Neil Shearing’s Internet Marketing Strategies

OK, so my test of Kontera Ads showed rather quickly that their earnings were poor in comparison to Google Adsense but I stuck with it because I wanted to run a long test to be statistically sure that my results were accurate. We also had Vered from Kontera comment at the blog post and say that they had tweaked my account settings to optimize the earnings. After that, I felt it was only fair to give the ads an extended run to see if the earnings improved.

They didn’t.

The harsh reality is that the Kontera eCPM (earnings per thousand page impressions) was under four bucks. I’ve now qualified for their minimum payout ($100) so I’ll be removing the Kontera ads and testing my own brand-new method of advertising. I expect it to massively improve site earnings…

(note: I ran Kontera ads at the same time as Adsense during my test. The Adsense earnings fell by about the same amount the Kontera ads earned. I don’t know what Kontera ads alone would have earned.)

Adsense have just changed their system…

“we’ve just changed our text ads slightly to help reduce accidental clicks. In the past, users could click on both the background and full text of an ad, but now they can click only on the title and URL of a text ad. By allowing users to click only on the ad title and URL, we aim to decrease accidental clicks, better aligning visitor behavior with their intent. Overall, the decrease in accidental clicks will keep users on your website, interacting your content, until they intend to click on an ad.” link

I’m surprised that was important. After all, if you clicked somewhere between the title and url of an ad (ie the actual ad description), you were almost certainly intending to click… which only leaves the “white space” around the ads to generate unintended clicks… that white space is no-longer clickable.

I guess that will decrease some accidental clicks… which is a good thing because even though Adesens publishers will lose a few clicks, the actual advertisers will be willing to pay more per click because their visitors will have definitely wanted to click, which should balance things out for publishers.

Did you spot the deliberate typo? Good.

I’m testing Kontera ads over at my RefreshArticles.com site. See this example page on Internet advertising. The words highlighted within the article are Kontera ads, which will earn me cash if clicked on (not when someone puts their mouse over the ad, but just if they click).

I think the Kontera ads will add value to each page because the articles are otherwise devoid of links. Being able to add “contextual links” with just a simple bit of javascript was appealing to me.

Whether they make me any more money or not is an interesting question. I guess time will tell.

Someone challenged me about my Google rankings… check it out…

“I’ve checked the backlinks of refresharticles.com/articles. In terms of links, the site only has 5 backlinks.

When you said the majority of your traffic comes from Google, can you give me few examples of a keyword ranks on the first page?

I provide SEO services for my clients and I don’t believe that any of your pages can rank on the first page of Google.”

Well, that’s just a challenge I couldn’t resist!

I have top-ten rankings at Google. Of course, not for highly competitive phrases, but for “long tail keywords”.

Here’s an example…

(click to enlarge)

So, there’s the proof… 4th position is pretty good in my opinion.

Rewriting PLR articles is NOT needed to capture Top-Ten placements on Google for Long Tail Search Phrases!

Can someone steal your specific Adsense code, paste it into a junk website and give your Adsense account a bad reputation… or worse, get it banned?

It seems like it’s a possibility because why else would Google set up a system letting Adsense Account owners specify which websites their ads can run on?

“We’ve learned through your feedback that some AdSense publishers are concerned about potentially malicious behavior on the web, such as having their ad code stolen, to be placed on an inappropriate site. To give you more control and security concerning ad code, we’ve recently launched the Allowed Sites list.

The Allowed Sites list, which you’ll find by clicking the Allowed Sites link under your AdSense Setup tab, is the place for you to list sites or URLs where you want to allow your ads to appear. Sites that aren’t on your list can still display ads using your ad code; however, impressions and clicks for these sites won’t appear in your reports, advertisers won’t be charged, and you won’t receive any earnings from them.”

Fir further details, read the blog post, here.

According to “Inside Adsense“, adding Adsense ads to Blogger.com blogs is now quick and easy. They say…

—
We’ve heard your feedback about wanting to insert Google ads between your blog posts, and we’re happy to let you know that Blogger now supports this implementation through the AdSense widget.

Here’s all you need to do:

Log into your Blogger account.

Visit your blog’s Template tab and click on the Page Elements link.

Click Edit in the Blog Posts section.

Check the box next to Show Ads Between Posts. You can then select how often you’d like your ads to appear, such as once after every post or once after every other post.

Customize the ads and click on Save Changes when you’re done.

Please note that right now, it’s only possible to insert Google ads using this widget, and not AdSense for search boxes or referral units.
—

Sounds like a nice, easy way to get Google Adsense ads into, erm, Google Blogger Blogs.

They said…

“NEW Congratulations, your account has been upgraded to include the all new Referrals 2.0 - click here to get started”

So, I did. And it said…

“Google Referrals allow you to choose specific products or groups of products to advertise on your site, allowing you to match ads to your content”

Huh?

Isn’t the WHOLE POINT of Adsense to allow the publisher to concentrate on publishing, while Google matches their Adsense ads to the page content?

/boggle

If you’re earning Adsense income, or trying to, you should take a few minutes to watch this Google video containing optimization info. Yes, tips from Google (not “Gurus”) on how to earn more Adsense income. How refreshing.

If it took Google a whole year to roll out more video ad format sizes, does that mean they work, or not? I would guess not… but then, why roll out new ad format sizes at all?

Google uses either a CPM payment model (where the site owner gets paid per thousand impressions of the static video graphic) or a cost per click model (where the site owner gets paid per clickthrough to the advertisers site. Note, the first click on the video merely acts to start the video… site owners get nothing for that click. Only a subsequent click which takes the visitor to the advertiser’s site earns the site owner money) depending on which way the advertiser has decided to pay for their ads.

Have you opted in to “image” ads… have they increased your earnings?

I’m not sure why Google would even need to clarify this, but I guess it was a frequently asked question…

—
“Many publishers have asked if they can place text on their sites which states that all or a portion of the earnings generated through AdSense will be donated to charity or another third party.

While we do appreciate your charitable efforts, this practice is not permitted by our program policies. We want users to click on ads because they are interested in the products or services offered by the advertiser, not because they are interested in supporting a site or a charity. Using this type of language can draw undue attention to the ads, and we aren’t able to verify whether earnings are actually donated to the third-party mentioned on each site. As a result, we don’t allow publishers to offer these types of incentives.

However, please know that once you’ve received your payments, you’re still welcome to use them however you wish - whether it’s donating them to a charity, paying your hosting bills, or treating yourself to a night out on the town. We just ask that you avoid using any language on your site that would directly or indirectly encourage users to click on your ads.”
—

Well, that makes sense, doesn’t it?

If you say, “click these ads please… I’ll earn cash” you’re in trouble, and if you say, “click these ads and I’ll donate some of the cash to charity… honest!”, you’re still in trouble.

Don’t ask people click to click on the ads. Don’t click them yourself. Don’t encourage people to click on the ads. Don’t suggest people click on the ads. Don’t incentivize people to click on the ads. Don’t draw attention to the ads. Don’t have any page elements (like drop-down navigation bars) near the ads.

Just put the ads on your pages and leave them. Simple really.