Forum Moderators: martinibuster
We're now requiring AdSense publishers to comply with the spirit of our Page Quality Guidelines [adwords.google.com]. If you're an AdWords advertiser, you might already be familiar with these guidelines, which are intended to provide a better experience for users, advertisers, and publishers alike. If you use any kind of online advertising, know that these guidelines encourage publishers to, among other things, create sites with simple navigation and substantial, useful content.This new policy requirement doesn't mean that you can't use online advertising; it simply means that if you do, you need to be sure that the way you advertise meets with the guidelines, whether it's through AdWords or through any other advertising program. However you advertise your site, it can always benefit from significant and relevant content, clear navigation, and the other points in our quality guidelines.
The other noteworthy update: now you can place up to three link units on a page. As we've noted in the past, link units are a great way to provide relevant, user-friendly ads in hard-to-fit locations on your site. With the new opportunity to place three link units -- and the plethora of link unit formats -- we hope you'll find great ways of incorporating this unique ad format on your site.
opps... that was supposed to be guidelines and not guidelinks
It's almost ironic that Google is allowing more links per page at the same time they are culling MFAs, whose main characteristic is excessive AdSense ads per page...
There may be a method to their apparent madness: They may feel that a page with real content can have more ads piggybagging on it than one without. Three ad units plus three AdLinks units still seems excessive to me, though. (The Web would be a better place if they allowed only one of each.)
(The Web would be a better place if they allowed only one of each.)
I took my main site down to one of each and the CTR and EPC soared. Plus I never saw any duplicate ads anymore.
I agree with those above - one link and one ad unit per page. I would also make a rule that there be no advertising on adwords landing pages (since I've removed them from mine).
Also, I hate it when webmasters break what should be a single page, albeit a long one, into multiple pages just so they can make people look at more ads. This is one of my biggest peeves on the web, and if Google can alleviate it by allowing more ads per page I am all for it.
Maybe the ad limit should be based (somehow) on page area instead of just a per-page basis.
I would also make a rule that there be no advertising on adwords landing pages
Great idea! If nothing else, that would eliminate inadvertent click arbitrage. :-)
Also, I hate it when webmasters break what should be a single page, albeit a long one, into multiple pages just so they can make people look at more ads. This is one of my biggest peeves on the web, and if Google can alleviate it by allowing more ads per page I am all for it.
There are legitimate reasons for doing this. I think that the average website visitor gets A.D.D. and doesn't want to read large amounts of text on a single page (myself included when browsing someone else's site). So I break up topics into segments that can be read in a couple minutes or less. I'm not talking about one paragraph per page. But where a topic can be broken by a subtitle, I start another page. I notice that about.com does that, too.
Maybe the ad limit should be based (somehow) on page area instead of just a per-page basis.
Excellent idea in spirit, however that could be easily circumvented by using alot of pictures, or really narrow paragraphs, or something like that.
Also, blogs who steal my site content and post as though it was a blog entry should be hung from their small fuzzy ones.
The link unit block on the pages of my main site is the best performing block. Always has been.
I will be experimenting more with link units now... Already thought of a few places.... I will use them on tight pages, or pages where other ad formats are not practical or profitable.
Although I would never consider running a page with 3 ad blocks and 3 link units, way to many ads for me. 2, maybe 3 ad blocks total per page is enough for me.
I respectfully disagree with your suggested no-AS-on-picture-sites rule, but I do like your idea of roughly a minimum of 500 (non-scraped, non-nonsense!) words per ad block.
It would be tough for me to meet this rule on many of my pages, and I'm not sure that your suggested fixed ratio is perfect, but I'm going to re-examine some of my AS placements in light of it.
Nice, simple metric.
Thanks
Damon
I could see an advanced Smart Pricing formula, using the same methodology for adsense sites. IE, if you get a lesser quality score for your site in adsense, you would get substantially reduced revenue. While if you got a high quality score, you would get more revenue.
I would be surprised if this does not ultimately happen.
Great idea! If nothing else, that would eliminate inadvertent click arbitrage. :-)
Absolutely. In fact, I'll take it a step further and say unless and until Google bans ads on landing pages, it can't say it's taking arbitrage scams seriously. That rule is obviously the fastest, easiest, most effective way to eliminate at least 90% of arbitrage clicks.
The reality, furthermore, is Google engineers haven't been able, despite (we hope) over three years of trying to code it, put together an algo that discerns arbitrage schemes. But this ban could be instantly enforced by programming the same way Google used to block more than one ad link unit from loading on one page. So, no human reviews are necessary; it's just automatic. No complex programming required.
Sometimes the simplest solution is overlooked by top engineers. Or I'm too simple to think it's this easy. ;)
p/g
Link units are not ads, they are links to ads
better for the overall CTR, better for everyone
exactly like referral ads don't count as ad impressions.
I would also make a rule that there be no advertising on adwords landing pages.
I think I understand the theory here, but I'm guessing you're relying on the assumption that a "great user experience" will propel that user to click further into the website?
Sure -- that will work on a site like the New York Times, which advertises through Adwords and doesn't appear to have Adsense on its main page. It does, however, have Adsense on subsequent article pages.
What if the NYTimes or another quality site wishes to promote a particular article via Adwords?
Even if the ads are below the fold (which they are on NYTimes pages), they still fall into your "no ads on landing page" category and would be axed according to your suggestion.
Of course, if the NYTimes doesn't have quality content -- those pages deserve to be axed.
I know how Google can seriously promote the use of link units:
Stop Counting Them As Ad Impressions
Where do ad impressions show? My AdSense Reports shows Page impressions, and although it shows each channel on the same page as a seperate impressions,if I add the channel impressions together they are far higher than the data reflecting page impressions, eCPM or CTR.
In other words, if you have 1000 ad impressions, and 1000 link impressions on the same page, they show as only 1000 total page impressions on the top line, and this does not affect eCPM or CTR. So how does this affect the top line figures?
> does not affect eCPM or CTR
An unclicked ad or link unit lowers your CTR
which will lower to EPC too, taking everything else eCPM and total earnings in a dive.
I use only one leaderboard per page to keep my pages less ad intrusive, also for the above.
If link units do not count and do not affect the CTR, maybe publishers will be less inclined to blend them too much with site content and navigation, resulting in overall better network performance and less smartpricing.
On the other hand some may go even more overboard with their use, but those are prone to doing that anyway.
I am receiving optimization suggestions, which are suggesting I change my ads to become more attarctive. In doing so, frankly, what they suggest will go against the spirit of the latest adSense announcements. This is really NOT GOOD. These guys can get a guy like me banned from adsense ( without meaning to). Very Very Odd situation, if you ask me.
Why don't you forward the left hand's email to the right hand and get their confirmation?
LOL. It looks like AdWords is AdSense's evil twin brother.
Although I would never consider running a page with 3 ad blocks and 3 link units, way to many ads for me.
They probably envisage them being used on long pages - not all above the fold.
