When AdSense Makes No Sense
by: Wayne Davies
You'd think it was a match made in Heaven. You supply the content, Google's software analyses it, and then displays targeted ads on your site.
The more targeted the ads, the more likely it is you'll get a click. And every click is money in the bank.
So what do you do when AdSense gets it wrong?
Google's strange fixation
When I was creating Online Success Magazine (
http://onlinesuccessmagazine.com), I worked on the layout until I was happy with it. Then I added the AdSense code.
For some reason, Google's software fixated on the word 'magazine.'
This was not the dominant word on the page, appearing only once. Despite this, every single time I viewed the page, AdSense would show ads for printed magazines. It was as if Google's software had become fixated on print magazines.
http://onlinesuccessmagazine.com is an Internet ezine, and publishes articles that explain how to succeed in business on the web. It covers advertising, marketing, sales and personal effectiveness.
I wanted Google to display ads relating to money-making opportunities, because that's who I'm targeting. I want ads for online opportunities, because they're more likely to maximize my revenue from AdSense.
Eventually, I managed to persuade AdSense to make sense. Here's what I had to do...
Remove the word magazine from the page
Have the article's title appear above the AdSense box
I replaced the word 'magazine' with a graphic. A visitor to the site wouldn't know any different, but Google's software sure did. I didn't really want the article's title to appear above the AdSense box, but that was the only way I could get AdSense to cooperate.
A trap for young players
I had another run-in with AdSense a few days later, when I ran an article called 'The free ad trap.' For some reason, AdSense decided the article was about plumbing, and displayed ads for bathroom fixtures and emergency call-out services!
Eventually, it dawned on me that Google was fixating on the word 'trap.'
I didn't want to ditch the word 'trap,' and this time around I wasn't able to use a graphic. After much trial and error (and a little cursing), I managed to solve the problem by rewriting my opening sentence.
I was able to get AdSense to forget about bathrooms and plumbing by making sure I mentioned advertising (and related words) several times in the opening paragraph.
I'd prefer not to have to rewrite my articles for Google's sake, but I figure more revenue is better than less revenue.
Fortunately, it is possible to make Google see sense. All it takes is a little perseverance, and some practise. I've found the words closest to the ad have the biggest impact on the category Google chooses. But so can your domain name, and anything in header tags (e.g. <h1>).
With a little attention, you can get Google to display well-targeted ads on your site, and extract the maximum possible income as a result.
About The Author
Wayne Davies has 15 years worth of experience in direct marketing, and 7 years working full-time in Internet advertising. You'll find more article by Wayne (and others) here...
http://onlinesuccessmagazine.com
