Forum Moderators: martinibuster
Nick
Please, no detailed stats. It's our job to create content and let Google match the ads to it - not the other way around. You all want detailed stats so you can modify your content to earn more revenue, and that's backwards. Don't let them talk you into it Google, it's bad for the long term.
I agree. All it will do is cause us to all fixate on attempting to "optimize" the pages instead of focusing on improving our content.
What I want is:
1. Direct deposit.
2. Shrink the box to fit the number of ads available.
3. Alternate keyword search, but pay me something for the clicks -- even a US$.05 a click would be worth it. Make me feel like a partner instead of being used.
4. Control over which PSA are displayed.
Dolemite: Anyone semi-familiar with the internet advertising marketplace already knows which "X" type of subtopic within his site's broader topic can make him the most money
If the question is sports cars vs. digestive systems of Cephalopods I think anyone would know which would make the most money. But for subcategories of a topic (digestive systems of Cephalopods vs. nervous systems of Cephalopods) one would have to have actual statistics. Otherwise we would be biased by our own special interests.
The knowledge can be used not just to improve our income but to improve the usefulness of the Web. I can take more time to create content, or spend some bucks to purchase some very good content that otherwise will not be available on-line if I can find out whether or not the investment at least paid for itself.
This does not mean replacing cephalopod information with football stats, but paying (in time or money) for high quality, useful information.
Let me add.. I would like to see better fraud control and filtering. It is ridiculous to get "fraudulent click" letters with no details on the problem, just a threat to cancel your account. This is poor business policy on Google's part.
It is my belief that advertising already affects content and editorial decisions. It is that way with non-internet media, why would you hold the internet to a higher standard?
The problem isn't that page-level statistics would encourage skewing of editorial content. The real problem is that it would encourage creation of bogus keyword-stuffed "content" that existed only as a vehicle for AdSense. Such ersatz "content" is going to be cranked out anyway, but why should Google aid the process by making it easier for techie/entrepreneur/SEO types to optimize those pages for AdSense?
Google has already opened a Pandora's Box with AdSense, and it's only a matter of time before "content spam" becomes as much of a challenge as e-commerce spam and affiliate spam.
1)Browse at a glance all the matching adversiters, making it easier to block competitors (specially unkown ones)
2)Reduce publishers temptation to click on adsense ads.
3)Get a general idea (at a glance) of the kind of advertisers the content is suitable for.
I don't think google will be undercut by providing this data to advertisers. The program (both adsense and adwords) offer such compelling benefits (automation, reporting, almost prompt payments, etc) that I doubt it's at risk of being circumvented if this data is provided.
I also think that advertisers should be able to configure adwords to disallow their adverts on a specific adsense site (by domain name). Now, allowing the advertiser to do the opposite, that is, to target their ad to a specific adsense site might not be totally kosher for the publisher, but it might be something advertisers would want.
Google has already opened a Pandora's Box with AdSense, and it's only a matter of time before "content spam" becomes as much of a challenge as e-commerce spam and affiliate spam.
Agreed, this is something that keeps me up at night. I worry that one day we'll wake up and every corner of the Internet will be crowded with self-styled experts on helicopter parts and asbestos litigation.
The real problem is that it [more detailed stats] would encourage creation of bogus keyword-stuffed "content" that existed only as a vehicle for AdSense.
That problem exists without the detailed stats. I can find out the relative value of keywords using Adwords to check the cost, or checking the high bids on Overture and assuming some correlation. If I find that "combustion turbine vibration monitoring" might be good, I can create a page with everything I know about that subject: nothing. Something like:
Combustion Caused Vibration
That doesn't sound good.
Vibration Monitoring Systems
I hope they can do that
etc. on a page with Adsense.
As an Adwords advertiser also, I would not like to see that develop. I hope requests from advertisers will result in us seeing the URLs on which our ads appear and being able to block the useless, low quality, or otherwise undesirable sites.
But I think that is a separate issue from stat details for publishers.
Do SOMETHING about this "fraudulent clicks" thing. Turning off people's accounts without notice and without telling them why is just scary. Seeing all the people that this has happened to gives a really bad feeling about running AdSense at all.
Direct deposit of payments.
Gosh, I feel like such a conformist! :-) Seems like these three are the things most people want.
But I think the following proposal will allow decent webmasters to conduct proper experiments without opening the flood gates to spammers.
Provide an A/B switch in the adsense javascript. And display stats seperately for A and B. Only 2 options.
This would allow:
a) widget vs midget comparisons
b) domain A vs all other domains comparison
c) color A vs color B comparisons
d) horizontal vs vertical comparisons
e) monitoring of a new domain
That covers most of the legitimate statistical needs mentioned in this thread.
