Why haven't you made the switch?

Reasons you're still using the old AdSense interface

[AdSenseAdvisor]

Hey everyone,

I wanted to start a thread to get your feedback on the new AdSense interface. Specifically, I'm interested in hearing from those of you who are still using the old interface, to know why you haven't switched to the new interface.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts - the feedback from this particular forum is invaluable for our entire publisher community.

Thanks!
ASA.

[gmb21]

I switch back and forth between the old and the new interfaces. I love charts and graphs, so I love the new interface, but I miss (or can't find) a few things:

1. I haven't worked out where to check that no unauthorised sites are using my ID. In the old interface it's at: AdSense Setup > Allowed Sites

2. I miss the quick, at a glance view of the top performing channels (url and custom combined)

3. I haven't tried creating a new ad unit in the new interface, but I understand that custom colour palettes are missing -- I use that feature all the time.

[andrewshim]

Yes "today's report" that can be easily broken down into channels is what i like in the old interface.That should be the default home page happy!

i too find the new interface to be somewhat slower than the old one.

ditto.

[ember]

The old interface is just quicker, like looking at the top performing channels for the day. One click and there they are. In the new, I have to dig around for them.

And we have a lot of repeat visitors, so I like to block/unblock advertisers to keep things fresh. In the old interface, that is easy, but in the new one, I have to give a reason for the blocking, which is a pain.

[netmeg]

I go back and forth, but mostly still prefer the old interface.

The old interface is a lot easier for me to check via mobile.

The old interface tells me the current day's earnings at a glance, the new interface defaults to last 7 days.

All my reports (and I have a buttload of reports) are where I want them in the old interface.

I make extensive use of custom palettes in the old interface, and from what I understand they aren't there yet in the new.

That said, there are some nice things in the new interface - I particularly like the analytics style feature of comparing one time period to another (and why oh why can't we have that in AdWords)

But most generally, I want something *fast*. And it's not fast.

In the next month or so, I will be faced with having to create a bunch of ads for a new property (which is always a painful and unnecessarily time consuming process) I'll start out in the new interface and see how it goes. This is the one area that I think the Ad Manager has it over AdSense - you can create everything in a spreadsheet and just upload it. That would be a HUGE time saver.

[eniac]

I do not interest or care your new adsense interface switch until you switch on our revenue switch.
So, the question is why havent you switch on our revenue yet?

I can see the same bad revenue in 2 version of panel. So what is the difference in terms of revenue :)

Best regards

[Sally Stitts]

All the reasons stated above.

Old Interface = Sweet and simple, what you want to see is right there
New Interface = Jumble-liah

From the very beginning, AdSense has had the best, most super-b*chin', interface in the world. And you want to change it. Why?

This is definitely another case of Google trying to fix something that isn't broken. If you want to add a bunch of new data, GREAT! But why thrash all the great usability features of the original. This is not necessary, and is undesirable. I'm a big fan of Jakob Nielson - simple is best.

I think maybe the decision process at Google comes from peer review by software cluster think-alikes, who are politically pressured to reach consensus, rather than from users. Perhaps some focus-group studies are in order, among USERS.
.

[Lame_Wolf]

An option to turn off/on CPM adverts would be nice. Ever tried writing to Adsense support ? My advice is, don't. Not if you want to keep your sanity.

This would be extremely useful, and save time with the "support" team.

[ken_b]

OK, I think I see where to see the actual ads waiting to be reviewed. Apparently I just overlooked the link.

It seem's simpler in the old interface though.

[martinibuster]

I'm a nay sayer because Google's interface improvements have left an impression on me that they tend to result in a slower interface that is less intuitive than the previous version, making it harder to navigate.

The old keyword tool is an interface that became less useful after so-called improvements. Then there is the process for reporting unsatisfactory results that became needlessly complicated.

The AdWords interface is a case study of how Google took a simple and effective interface that was a pleasure to use (in contrast to Overture's clunky interface) and degraded the experience with a slow loading flash(like) interface with more options than I need while making it more difficult for me to accomplish what I needed to accomplish.

To this day I dislike the current AdWords interface. I turned it off for an extended period a year ago because it is so frustrating. When I returned to start it up again I encountered a bug that prevented my ad from showing and I left it again for several months before emailing them about the bug and then it fixed itself.

[edited by: martinibuster at 8:42 pm (utc) on Feb 4, 2011]

[bumpski]

ASA Please also see this thread:
"Are you clicking "report issue" in the new interface?"
[webmasterworld.com...]

I have "reported" all the following issues:

I use the new interface, "report issues", and before logging off always switch back to, and use, the old interface. I'm hoping this serves as a vote for the old interface until the new interface brings forward all the functionality of the old interface.

Missing features:
Reporting URL channels, by channel and day, (BOTH feature) If you want to analyze performance on a daily basis, this feature is critical.
Templates. Existing templates are gone?

Almost useless features:
Data by Bid Type (CPM or PPC). Without accurate CPM impression data this information has limited utility other than confirming how poorly CPM pays for certain types of sites.
Pagination of results. Now you must scroll and use the pagination buttons. How about a default ALL setting. I'd far rather just scroll through all the data. I have generated some reports that took the browser "minutes" to render! I can live with that as long as I can still get the data.

Desired features:
Close the graph? Many times I just want to see the data.

Other:
Excessive clicks for the same information in the old interface. Granted new functionality may require additional navigation.

