[Inside AdSense] Referrals 2.0 launches to all AdSense publishers

This past March, we launched a referrals beta to test the feature and iron out some wrinkles. Now that we've finished our testing, we're pleased to announce that referrals 2.0 will soon be available to all AdSense publishers.

While some of you may already be familiar with referrals for Google products, this launch will greatly expand the inventory and functionality of referrals for AdSense publishers. Below we've highlighted a few of the key benefits of referrals 2.0:

• Expanded product inventory: While many of you have had success referring one of our Google products, some of you weren't able to find a product that fit the context of your site. Referrals 2.0 offers products from thousands of AdWords advertisers, so you can find the right ads for your sites.
  
  
• Category and keyword targeting: With thousands of products available, it can be difficult to decide which ads will perform best on your site. That's why we give you the option to refer products by category and keyword. You can narrow down the types of ads you want to display and let AdSense figure out which ones will perform best on your site. Whether you want ads for a specific category, advertiser, or product, referrals 2.0 will give you the control to decide.
  
  
• Ad unit optimization: It can be tricky picking the best ads for your site, so we've included ad unit optimization for referrals. When you create a new referral ad unit, simply select the Pick best performing ads option. We'll then compare your selected ads to other relevant ads, and serve the ads we expect to perform best on your site.
  
  
• Better targeting for pages with multiple themes: With standard contextual targeting, ads may not match up directly with the text around them if there are a number of themes on the page. With referrals, you can select unique "keywords" for each ad unit to narrow the targeting directly to the theme you want. Better targeting means higher earnings for your site.
  
  
• Greater compensation for high-quality traffic: Since referrals are paid on a cost-per-action (CPA) basis, your traffic matters. If the traffic you send to advertisers is more likely to turn into a completed sale or lead, you will earn more with referrals.
  
  
• Add your seal of approval: Unlike AdSense for content ads, our program policies allow you to make specific references to referral ads on your site. If you endorse the product that you are referring, feel free to let your users know. By adding your personal review of the products you refer, you can help your users make more informed choices.
  

To get started with referrals, click the AdSense Setup tab in your account, then click Referrals. If you don't see referrals 2.0 right away, please check back in a few days, as the feature will gradually become available in all accounts over the next few weeks. Please also keep in mind that for some languages, advertisers are just getting started so ad inventory may be limited at this time. We encourage you to check back frequently to see new offers.



If you have any questions about how to add a new referral unit to your site, be sure to check out the updated referrals section of the Help Center.

Posted by Dan Friedman - AdSense Product Marketing

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Posted By Inside AdSense Team to Inside AdSense at 6/28/2007 11:23:00 AM
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[Inside AdSense] We go round and round

As you'll recall, we recently introduced new formats for AdSense ads. This week, we've added a new dimension for publishers in customizing these ad formats. You've long been able to customize the size and colors of your ad units; now, you can also customize the shape by selecting between square, slightly rounded, or very rounded corners.


To get started with these new ad shapes, visit the 'AdSense Setup' tab in your account. As with all format options like sizes and colors, different corner styles will perform better for different publishers. We recommend that you choose the corner style that best matches the look and feel of your sites. Please keep in mind that if your page background color, ad background color, and ad border color are all the same, these new corners won't be visible.

This new option is part of our ongoing effort to improve the look and feel of our ads. We're also working to give you even more choices to customize your ad formats while maximizing revenue and user satisfaction. We hope you enjoy the new corner options, whether you choose to go edgy or bubbly.

Posted by Teo Wickland - AdSense Product Marketing

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Posted By Inside AdSense Team to Inside AdSense at 6/26/2007 10:02:00 AM
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[Inside AdSense] Inside AdSense now in Turkish

Starting with English, we've introduced Inside AdSense blogs in a number of languages to keep publishers up to date with everything AdSense. Today, we're excited to round that number up to a "perfect 10" with our latest blog -- Inside AdSense: Google'a içeriden bir bakış.

If you speak Turkish, you can look forward to reading about the latest AdSense updates and feature releases in your own language. Also, the Turkish support team will help you make the most of your AdSense account with optimization tips, answers to frequently asked questions, and local publisher stories from the Turkish market.

Make sure you don't miss a post -- subscribe to the new blog today!