But it would not allow:
- rebates/ebates/kick-backs
- individual page stats (unless the page is very high volume and/or you wait a very long time)
- more than 1 experiment per day
Now although the TOS prohibits holding more than 1 adsense account, there is nothing google can realistically do to stop people opening a few accounts. So the bad guys are going to get hold of this level of reporting anyway.
Why not provide a mechanism that allows a very limited number of experiments/measurements to be conducted by legitimate webmasters (in this case one experiment per day) whilst providing very little support to creators of content vomit.
Combustion Caused Vibration
That doesn't sound good.
Vibration Monitoring Systems
I hope they can do thatetc. on a page with Adsense.
If the question is sports cars vs. digestive systems of Cephalopods I think anyone would know which would make the most money. But for subcategories of a topic (digestive systems of Cephalopods vs. nervous systems of Cephalopods) one would have to have actual statistics. Otherwise we would be biased by our own special interests.
After checking with the adwords account and overture bid tool, you would see a difference in the competitiveness of related search terms. You could then adjust your new content production towards one or the other. You could optimize your SEO efforts to make yourself the #1 squid or octopus website in the net.
Google has already opened a Pandora's Box with AdSense, and it's only a matter of time before "content spam" becomes as much of a challenge as e-commerce spam and affiliate spam.
On the other hand, will this be so bad? It just occurred to me that someone looking for lets say frozen squid to add to his weekend Gumbo (BTW, I do not know if Gumbo has squid…. I have to try that sometime) and arrives to a page filled with nothing but content spam, might be as much of a qualifier visitor as anyone else could be…..
I don´t see how AdSense could be made to be less work, so I´ll just take the more money.
1. Better fraud fighting without killing the publishers. I've never gotten one of the "fraudulent clicks" emails, but I'd hate to ever get cut-off from a massive revenue source like this due to factors outside my control.
2. Allow publishers to specify a URL in their settings to display in place of the adsense iframe content if adsense is going to show PSAs.
3. If not #2 above, then at least let us filter/choose our own PSAs. Not everyone share's Google's taste in PSAs. It's one thing to support a real charity, it's quite another to have your site supporting an organization you actively oppose just because they are a 501(c)3 and someone at Google decided they like them. Another alternative would be for Google to pay publishers for PSAs, so that we will at least feel like Google is the one donating the space instead of the publishers being forced to donate to "charities" they actively work against elsewhere!
4. Stats by domain.
5. If you are going to implement the "shrink the box for fewer ads" suggestions of others, at least let it be an optional setting, since some of us have page layouts that assume we know how big the iframe is gonna be!
6. Less "domain" based ads being shown and more "page" based ads being shown. Or an option to perhaps change the weight of page vs. domain factors for a domain? Some sites get better targeting with overall domain based stuff, while others get better targeting with page-based stuff. Since Google isn't going to be able to take the time to have an employee look at every single site over a period of time to decide which is a better fit for that site, then please let the publishers do it! We all want better targeted ads, so let us help!
7. The premium "advanced" features would be nice for the rest of us. :)
Less "domain" based ads being shown and more "page" based ads being shown. Or an option to perhaps change the weight of page vs. domain factors for a domain? Some sites get better targeting with overall domain based stuff, while others get better targeting with page-based stuff.
Isn't this determined by the availability of ads for specific keywords or keyphrases?
For what it's worth, I get a lot of page-based ads on certain pages and domain-based ads on others. I suspect it's because (for example) keyphrases like "French river cruises" or "Venice hotels" attract more PPC ads than terms like "Romansch" or "port of Invergordon."
The things i wish ...
Reports:
- Timestamp [webmasterworld.com] on the current stats
- Stats per site (either automatic or configurable > add new site to account)
- Stats per language (either automatic detection or configurable - see above)
- % of PSA (views + clicks) or even separate stats
- export reports as xls, csv, xml or text files.
Design:
- more options for the custom designs / more flexible layouts
- specify number of ads per layout
- specify width and height)
Fraud (prevention):
- advanced detection of suspicious activity
- warn early and not if it's allready too late
- IP / UA reports for publishers
Also, adding certain keywords to NEVER use would be nice. I have a page that has the name Christian on it and that page gets all these ads for christian stuff that has NOTHING to do with the site.
I would like it if we could choose some very broad topics for our whole domain. Something like Books, Music, Movies, Sports, etc. Nothing specific, but at least with a broad topic it would mean things would always be SOMEWHAT targetted....and I wouldn't get things about christianity.
I would like it if we could choose some very broad topics for our whole domain. Something like Books, Music, Movies, Sports, etc. Nothing specific, but at least with a broad topic it would mean things would always be SOMEWHAT targetted....and I wouldn't get things about christianity.
It would be even better if we could include or exclude default topics or keyphrases by site and by page. The site defaults could be specified in the AdSense control panel, while the page defaults could be done with special meta tags.
