Forum Moderators: martinibuster
I got tired of getting canned response from Google Adsense so I'm going to post my questions here.
1. I understand that modifying the Adsense Search generated codes is a violation of the program policies. However, all across the web, and I've come across many sites, webmasters modifying these codes.
Example,
a) The radio button would show "Web" and "Example" instead of "www.Example.com"
b) The radio button would show "Web" and "EEEE" instead of "www.ExampleExampleExampleExample.com"
c) The radio button for "Web" is on top of the radio button for "www.Example.com" thus making the search box shorter and more neat when placed on the right or left navigation panel.
d) The search box, both the radio buttons and Google logo all appears in 1 row. Usually implemented next to the horizontal navigation bar.
I hope Google can give us more flexibility. At least give us the option to implement (1c) & (1d) above.
2. The Adsense Search generated codes do not validate with HTML 4.01 strict. How can implement the Adsense for Search on my page and have it validate at the same time without changing the codes.
If you have modified the Adsense Search codes and are using it on your web, have you ever got a warning from Google, or worse kicked out of the program because of this?
If you stumble upon a website whereby the webmaster has modified the Adsense Search codes in good faith so that the Search Box would fit nicely with the overall design, thus improving user experience,... how likely would you report the website to Google Adsense?
[edited by: PowerUp at 2:30 am (utc) on June 17, 2007]
What I did was putting a custom search (Google CSE). No radio buttons, no Google logo except in the search field. Simply more customizable. I don't understand why anyone would choose the plain Adsense for Search over CSE.
Do clicks on advertisers earn you any money when u use google cse?
Yes. Same as Adsense for Search.
1. Then do Adsense & Google CSE share the same account of different accounts? If they share the same account, will you be able to see the earnings from search when you login to your Adsense a/c?
2. I registered my Adsense a/c using a Yahoo email. And it seems I cannot use a Yahoo email to register for Google CSE. So, I'll have to create 2 different accounts? Isn't this a violation of the Adsense policy about having multiple accounts?
3. Can the codes generated from Google CSE be modified? Is it a violation of the Adsense / Google CSE policies if I modify the codes of Google CSE?
You can modify the code to a point, quite a bit actually.
The CSE is a different account but the ads are attached to the adsense account. I see the reports just as Adsense for Search.You can modify the code to a point, quite a bit actually.
I'm confused. There are 2 issues.
1. If I register Adsense content (normal ads) with Account Y and register for Google CSE with Account X, and then when I logon to Account Y to see my earnings, how come the earnings of Account X is also visible? If this is true, then you can put your CSE codes on my pages, and when I logon to my Adsense account, I'll also be able to see your earnings from CSE?
2. If you can see your CSE earnings by logging on to your Adsense account, then doesn't this tells us that CSE is part of the whole Adsense program? If this is true, then the Google CSE will fall under the program policies and guidelines and TOS of Google Adsense, right? This means, strictly no modifying the CSE codes.
I'm confused.
cse is just for prettying up your site IF you are not an account holder...no pay.
Ann
cse is just for prettying up your site IF you are not an account holder...no pay
No, that's not true (that's a different product entirely) I have a CSE, and I get paid from it all the time. CSE's are for themed search engines - where you decide the sites that will be included in the searches. For example, if I had a website about Saturn cars, I might create a CSE, and then go out on the web and cherry pick all the good sites or pages having to do with Saturns, and add them to my search engine. That way when people do a search in it, they'll only be searching from the sites I added in there, rather than the entire web. Makes for a more focused (if less broad) search. And it shows ads.
CSE Search can be tied to an existing AdSense account, but you have to specifically go in and tie them together. If you don't have an AdSense account, you still get paid for the ads, but not by AdSense (I'm not 100% sure how this works, since mine is tied to my AdSense)
I don't see CSE as a direct replacement for AdSense for Search though, because you have to add the sites that you want to include in your custom search. By default I don't think it includes your own site (unless you add it too) There's a new option just released where it will automatically add any site for which you have included an outbound link on your page, but that's still pretty limited.
Google most specifically does NOT want you to modify the code on your search - I once begged and pleaded to be able to lighten the grey version just ONE shade of gray to blend in with my page, and got an emphatic no. So I changed the page to white; I make pretty darn good money on search. Sometimes, more than on just ads.
What really ticks me off now though is that the code won't validate, and there's absolutely NO reason for that. I have sent off emails requesting permission to make just that one slight change to the input tag, and never gotten any reply. ASA, if you are out there, I hope you pass this along. It's completely unnecessary and ridiculous. Change the code, or let us change it so that it will validate.
