ

[mack]

"when an Ad is clicked, the visitor leaves my site. Can I alter the Javascript code to open the Adsense Page in a new blank window?"

That's what Google pay you for. The only way to make the add open in a new window would be from Googles side of things. The ad is in an iframe therefore not controlable from your own code.

Mack.

[Jeff_H]

Here's an interesting way around it:

If you put <BASE TARGET=_BLANK> in your page, you aren't actually modifying the google code.

This wont work if the google links have TARGET=_SELF though.

Disclaimer: This post is for educational purposes only and should be used at your own risk, etc, etc.

[TomJones]

Interesting. I'm not familiar with that one. Any thoughts from wise Adsense users?

[bcc1234]

Interesting. I'm not familiar with that one. Any thoughts from wise Adsense users?

I can give you an opinion as an Adwords user instead...
I manage several accounts, and I check the referrers for the content clicks.
So if I come to your site and click a link and see it opening in another window - in 10 minutes, the adwords team will get my complaint. And I guess it won't take long for them to pass it to the adsense team (if that even is a different team).

So until google provides both parties with the ability to pick/exclude partners based on this criteria, I would not mess with the code if I were you.

[TomJones]

That's fair enough. I did a little research on that code and, in any case, it would make all links on the page open in a new window. That would get a bit silly. Still, it's good to explore the topic and solutions.

[ThatAdamGuy]

The code won't work anyway. I have that base target=blank thing on nearly all my pages (specifying internal links individually, of course, NOT to open in a new window). iFrame'd documents like AdSense (and Amazon.com's stuff) don't respect this new-window specification.

[Jenstar]

Official word from the AdSense team is that you are not allowed to do anything that will open a new browser window when a user clicks on an AdSense ad - whether or not you modify the actual code or not.

Premium partners do have this option, so it could be something that will be available to regular publishers in the future sometime.

And modifying the code is also a warning and/or suspendable offense, as well.

[Brett_Tabke]

> As per Adsense TOS, the code can't be modified.

>> Javascript.

Skip the script and come at it from a CSS point of view. CSS can apply to anything on the page.

[HughMungus]

It really is a negative that my visitors leave my site when they click on an Ad.

Actually, it might be a positive. With the advent and distribution of popup blockers, if you force advertised sites to open in a new window, you might never get credit for the clicks because the window might never open at all... (I was thinking the way you were until I figured out why Google would want to do it their way).

[mnBMXER07]

I got an email from Google Adsense asking to take a survey, which i took, and one of the questions was if I would like it if the pages laoded in a new window. So apparently they are considering it and seing what people think about it.

[ThatAdamGuy]

I know this may seem obvious, but one cool thing about Google's Alternate Ad feature is that the publisher controls whether the page comes up in a new window or not.

[lgn1]

I know that I voted (on the survey) strongly for a new window to open when adsense ads are clicked. I think this is a no brainer, and Google will implement this option in the new year.

[jomaxx]

In the very short term it may be better for you, but if it becomes another factor that causes advertisers not to pay for AdSense exposure, then we will all lose.

We have to give Adwords advertisers the same value (and the same perceived value) on AdSense sites as they get on Google, else how can they justify paying the same for AdSense clicks?

[ThatAdamGuy]

I think the hulaboo about advertisers getting less of a value is unreasonable. Granted, AdWords folks may (wrongly, IMHO) PERCEIVE a lower value from having their pages brought up in new windows, but I think that's folly. *EVERY* other advertising service/system I've seen on the net opens ads in new windows. Customers expect this, and in fact, may even become confused when it doesn't happen.

If the open-in-a-new-window thing was such a critical boost for advertisers, you'd have seen ALL the other networks switch over.

[lgn1]

I wonder if the google popup toolbar would block the adsense ad's. Well its not a true popup, as the customer asked for the information to be displayed by opening a new window. Google can add to the bottom border some text saying 'Information will be displayed in a new window'.

I don't think people are concerned about information appearing in a new window, if they are first warned about it. I actually prefer a new window, as long as they are not thrown at me without asking.

Maybe it should be an option under your adsense account profile. Try it with and without opening a new window, and compare your CTR rate. Then you can decide which method you wish to display results.

[NickCoons]

<With the advent and distribution of popup blockers, if you force advertised sites to open in a new window, you might never get credit for the clicks because the window might never open at all.>

So far, the popup blockers I've used (the Google Toolbar and Mozilla's built-in) do not block popup windows that the user requests. For instance, if clicking on a link initiates a new window because it was the code of the link to do so (i.e. instead of an onLoad event in the target page), then it will not be blocked.