Obviously, it wouldn't be worth going through every page of a large site to enter keyphrases for inclusion or exclusion, but the effort might be justified for high-traffic pages or for pages where the publisher knows there's a problem (such as your "Christian" page or my Munich Oktoberfest article that shows ads for beer coolers and my "using ATMs in Europe" article that has ads for ATM equipment and supplies).
Please allow me to show adsense ads on my non-English pages.
No problem if it's English ads, or ads in other languages, my audience will understand them - and even click on them. They're highly educated, speak several languages, and have good money to spend. I've already made room for the ads, even. When, when, when?
/claus
I'm UK based and what I normally do with revenue from US based merchants (such as Amazon and "other" providers/schemes) is funnel all the money into my Paypal account and once it's accumulated to a resonable value then just pay it into my bank account: less hassle about bank charges/currency conversion rates etc etc.
Blocking of IP addresses/ranges would be good as well.
Allow for the use of defaults or at the very least let me pick the charities.
sweet!
I might want to use the word like "bizzleboof" in my page, but I realize it is incidental to the purpose of the page, and I don't want advertisers using it. My purpose for using this option is to improve relevance of the ads.
I would like to be able to enter, dmoz style, a category for the site
arts/education/history/lesson plans
for example.
which google can check fits...and we then get served run-of-category ads after site-specific ones run out. if there are no other "history lesson plans" ads, go up to "history" and maybe stop there.
apart from that, biggest request would be paypal payment
Furthermore, as it currently stands it takes over 120 days from earning the money till it's in my pocket. That gotta change. I don't care if direct deposit or even better check options, such as bankers or travellers. Let these mroe expensive options be payable by the publisher, or make them at $1000 only or whatever.
Oh, and change the country option for Malta from "Malta" to "Malta (Europe)" as appearantly most postal workers read it as Malaysia or something, and My checks keep bouncing back to Google :(
SN
120 days? Google pays net30 so how come it takes you 4 months to receive a check?
1) The choice of payment by direct deposit, Paypal or cheque. Also by direct deposit I don't just mean to US bank accounts - but UK and Canada too. Also the ability to set the minimum level at which you would be sent a cheque (if that's the only option). If cheques are going to be the only option then the ability to have cheques in a currency other than US dollars.
Reason: As a person running a website in the UK each time I pay in a Google cheque (foreign currency cheque) I get charged at least £6 (about $10) by the bank. Direct deposit would mean I get to keep a higher proportion of Google earnings. Also being paid in a foreign currency means my revenue is subject to international currency fluctuations.
Just the postage on the cheque each month is 80 cents - surely it would be far more economical for Google to make direct payments.
2) The ability to see more detailed statistics - expanded beyond just showing daily clicks, CTR, revenue & impressions. I'd like to be able to see EPC (earnings per a click), EPM (earnings per a thousand impressions), CPM etc
Reason: this information would let me make my website more profitable - which means more profit for Google too.
3) More than just 4 choices of ad size/ layout
Reason: my website doesn't really "fit" any of the Google standard layouts.
Any other suggestions?
Now that we have our own default ads, I#d like to see this option expanded to cover pages where less then the full complement of ads are available but still more then one, i.e. no PSAs.
This is already happening. I've never seen a PSA on my live pages; when Google doesn't have enough targeted ads for a subtopic or can't figure out what a page is about, it serves ads like the ones that appear on my home page.
If you're getting a lot of PSAs, it may be for one of two reasons:
(1) There aren't enough ads available for your site's default or overall topic; or...
(2) You may not be giving Google enough clues to help it serve alternative ads.
In my case, I may be avoiding problem #2 because of my navigation links and the affiliate links in the right column of every page on my site. If Google can't find a match for an article on unicycle tours in Burgundy or nude hot-air ballooning in the Outer Hebrides, it usually will display ads for rail passes (because of a railpass affiliate link) or a certain popular tourist destination (because of the link in my top navbar to my "site within a site" on that destination). Of course, that probably wouldn't happen if the affiliate link or navbar link were for something obscure that didn't attract AdSense ads.
nude hot-air ballooning in the Outer Hebrides
Ahhhhhh, those were good times :D Although a bit chilly.
Back on topic: A navigation bar with some important text links to the other sites of your site will allow Google to serve site specific ads just like EFV says and reduce PSAs. I have also noticed marked improvement in the targeting.
1) The choice of payment by direct deposit, Paypal or cheque. Also by direct deposit I don't just mean to US bank accounts - but UK and Canada too. Also the ability to set the minimum level at which you would be sent a cheque (if that's the only option). If cheques are going to be the only option then the ability to have cheques in a currency other than US dollars.
Amen!
Also, it would be nice if it were possible for those running AdSense on multiple sites to be able to block ads from just some of those sites. An ad that's inappropriate on one site might be ideal for another, but at present those running the same code on several sites have to block ads from either all or none of those sites.