Posted by Kamil Tavas - Turkish AdSense blog team

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Posted By Inside AdSense Team to Inside AdSense at 6/25/2007 04:21:00 PM
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[Inside AdSense] Speedy optimizing - a quick fix

Would you like some tips on maximizing your AdSense ad performance? Check out our recently updated Optimization Demo. In about five minutes, we cover popular topics from optimal ad locations to the best performing ad formats. Once you've watched the Optimization Demo, you can start applying these techniques to your ad units immediately. Good luck optimizing!

Posted by Alton Lee - AdSense Publisher Support

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Posted By Inside AdSense Team to Inside AdSense at 6/22/2007 08:10:00 AM
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[Inside AdSense] Meet an India payments specialist

We recently sat down with Amrita Kamat, a payments specialist in our Hyderabad office, to find out more about payments in India.

When you're not at work, where would one find you?

In gaming parlors -- I love gaming! Counter-Strike is one of my current favorites. Running around and fighting opponents (while still sitting on the comfort of my sofa and sipping a hot mug of coffee) is the highlight of my weekend. I also love the outdoors, trekking, and sports like badminton and basketball.

There are a few payment-related issues specific to India. What tips do you have for Indian publishers?

I have a 5-point Mantra for payments for Indian publishers:

1. Enter an accurate, complete address - I'd recommend updating your address in this way:
   
   
   
2. Choose INR checks over USD checks - This will reduce the bank charges levied (if any) to convert the dollar checks to Indian rupees. Also, the INR checks will be easy to process.
   
   
3. Set a self-hold - If you've reached $100 in unpaid earnings and would like to get paid once in 2 months or once every 6 months, we have an option to set a self-hold. Accumulate your earnings and receive a bigger check in the future. Don't forget that you'll need to remove the hold before the 15th of the month to be paid in that month.
   
   
4. Use Secured Express Delivery - For tension-free delivery of your hard-earned money, try our Secured Express Delivery option, which will cost you US$25 for the DHL charges -- the check will be delivered at your doorstep within 10 days.
   
   
5. Understand your payment cycle - Please go through the Payments Demo to understand when payments are processed. It's an 11-minute demo that is well worth your time!
   

Why do checks and PINs take longer to reach Indian publishers? What are the other options?

This can happen because of incorrect mailing addresses and the postal service. While nothing much can be done about the postal service at this time, I'd again recommend that you update your physical address -- an accurate house number and/or house name can make a big difference to how a postman will locate your house. If you're relocating, feel free to place a self-hold on your account until you've completed the relocation process. Please ensure that your address is updated before the 15th, and the address doesn't exceed the 35-character limit in each line. Finally, the only alternative for receiving checks right now is to choose Secured Express Delivery checks over Standard Delivery checks.

Any weekend plans?

This weekend I am off to Bangalore to catch up with a few friends. We've planned a bicycle trip to Nandi Hills for a picnic. In the evening, we intend to make good use of the new telescope one of my friends acquired recently. Isn't star-gazing on a Sunday evening an ideal way to end an eventful weekend?

Posted by Shanti Nanisetti - AdSense India Publisher Support

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Posted By Inside AdSense Team to Inside AdSense at 6/20/2007 01:28:00 PM
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[Inside AdSense] Inside AdSense launches in French

Say 'bonjour' to our newest AdSense blog -- Inside AdSense: Le Blog officiel AdSense en français. If you're a French-speaking publisher, we're excited to offer AdSense announcements, news, and optimization tips in your language. In addition, we'll be highlighting success stories from French-speaking publishers around the world and introducing you to members of our French support team.

Subscribe to the new blog today and receive our posts directly via email!

Posted by Simon Beauloye - French AdSense blog team

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Posted By Inside AdSense Team to Inside AdSense at 6/18/2007 12:21:00 PM
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[Inside AdSense] A success story from India

When the Internet first boomed in India, many people proceeded with caution -- adoption was fairly slow compared to the U.S. But a few adventurous spirits jumped right in and have stuck with it for the long haul. Among them is Babychen Mathew, who left a career in journalism to start his own website, dancewithshadows.com. This site offers readers the latest headline news and feature stories on various topics. Babychen started this site as a hobby, and perhaps as an extension of his profession. Very soon after launching, he discovered Google and the AdSense program through various web development forums on the Internet. And the rest is history, he says.

