Taking a day of rest

On Monday, September 3rd, our U.S. offices will be closed in observance of Labor Day. While this means you can expect slightly longer response times to your emails, please feel free to post your question on the AdSense Help Forum or visit the AdSense Help Center for more immediate answers.

In the meantime, we hope you also take time off to observe this holiday and enjoy BBQs, picnics, and fireworks over the weekend!

Posted by Arlene Lee - AdSense Publisher Support

The AdSense API on an e-commerce platform

A few months ago, I mentioned how e-commerce sites could use AdSense to increase their overall revenues without changing their current business models. Today Zlio.com has taken it to the next level by using the AdSense API to allow their users to implement this strategy.

The core service of Zlio is to allow internet users to create and run their own internet shops. After a quick registration process, users can pick from millions of products and earn commission on every item bought from their ZlioShops. Aside from choosing their products, future shopowners can select from a few different templates to give their shops the look and feel they want. Finally, these shopowners can add text to describe the products and highlight their favorites.

Today, as added functionality, Zlio users can also add Google ads to their shops. Very much like what we currently offer via Blogger, users can pick shop templates that already include AdSense ad units without ever having to dig into the HTML code of their shop. We hope that this new API will help bring AdSense to existing Zlio users, and also that current AdSense publishers will try Zlio as a way to increase their current AdSense revenue.

The screenshot above shows an example of a shop offering scuba diving items -- you might notice that two AdSense ad units and one link unit have been placed on the page. From a revenue perspective, 60% of all the revenue generated from AdSense will go to the shopowner.

If you wish to create your own shop and associate it with your current AdSense account, you can visit Zlio.com and follow these steps:

1. Select a general template for your shop.
   
2. Create your own shop by choosing among the available products.
   
3. Once you have selected products, go to My Zlio Shop > Revenue Model > AdSense for my shop.
   
4. If you aren't an AdSense publisher yet, you can apply for an account through Zlio. If you already have an AdSense account, enter your AdSense e-mail address and your current zip code.
   
5. Log into AdSense and grant access to Zlio to use your publisher ID by clicking on My Account > Account Access.
   
6. Go back to your ZlioShop, where you'll be able to view your products and relevant Google Ads.
   

If you wish to learn more about the AdSense API and how you can use it to integrate AdSense sign-up and ad creation into your site, visit the AdSense API website.

Posted by Etienne Jambou - AdSense Optimization Team

Referrals reluctant to appear?

We've heard that many publishers are having trouble viewing referral 2.0 ads on their pages, and we'd like to explain some of the most common reasons why this might be.

First, keep in mind that not all referral ads are available in all sizes. For instance, most horizontal referral ad units smaller than 180x60, square referral ad units smaller than 125x125, and text links are only available at this time for Google products such as AdSense or AdWords. This means that if you generate code for referral ads in an unsupported size, you won't see any referrals shown on your webpages. To avoid this issue, we recommend first selecting categories or products for your referrals before selecting a size at this time.

Similarly, you may not see the referral ads you've selected on your pages if you've grouped a number of referral ads into your Ad Shopping Cart which are each available in different sizes. If this is the case, you may wish to try regenerating your referral code with a particular ad format in mind -- this way, you can be sure to select products available in that format.

Here are several other reasons your chosen referral ads may not show:

1. The particular referral ad you've chosen is not available in your country. When generating your code, you can view the ads available for specific countries by clicking the 'change' link above the referrals wizard.
   
   
2. You've unselected the 'Pick best performing ads' checkbox for a referral where the advertiser has run out of budget or ended the campaign. To take advantage of the available inventory of related products, we recommend leaving this box checked.
   
   
3. You've added more than three referral units to your page. Our current policy allows a maximum of three referral ad units on any policy-compliant page.
   
   
4. Our system has determined that your pages contain potentially mature or sensitive content. However, as your content changes, you may begin to see referral ads appearing.
   
   
5. The referral ad code may have been modified. Be sure to copy the code exactly as it appears in your account and paste it directly onto your pages.
   

Please know that we're working as quickly as we can to fine-tune the process of generating referral code. Also, we appreciate all of your feedback on referrals 2.0 so far, and we encourage you to let us know how we can keep improving AdSense.

Posted by Rajiv Sud - AdSense Publisher Support

Check up on it

After counting the days till your AdSense check arrives in the mail, you might plan to sprint straight to the bank. But before you try to achieve a land speed record getting to your local financial institution, here are a few things to keep in mind.

Bank on it?

Because bank policies vary throughout the world, we can't say whether a specific bank will be able to accept your AdSense checks. Since all AdSense checks are issued by Citibank, a correspondent relationship between your bank and Citibank is required to process our US Dollar checks. We recommend that you check with your bank to find out if this relationship exists.

Patience is a virtue.

Banks take varying amounts of time to clear checks. The exact length of time before funds will be available to you is a question best answered by your bank.

A penny saved...

Checks from AdSense are for deposit only; they are not able to be cashed.

Now that you have all the information, we wish you happy spending (or saving) your revenue!

Posted by Vineesha Malkani - AdSense Publisher Support