Tuesday, 25 September 2007

Before you apply to AdSense

Getting started with AdSense is easy, but when reviewing the applications we get, we've noticed a few common pitfalls. To help make sure your application is approved the first time around, ask yourself the following questions below before submitting.

Do I have what I need to apply?
  • Website: To display Google ads, you need administrative access to the site you submit for AdSense in order to place our JavaScript ad code on your site. Adding the Google code to your site's source code will enable you to show ads, search boxes, and referral units on your pages.

    If you don't have a website of your own, that doesn't mean you can't participate in AdSense. We offer a couple of options to help you easily create your own site.

    First, there's Blogger, a free tool for setting up and publishing your own blog online. With its easy-to-use and customizable templates, you can create an account and start blogging right away. You can also set up AdSense ads easily through your Blogger account.

    If you prefer more flexibility and control, then our web page tool, Page Creator, may be more suitable. Signing up for a Page Creator account is free as well -- all you need is a Gmail account. The best part is that you don't have to download any software or hire a designer. Once you've created your Page Creator site, you can begin displaying Google ads in minutes.

  • Valid payee name: Payments will be made out to the name on your account, so make sure to include your full and valid name, or that of your business, rather than just initials. If banks won't accept the name you enter in the 'Payee Name' field, neither will we.

  • Valid address: We want to make sure your hard-earned money reaches you, so please also provide a complete valid address where you can receive mail. If you live in a country or territory that doesn't have a standard format for addresses, please be sure that your application includes as much information as a mailman would need to find your residence.
Does my website meet all the necessary requirements?
  • Valid URL: If you manage an entire website, give us the URL of your home page. If you manage a blog or other account within a larger website, you should provide the URL of the specific page that you manage and not the URL of the entire hosting website. Don't forget to double check your URL for typos!

  • Fully launched website: Since we won't be able to review websites that are not fully launched or built, please ensure that your site is live and functioning at the time you submit your application.

  • Unique content: We want visitors to sites in the AdSense network to have a good experience, so please publish content that's interesting and unique. Avoid using "doorway" pages created just for search engines, or other cookie cutter approaches such as affiliate programs with little or no original content. If you're participating in an affiliate program, give people a reason to visit your site first.

  • Supported language: We're constantly working to provide targeted, relevant ads in more languages. However, until then, we can only approve your application if the majority of your website is in one of our supported languages.

  • Pay-To Sites: If your site participates in programs that compensate people to perform activities that drive traffic to you, we can't approve your application. Some examples of these "pay-to" programs are sites that encourage users "to click" or "to surf" or "to read email." In addition, you shouldn't encourage others to join these programs in the content, links, or third-party ads on your site.
We also encourage you to read our program policies in detail for further insight on how to create a successful application. Now that you have all the necessary information, now's a good time to apply.

Monday, 24 September 2007

AdSense for search launches in Vietnamese

Following our announcement about Indonesian in July, we're happy to let you know that AdSense for search is now available in another southeast Asian language: Vietnamese. Vietnamese publishers can now offer users Google search capabilities while generating revenue from ads on the search results pages.

As we've done in the past, we'd like to celebrate this launch by providing you with a few fun facts about Vietnam:
  • Vietnam is shaped like a narrow 'S'. Even though Vietnam is 1,650 kilometers (1,031 miles) from north to south, the country gets as narrow as 50 kilometers (31 miles) across.

  • Vietnamese is the seventh most spoken language in the United States and sixth in Australia. According to the Ethnologue, Vietnamese is also spoken by substantial numbers of people in Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and the United Kingdom.

  • Vietnam is the world's second largest exporter of coffee and rice.
Chào mừng các nhà xuất bản Việt Nam đến với AdSense!

Wednesday, 19 September 2007

Introducing Google Gadget Ads

Today we launched Google Gadget Ads, customized "mini-sites" that run as ads on AdSense publisher websites. These ads are interactive, engaging, and will appeal to your users, simultaneously providing value to advertisers while getting visitors to stick around your site. The end result is that advertisers get more engaged users, users have a richer ad experience, and publishers opted in to image ads may see increased competition for their ad space.

What does a gadget ad look like? We're glad you asked. Below is a gadget ad that we've built to advertise our AdSense program.



Gadget ads can take a number of shapes, sizes, and formats. If you're interested in seeing other cool gadget ads, you can check out our Google Gadget Ad Center. Also, please rest assured that gadget ads must adhere to our editorial policies, so there won't be any distracting "punch the monkey" ads.

Ready to start displaying gadget ads on your website? While there's no guarantee that they'll appear on your site, you can increase the chances that they'll be shown by making sure you're opted in to image ads and using one of the image ad formats. Please note that the most popular sizes for gadget ads are the rectangle, leaderboard, and skyscraper formats.

Also, keep in mind that there are a few things advertisers look for when targeting their ads to specific sites.

Got questions about gadget ads? We've got answers -- check out our Help Center.

Tuesday, 18 September 2007

Last call

If you haven't yet enrolled in tomorrow's webinar, What's New with AdSense, it's not too late. Just visit the link below:

https://googleonline.webex.com/googleonline/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=572956326

The webinar will take place online from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm PDT, and members of our team will be discussing the latest AdSense features. We look forward to seeing you there!