AdSense Control Panel Changed?

Advanced Reports No Longer Remembering Previous Settings

[martinibuster]

The control panel used to remember my previous settings in the Advanced Reports page, and now it doesn't. This means I have to go through the additional steps of selecting the channels I want to be displayed.

Is this happening to you too?

[ganderla]

Yes it is, I sent Google off an email today, but have not heard back.
Those extra few steps are really putting a cramp in my routine.

[Jenstar]

They now offer custom reports where you can save various reports you run frequently, and you can select them from the left hand side of the main control panel page.

[icedowl]

I happen to like that it no longer remembers the settings. I found it to be a nuisance.

To each his own.

Just save a custom report like Jenstar said.

[martinibuster]

Reports Shmorts. ;) Y

Just leave it the way it was and have the reports, too. Is that such a big deal?

[incrediBILL]

Google breaks more than they fix with each update.

It's like the next episode of Laurel n Hardy Does Software

[Radejr]

I likeed it before I could just login and check things instantly now I gotta click more :(

[kartiksh]

yes now its one click more than before, OK if google is sure about this move, do you think they should provide set default report in advance view version instead of default current days report?

[martinibuster]

Custom reports are advanced reports that you can save for future use. Any advanced report you generate can be saved as a custom report with the same date range and channel settings you've chosen. You can quickly access custom reports from your Overview page or the drop-down on your Advanced Reports page.

Ok, then where on the Overview page is the god damn link to the Create a Custom Report? I don't see it. I don't see a link to "Save a Custom Report either."

On the Advanced Reports there is this link:

Custom Reports: None ( Learn more about Custom Reports

But no god damn link for CREATING a custom report. That is where I am expecting to see the link, and it's not there.

The help section that is linked to from the Overview and Advanced control panels are useless. Links telling me HOW to createt these reports should be linked straight from these panels, not hidden so that I have to hunt for it.

This is a bad implementation of a feature that does not help me. It is hindering me!

I will repeat: This new feature is bull#*$!. I can't find anywhere on the control panel where it lets me save a report or create a new one.

The help page is NO help. They tell me that I can do something, but don't freaking tell me HOW to do it. Totally useless. Doesn't anybody vette these things?

Check this out:

Save time by creating custom reports

We've added one-click access to your favorite advanced reports! You can now save report settings for up to 10 reports, so that you can quickly access the same report at any time from your Custom Reports list on the Overview page.

Oh goody. But how do I create it? Useless help page. Utterly useless. The help page is useless. All it does is tell you that you CAN do it, but it doesn't tell you HOW to do it.

ADDENDUM
Jenstar just showed me how to do it. But if it wasn't for the bad implementation of the help links from the section where I would need it most, I wouldn't have had to ask her how to do it.

And it turns out there is no link, but it's an easily overlooked text box. I've seen it before, but until now have never needed to use it. So I must have been blocking it out. Ugh. How frustrating.

[incrediBILL]

I concur that the new custom report feature was implemented and documented poorly, took me a whole 5 minutes to figure it out which is obscene.

BTW, it doesn't seem to remember how the report was sorted so you can save a report "Month to date by Channel" but forget that report being sorted ascending by page impressions, you'll have to click yet one more time to get it sorted just how you want it.

[jacquex]

Google breaks more than they fix with each update.

If this happens with silly things such as reports, imagine what happens with algo updates...

[AZEvil]

wow MB tell us how you really feel ;)

I do agree completely...For those still confused at how to use it, this page [google.com] helped me.

[martinibuster]

Oh man, it was frustrating. Good thing my kid wasn't around.

Jenstar showed me that page, and it would have been infinitely helpful if they linked to it from control panel, or even from the useless help page that is already linked from the control panel.

[incrediBILL]

With all the money they have you think a usability focus group wouldn't break the bank.

My wife should be running their SQA dept (assuming such thing exists at the plex) and this wouldn't be an issue ;)

[RonS]

I'll just say that their reports were clearly not written by business people interested in looking at financial performance, and weren't written by statisticians.... who IS writing their reports?

But you can always download a CSV file and do all of it for yourself.... like

How do I do on Fridays?

What if I turn off AdSense at noon?

How does volume affect CPC?

And other staistical funsies

[Powdork]

Yeah, that date range thing is particularly useful. Especially if i want to be able to view the Sept 6 - Sept 14 date range for the rest of my life. Give me custom reports where I can set up a report for the last five days and it will always be the last five days (including today) and I will be happy. Make it so the regular reports don't default to page views and I will be happy.

The main thing that makes the difference is that the dates aren't floating. I want to have on my opening screen this:
5 days ago til today
4 days ago til today
3 days ago til today ( These are all just so I can get the latest updated results, if the call pulled new results every time it wouldn't even be an issue)
All Mondays back two months
All Tuesdays back two months
etc.

I can't do any of that, so, so far it is a failure (i.e. worse than if they did nothing)

[Powdork]

Is it me, or did they just start remebering settings again.

[icedowl]

They seem to remember some things, like how you last viewed the "overview" page. Fortunately, that doesn't bug me as the method now in use to change it is at least swift.

The only semi-useful "custom" reports that I've been able to create are based on selected channels and the "today", "this month", "last month" type of date ranges.

[martinibuster]

Powdork, you're right!
The control panel started remembering the settings!
Those little things add up, don't they?

[Powdork]

Make it so the regular reports don't default to page views and I will be happy.

:)

Make a small error (000 is small, right?) on my next EFT and I will be happy.

[Powdork]

Not remembering again?