"After exploring every bit of this Google product, with a few trial and errors along the way, I've discovered on my own the best ad formats and colors that suit my webpages," he reports. Having tried almost every AdSense format and feature as they were offered, he settled for a vertical wide skyscraper (160X600) on the left sidebar and a horizontal link unit (728X15) along the top of his pages.



"Now, with the help of AdSense Support, I am currently using a medium rectangle (300X250) ad format too, and have integrated it into my content in some sections to capitalize on potential video ads," Babychen continues. "I've tried other online ad distribution networks, and formats like flash ads and banner ads, but I was not very satisfied. While some were experiments, others didn't cater to the Indian market, and a few others were plain irritating."

Today, Babychen is a happy publisher, with most of his revenue coming from Google AdSense. And he says he loves to recommend AdSense to all who will listen!

Posted by Shanti Nanisetti - AdSense India Publisher Support

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Posted By Inside AdSense Team to Inside AdSense at 6/14/2007 11:28:00 AM
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[Inside AdSense] Webinar transcript now available

In case you missed our recent webinar called Taking It to the Next Level: Improving Your AdSense Performance, we've posted a recording on our Help Center. Specialists from the Publisher Support team offer tips and suggestions on how to make the most of your AdSense account. You can also find transcripts and presentations from past webinars.

Posted by Laura Chen - AdSense Publisher Support

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Posted By Inside AdSense Team to Inside AdSense at 6/11/2007 09:30:00 AM
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[Inside AdSense] Help Forums for Italian and Russian

Parlate italiano? Вы говорите по-русски? We're happy to let our Italian- and Russian-speaking publishers know that AdSense Help Forums are now available in these two languages. Visit Gruppo di assistenza di AdSense or Форум программы AdSense today to ask questions and share your AdSense knowledge with other publishers. A Google representative nicknamed 'AdSensePro' will also read and contribute to forum discussions.

You can also participate in the AdSense Help Forum in 11 other languages: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Turkish.

Posted by Arlene Lee - AdSense Publisher Support

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Posted By Inside AdSense Team to Inside AdSense at 6/07/2007 11:15:00 AM
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[Inside AdSense] Policy updates -- and it's not even Thursday!

After our many weeks of policy posts on Thursdays, you're probably intimately familiar with all of our program policies. So we can imagine your surprise when you woke up today, got your morning coffee, and settled in for your daily re-read of the policies -- only to find they were different! To help lessen the shock, we've highlighted the two notable changes below:

We're now requiring AdSense publishers to comply with the spirit of our Page Quality Guidelines. 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.

Posted by Julie Beckmann - AdSense Publisher Support

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Posted By Inside AdSense Team to Inside AdSense at 6/05/2007 10:43:00 AM
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[Inside AdSense] An effective pairing of AdSense and e-commerce

Imineo.com is a French video-on-demand site offering a wide variety of videos in different formats. In 2005, the site's owners decided to use Google AdWords to drive qualified traffic to their site. After setting up their first campaigns, they implemented conversion tracking to evaluate their overall return on investment. More recently, the company added AdSense to their site. As co-owner Jean-Baptiste Sers told us, "Our business model is not based on advertising revenue -- but in order to increase our AdWords spend, we wanted to use AdSense."

For an e-commerce advertiser, this might seem risky. Some might think that integrating AdSense could have resulted in a sales drop because of users clicking on the ads instead of buying one of the videos. But as Imineo team implemented AdSense, they noticed that qualified visitors came to the site with the intention to buy the videos and did not click on the sponsored links, while other visitors usually clicked on one of the relevant ads.

Imineo's strategy highlights how e-commerce sites can use AdSense to monetize traffic that usually exits the site using the URL address bar. Overall, the use of AdSense can help sites like these increase overall revenue without changing their current business model. As Jean-Baptiste put it, "AdSense has helped us monetize the visits of these other visitors and therefore increase the overall revenue/client ratio."

If you own an e-commerce site, here are a couple of suggestions.

• Try testing AdSense first on your exit pages, and then evaluate the effect it has on your sales.
  
  
• If, like Imineo, you find that adding relevant ads on your site does not affect your conversions, we encourage you to increase the coverage of AdSense on your site. The additional revenue coming from AdSense can help you generate more qualified traffic and therefore increase your overall sales.
  

Posted by Etienne Jambou - AdSense Optimization Team

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Posted By Inside AdSense Team to Inside AdSense at 6/04/2007 10:11:00 AM
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