[edited by: netmeg at 1:12 pm (utc) on June 17, 2007]
1. Notice in this URL that Google doesn't mention anything about getting paid. [google.com...]
2. In this URL however, in bullet point number 5, it says "Make money from relevant ads in your search results." [google.com...]
So... which is correct?
In the FAQ, I found this....
Make money from your Custom Search Engine by participating in Google's AdSense program
Anyone who creates a Custom Search Engine can earn money from the ads that show up on their search results pages. You connect your Co-op account with a Google AdSense account and get paid whenever someone clicks on an ad in your search results. The cost per click on an ad is determined by advertisers who compete for placement on search results pages. You can learn more about how AdSense works in the Google AdSense Tour.
If you already have a Google AdSense account
Fill in the form with the email address that you use with your AdSense account, your zip code, and the last 5 digits of your phone number. We'll use this information to connect your Co-op account to your AdSense account and you can start making money immediately.If you don't already have a Google AdSense account
Fill out the information in the form provided. You will receive a confirmation email that you can use to activate your account. You will not start making money until you have completed the activation process in the email. Note that while your AdSense account is being processed, you will not see any ads at all in your search engine results.
From the info I find in their FAQ, I think Google Co-op CSE is part of the Adsense program and is governed by the Adsense TOS, program policies and guidelines.
Can anyone give their views on this?
ASA, can you help clarify?
But it's still a DIFFERENT PRODUCT than AdSense for Search, and you can customize at will.
I might change some of AdSense for Search over to the CSE now.
[edited by: netmeg at 1:19 pm (utc) on June 17, 2007]
I switched to CSE because Adsense for Search was too big and ugly. I also asked Google for a very subtle change in the shade of grey and received and negative reply. The CSE is a simple search field and button with no background. The Google logo is within the box. I added my site and a blog at the same time. With Adsense for Search, I'd have to have two different radio buttons, plus the www button. The ads can also be shown on the side. Some put a image as the search button. Much better IMO.
If you already have an Adsense account, that's what you use. If you don't, you open one. Simple as that.
I registered for Adsense using a Yahoo email address.
When I tried to register Google CSE using the same Yahoo email address, it won't accept.
If I now register for Google CSE with a Gmail address, then it will create another Adsense account for me? Then I'll have 2 Adsense accounts? Isn't this a violation of having multiple accounts?
Also, another question.
Is there an option to specify the default search box to have the radio button for "Web" and another button for "my own domain"? The reason I want to implement a search box is because I want to make it easier for my visitors to search for articles on my domain.
If there's no option to select search from "my own domain" then my pages will be buried in the Google CSE search result as well.
[edited by: PowerUp at 1:56 pm (utc) on June 17, 2007]
If there's no option to select search from "my own domain" then my pages will be buried in the Google CSE search result as well.
You can configure it to give priority a domain or domains, so just tell it to give priority to your own domain.
2- You enter the sites you want searched and then there's an option to
a)Search only included sites
b)Search the entire web but emphasize included sites
There's a bunch of things you can do but I only wanted to search my site with a better look than Adsense for Search so I didn't look into collaboration, annotations, etc.
Try it on a test page and see for yourself. If you enter your Google account, you should find CSE as one of the services (Coop).
1] If you look at the website mentioned in the latest Adsense Blog message, from India, the search bar is customized beyond the allowances that are in Google for Search Setup, so Google appears to accept this by showing a website who customises its search bar.
2] I am not sure if I have missed it, or it is new, but Google for Search Setup now offers background colours as an option, including html code setup.
You can change the width.
I couldn't find the option to change the width of the search box. Are you sure changing the width is not a violation of the TOS?
I did some searches on the Google CSE search box on my site yesterday, but I didn't click on the ads.
Today I checked my Adsense stats, I don't see any "searches" or impressions for Adsense for Search. Is this normal? Do they only report clicks on advertisers?
You can change the width in the code.
To EazyGoin, yes you can change the background in Adsense for search but it removes the Google logo and puts "Search Google" on the button and messes the layout.
Today I checked my Adsense stats, I don't see any "searches" or impressions for Adsense for Search. Is this normal? Do they only report clicks on advertisers?
Did you assign a channel to it?
In the Documentation there's a section titled "Make money":
... To connect your Co-op account with Google AdSense, go to the "Make money" tab in your search engine's control panel...
Sure enough, I found the control panel for the CSE that I'd made and across the top on of the tabs says "Make money." Now, even though I went in through the account which I created for Adsense years ago, it says
You currently do not have an AdSense account associated with your Google Co-op account.
You can sign up for an AdSense account or connect your search engine to an existing AdSense account below.
I had to give it some info about my Adsense account but it seems to have looked me up correctly.
Thanks for the pointers, netmeg & others, this is a lot more interesting to me than the Adsense for Search that I gave up on a long time ago.