I've used "report issue" for all of the above, minor, or major. I really don't want to lose functionality.
(For example I just learned IE7/IE8 dumped the "save offline" feature when I needed it the other day. A disappointment!).

Regarding the graphs, there is so much variance daily that simply plotting data by date shows mostly noise. In most cases an export to a spreadsheet is required to time average, filter, or using pivot tables to extract usable information.

[johnblack]

I like the new interface, but then again I tend to like new 'shiny' things :-)

One thing that is missing, is the ability to create a new palette. May be small potatoes to most people, but seems a strange omission from the new interface.

[goldenarms]

"Hi ASA
I use it because I can see instantly what I have earn't today, and with a quick click of the button, I can see what channels are doing what.

The process is more intense with the new interface. "

What Lame Wolf said. I can view all my channels for the day via the front page of AdSense after I login, without having to load another page.

[BillyS]

I like the new interface on my pc. It doesn't work well in Opera Mini (Blackberry). So I'm constantly swtiching back and forth.

[Lame_Wolf]

Another pointless extra click with the new interface is where you have to expand the menu for "Entire account by day" (found in "performance reports")

This should be expanded as default.

[koan]

There's a button called "Set as default report".

[AdSenseAdvisor]

Thanks everyone for your feedback and keep it coming! I'm feeding this to the product team and the great news is, there's a lot you've mentioned that we are aware of and are working on already. I'll keep you updated as new features (and old interface parity features) become available in the new interface.

My question to ASA and the AdSense team, even if it only becomes a rhetorical question, what's the downside of keeping both - the current interface for those who want the simplicity & the efficiency that brings them and the new interface for those who want the features available there?

Mind if I answer a rhetorical question? :)

Having to switch between the two interfaces isn't an optimal user experience. Our goal is to provide the best of the old interface with the improved capabilities of the new interface - and to continue to improve upon it.

-ASA.

[Lame_Wolf]

There's a button called "Set as default report".

Yeah, but that doesn't force the navigation menu to stay open.

[leadegroot]

The biggest 'user confusion' issue that hits me is the 'doubled navigation' - the major category is across the top and the minor is down the side.
This makes the cognitive overheads of exploration really high and not at all enjoyable.
Yes, I know, know - the last people you want to design an interface for are user interface designers... :)
But it really throws me - there have been features I have found in there that I have thought were great, but 2/3 of them I have been unable to find again....

[Scurramunga]

Whilst the new interface has some great features, I also like the simplicity of the old interface as it provides a general snapshot of the day at a glance, therefore I am still using it. I also find the old interface faster.

The competitive filtering section of the new interface needs improvement as it it hard to delete advertisers en masse.

The competitive URL filter seems buggy at times and the general categories filter doesn't always list sub categories correctly. I've already sent my thoughts and to Google in a little more detail on bugs I have found with the filters. General categories listed, need improvement also, as I have seen mentioned here on WebmasterWorld.

[Pepito]

My opinion is like many other, I like the simplicity of the "old" system. Maybe if it is possible to create several customized tabs, and one being the home page, with today's earnings and channels, maybe I would start switching.

For me what I want is to no quickly how the day is going with channels.

[netmeg]

From a usability standpoint, the best two things Google ever designed were the original search page, and the AdWords editor. No frills, few distractions, the information we want, and fast. It's what gave them (and still gives them, in the case of the AWE) a significant edge over their competitors. Keep those principles in mind, and you can't go wrong.

I don't log into my AdSense account for graphs or pictures or cool stuff. (I have all that in Analytics if I want it) I log in to find out how much money I've made, and to create ads to make more.

[hfguide]

I didn't make the switch because I kept having a problem with the interface perpetually reloading.

Plus, the interface is fussier and convoluted. I dislike the fact that I have to actually "recreate" my report in the new interface (choose report, then make "default") when all I had to do in the old interface was just click on a drop-down menu to view a complete overview of the day's stats. Very annoying. I couldn't care less about fancy, shmancy graphs and charts. Just give me the stats, please.

[DaStarBuG]

This is the one area that I think the Ad Manager has it over AdSense - you can create everything in a spreadsheet and just upload it. That would be a HUGE time saver.

I'll second that!
A bulk upload feature would be great.
Creating 100 Ad Units and 100 Channels one by one is a pain in the ...

[nick28]

An option to turn off/on CPM adverts would be nice.

The same with placement targeting off/on.

[lets_learn]

Resistance to change.

[azn romeo 4u]

Speed is one issue. Super cluttered is another. Also does not work very well at all on my samsung galaxy s 2.1. Waiting on the 2.2 by Verizon refuses to do anything about it.

[Tropical Island]

What Lame Wolf said. I can view all my channels for the day via the front page of AdSense after I login, without having to load another page.

This!

[Chrispcritters]

For me even though I've opted to use the new interface I get bumped back to the old one about 10% of the time.

[photojack]

What Lame Wolf said. I can view all my channels for the day via the front page of AdSense after I login, without having to load another page.

Same here.

Can you please have "top channels" next to "AdSense for Content" like in the old version

[DaStarBuG]

Another thing that just comes to mind.

Show all channels for a custom report on one page.
Why limit the view to max. 50 channels?

I'd rather scroll down for hours then click through several pages.

And again more filter options (either logical operators or more filter fields) for channel reports PLEASE! :)