by: Sharon Housley
Copyright 2005 Sharon Housley

The web has evolved into a complex "organism" which, to some,
appears to have a life of its own. As the Internet has evolved, so
too have online marketers and publishers. The dot-com balloon is
said to have burst but savvy publishers have grabbed the coat tails
of the Google search monster and employ Google AdSense on
content-rich websites. Google AdSense, a pioneer for providing
content-sensitive advertisements, has been a boon to webmasters
looking for alternatives to amortize their web trafffic.

How Does Google AdSense Work?
The concept is simple: The publisher or webmaster inserts a java
script into a website. Each time the page is accessed, the java
script pulls advertisements from Google's AdSense program. The ads
are targeted and related to the content contained on the web page
serving the ad. If a web surfer clicks on an advertisement served
from Google, the webmaster serving the ad earns a portion of the
money that the advertiser is paying Google for the click.

Google handles all the tracking and payments, ultimately providing
an easy way for webmasters to display content-sensitive, targeted
ads, without the headache of having to solicit advertisers, collect
funds, monitor clicks or track statistics, any of which could easily
become a full-time job.

While Google AdSense, like many pay-per-click programs, is plagued
by claims of click-fraud, it is clearly an effective revenue source
for many reputable web businesses. There seems to be no shortage of
advertisers in the AdWords program from which Google pulls the
AdSense ads. Webmasters seem less concerned by the lack of
information provided by Google and more interested in cashing their
monthly checks from Google.

The Evolution of AdSense
While Google's initial system was fairly rudimentary, only providing
publishers the option of displaying a handful of advertising
formats, the technology behind even the first ads was anything but
simplistic. The technology used to employ Google AdSense goes far
beyond simple keyword or category matching. A complex algorithm is
used to determine the content contained on the web page serving the
ad. Once the content is assessed, and appropriate ads that contain
related content are served.

Early on, Google implemented a system that allows publishers to
filter advertisements from competitors or sites which they deemed
inappropriate. Google also allows vendors to specify an alternative
advertisement, in the unlikely event that Google is unable to
provide related content ads.

The Progression of Google
Google has come a long way in understanding the needs of publishers
and webmasters. Google now offers a system that allows full ad
customization. Webmasters can choose from twelve text ad formats and
can customize Google advertisements to complement their website and
fit into existing webpage layout. The options provided allow
webmasters to select and create custom color palettes that match an
existing website's color scheme, making the ads a much more natural
fit.

Many sites have been able to integrate ads into their site design
using different ad formats.

Sample sites with integrated ads:

Investing Partners - http://www.investing-partners.com
Podcasting Tools - http://www.podcasting-tools.com .
RSS Network - http://www.rss-network.com


Online Reports
Google recently took a huge step forward, providing publishers the
ability to track their earnings based on webmaster-defined channels.
Recent improvements to the Google AdSense reporting have resulted in
webmasters having the capability to monitor an ad's performance with
customizable online reports that can detail page impressions, clicks
and click-through rates. Webmasters now have the ability to track
specific ad formats, colors and pages within a website. Webmasters
can quickly spot and track trends. The new flexible reporting tools
allows webmasters to group web pages by URL, domain, ad type or
category, providing webmasters insight into what pages, ads and
domains are performing the best.

Reporting is real-time, allowing webmasters to quickly assess the
effectiveness of any changes. The new reporting makes it
significantly easier for webmasters to optimize and increase
click-through rates. Optional reporting allows webmasters to monitor
traffic, viewing both ad impressions and page impressions.

Advertisers realize the benefits associated with having their ads
served on targeted websites, increasing the likelihood that a
prospective web surfer will have an interest in their product or
service.

Truth Still Not Revealed
Google still does not reveal what percentage of the advertising
revenue earned is paid to the webmaster serving the ads, but they
have made strides related to disclosure, recently lifting the ban
preventing webmasters from disclosing the amount they earn through
serving Google ads.


Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll
http://www.feedforall.comsoftware for creating, editing, publishing
RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for
NotePage http://www.notepage.neta wireless text messaging software
company.