New Google AdSense Features

[seobook]

4 new languages, a new ad format, get paid for google site search, adsense preview tool.

all right here
https://www.google.com/adsense/new

[AussieWebmaster]

Glad I was not the first one to post this.
I got this too... it is a "quiet" release as Google calls them.... no press etc... just put it up and let people slowly find it.

The question I already have in is how are these going to be done... if it is as search results are they counted in the search numbers or the content numbers... people are going to be able to play with stats everywhere and it is another more drilled down area for fraud...

[David Wallace]

Haven't really dug into this yet but can I safely assume that if you are a AdWords advertiser and have opted out of contextual advertising, wishing that your ads only show up on Google and their search partners (i.e. AOL, Netscape, Ask Jeeves, etc.), this new WebSearch feature will display your ads on anybody's site that employs this?

If this be the case, you are really participating in contextual advertising when you really opted out of this. Or will the WebSearch ads that show only be pulled from those who have agreed to contextual advertising?

Therefore I am curious to know if this new WebSearch falls under the "search network" or "content network" or both? Anyone know?

<I'm off to ask Google the same thing>

[dannysullivan]

If this be the case, you are really participating in contextual advertising when you really opted out of this. Or will the WebSearch ads that show only be pulled from those who have agreed to contextual advertising?

Google's caused a great deal of confusion recently because of an internal change they did about three months ago to what AdSense means.

AdSense used to mean contextual ads. That's not the case today. AdSense refers to Google's program to put ads of any type on sites outside of Google. That means primarily either contextually-targeted ads or keyword-targeted ads.

AdWords used to mean search/keyword-targeted ads. AdWords now refers to the program advertisers use to place ads to run on Google or on partners, be those contextual or search-targeted.

So....

If you opted-out of contextual, your ads shouldn't appear in a contextual setting. But your search ads should appear in any search/keyword targeted settings. That is, unless you haven't also opted to only show your ads on Google. In that case, they wouldn't appear in the results at these other sites, to my knowledge.

Main caveat -- perhaps Google might still do this, as the results themselves would come from Google with that branding (as opposed to say AOL, where Google powers results but the AOL brand is strongest). If anyone knows different on this point, please let us know.

[AussieWebmaster]

Google's caused a great deal of confusion recently because of an internal change they did about three months ago to what AdSense means.

AdSense used to mean contextual ads. That's not the case today. AdSense refers to Google's program to put ads of any type on sites outside of Google. That means primarily either contextually-targeted ads or keyword-targeted ads.

AdWords used to mean search/keyword-targeted ads. AdWords now refers to the program advertisers use to place ads to run on Google or on partners, be those contextual or search-targeted.

So....

If you opted-out of contextual, your ads shouldn't appear in a contextual setting. But your search ads should appear in any search/keyword targeted settings. That is, unless you haven't also opted to only show your ads on Google. In that case, they wouldn't appear in the results at these other sites, to my knowledge.

Main caveat -- perhaps Google might still do this, as the results themselves would come from Google with that branding (as opposed to say AOL, where Google powers results but the AOL brand is strongest). If anyone knows different on this point, please let us know.

I just finished talking with them and yes the search engine boxes will be counted as search and not content for CTR etc. I have someone getting a definitive answer for me about separating from Google. Though I think it unlikely, at least until forced.

Is it possible they are countering the constant demands for choice by adding this now and then making it a choice to quell things... and take away attention that they have no immediate plans to have separate publication options?

[AussieWebmaster]

If you decide to go the Google only route you lose AOL which is a solid performer.

[David Wallace]

Here is the response I got from them today:

Your campaign is currently opted out of our content site network. As such, your ad will not be shown on any pages in our content network. Further, AdSense for search is a search syndication program, which is included in our search partner network. Therefore, as you have opted in to our search network, your ads will be shown on our AdSense search network sites. If you would not like your ads to be delivered on these results, you can opt out of our search syndication network.

Therefore even though I have opted out of contextual advertising, my AdWords can still show up on Joe Blow's site if they enable the web search feature. I would have to choose to only have my ads appear on Google.

Bummer I say because I only want my ads showing on Google, AOL, Ask, Teoma, etc. the main search engines - not just anybody who places a search box on their site.

[qwerty]

But it's not really on Joe Blow's site. If Joe sets up one of these search boxes and you run a query on it, you will be taken to a Google SERP, on Google's domain. It may be styled with Joe's colors, and it may have Joe's logo above it, but it is a Google SERP.

Apart from the colors and the logo, it's like doing a search from the toolbar while you happen to be on Joe Blow's site.

[seobook]

Apart from the colors and the logo, it's like doing a search from the toolbar while you happen to be on Joe Blow's site.

except for the fact that Joe Blow now has a substantial vested interest in someone searching for and clicking on your "data recovery" ad

[qwerty]

Very true, but click fraud's been a problem since the beginning of PPC. But I do see your point, since like AdSense, the owner of the site has a stake in it.

[David Wallace]

I am of the thinking that I would like to have the choice of picking which search partner sites my ads are distributed across, at least the major ones. I have seen statistics before that more technically advanced people will use a search engine like Google or Teoma and people that tend to be novices regarding computers, the Internet, etc., may use search services like AOL or Netscape. Don't know if that is still true but if it is, I want to target the more technically advanced and not novices.

Well I already don't have that choice but at least I know my ads will only appear at Google's search partners if I opt out of contextual ads. However, now anyone can place a search box on their site and if their visitors type in something related to what I am targeting and then click thru, maybe I didn't want to target that kind of person.

I guess people will just have to keep an eye on their ROI and if they find it gets way out of wack, just opt out of everything but Google itself.

That is not to forget that this will probably be very good for publishers. I know I was making about $35 a year when I was filling unsold ad space on one of my sites with Value Clicks ads. Now I am making about $350 - $400 filling that same space with AdWords. Therefore I love the AdSense program but as an advertiser, I would like to see more of a choice of where my ads will appear.

[AussieWebmaster]

It is an end play around opting out of content search... it is called search for adsense when in reality it should be called squeezing more from AdWords.

[Rob]

Just thought I'd mention my experience.

I have a personal website about gaming consoles, so I thought I'd check out the new adsense.

I applied for an account and got accepted in about 48 hours. 10 minutes within signing in to my adsense account I was displaying ads on my site.

It was more of an experiment for me, I don't really intend to make money off of it. I'm curious to see if there are conversion at all, and I wanted to see if I'd get accepted in the first place.

If I'm lucky I might make enough money to buy the stamp to mail my hosting company their hosting feeds :)

But to give webmasters the ability to leverage their site a little bit more I think is a good idea. Remember I'm saying from the webmasters point of view.

From the advertisers point of view it could be a nightmare.

[AussieWebmaster]

The thing about the search box is it is not restricted to the content on the page... now people can throw up a search box and have all sorts of terms that can make them money... in that type of enviroment it will be a fraud nightmare... as opposed to tightening things I think Google has created a big future headache.