TOPIC: AdSense coming to a video near you

You've heard the expression "Content is king." We completely agree, andwe also realize that these days website content is much more than justtext -- it's also video. That's why we're excited to announce that thisweek, we're launching a pilot with a small group of publishers to teststreaming video ads in their online video content. With this pilot,publishers control when the ads play in their videos and choose whichvideos get the ads.We know there's a lot going on in the world ofvideo, and you may be wondering how this relates to other videoinitiatives we've announced in AdSense. Here's a brief clarification :

- Click-to-play video ads: This is a video ad type on our contentnetwork. Any publisher opted into image ads and using one of thesupported formats may see these click-to-play video ads on their sites.

- AdSense video distribution and sponsorship: We ran 2 pilots thatallowed publishers to choose video channels (short-form video clipsbundled with video ads) to display on their sites.

- In-stream video ads pilot: This is what we're announcing today -we're extending AdSense to online video content. Publishers in thistest will be able to define at what point in their videos thatstreaming video ads will appear.This is a closed pilot, which meanswe're unable to accommodate additional publishers for participation.However, we're looking forward to gathering learnings from this pilotand gaining insight into what works best for ads in video. Just asAdSense adds value to the text content on your website and is usefulfor your users, we think these in-stream ads in video will add value topublishers' video content and help to deepen engagement with userswatching the videos. This pilot represents our continued efforts toaddress the challenges faced by publishers who want to monetize theirvideo content, by advertisers who want access to quality videoinventory, and finally by users who want ads to enhance their videowatching experience, not detract from it.Posted by Christine Lee -AdSense Product Marketing Manage

TOPIC: AdSense for content launches in Catalan

Do you know what language is spoken in parts of Spain, France, andItaly, and is the national language of Andorra? (Ok, we may have madeit too obvious with the title above.) We're pleased to let you knowthat publishers can now display targeted AdSense for content ads onpages in Catalan. Visit the 'AdSense Setup' tab in your account togenerate ad code, then paste it onto your pages and let our system takecare of the rest.Although AdSense for search currently isn't availablein Catalan, stay tuned for future updates on the blog. In addition, weask that you direct any questions related to Catalan pages to ourSpanish team.Posted by Arlene Lee - AdSense Publisher Support

AdSense: Traffic exchange programs may get you banned

By Inside AdSense Team

Quote:

We understand that our publishers are always looking for ways to attract interested users to their sites. But using third-party tools or services to increase your site traffic may lead to invalid clicks or impressions and result in your account being disabled. For this reason, we'd like to provide you with some guidance about this.

As many of you already know, our program policies strictly prohibit any means of artificially generating ad impressions or clicks, including third-party services such as paid-to-click, paid-to-surf, auto-surf, and click-exchange programs. These programs offer incentives for users to view web pages or click on ads, resulting in activity that is harmful to our advertisers.

We occasionally receive questions from publishers interested in using traffic exchanges to bring traffic to their site. While these services may help advertise your site, we don't recommend using them, as they may also result in similar invalid activity. We realize that you may have questions about a specific traffic service and whether it could potentially create invalid impressions or clicks. However, please understand that we're unable to comment on any particular third-party service.

As a parting note, we encourage you to read through our tips and guidelines and Webmaster Guidelines to help keep your account in good standing. These guidelines advise publishers to "Provide unique and relevant content that gives users a reason to visit your site first," and we feel this is ultimately the best way to attract more visitors to your site and build a truly loyal audience.

Verifying your phone number

A number of publishers have asked us about phone verification and
indicated that they're having difficulty with the process. After
investigating these reports, we've discovered that our system is
currently experiencing intermittent outages. We're working hard to fix
the issue as soon as we can and appreciate your patience in the
interim.Not sure if you need to verify your phone number? Find out by
visiting your Payment History page - if you've reached $50 in earnings
and see the 'Please verify your phone number' prompt shown in the image
below, keep reading. If you don't see this message on your Payment
History page, you don't need to verify your phone number.If you're
required to verify your phone number, you can initiate the process by
clicking the 'Please verify your phone number' link and following the
instructions. We'd also like to offer you a few tips for completing the
phone verification process, based on publisher feedback. First, our
automated phone system isn't compatible with rotary phones or certain
types of VoIP technology, so you may wish to double check the phone
line you're using. In addition, if your phone has a Tone/Pulse option,
please make sure it's set to 'Tone'. Finally, you may wish to try a
different phone number if you're having difficulty - for instance, try
switching from your cell phone to a land line.If you're still unable to
verify your phone number after multiple attempts, feel free to contact
one of our specialists through our Help Center or the prompt in your
account. We'll be happy to assist you further with your phone
verification issue.Posted by Arlene Lee - AdSense Publisher Support

A clarification on accidental clicks

We understand that there's been some confusion surrounding our recent
post about accidental clicks. Specifically, many of our publishers feel
that we've been sending mixed messages about placing ads near
navigation controls, particularly where site optimization is
concerned.For those of you concerned about our optimization tips, we
still recommend integrating your ad units and link units with your page
content or navigation, in order to offer your users relevant ads in
addition to the content they normally see. Here are a few examples of
acceptable implementations:However, in some instances we've found that
publishers have placed their ad units so close to interactive
(clickable) content that users accidentally click on the ads instead of
the site content. While this type of ad placement may not inherently
violate our program policies, it could increase the risk of invalid
clicks being generated on the ads, which would be in violation of our
policies.You can understand that increasing the possibility of
accidental clicks on your sites is not in the best interest of users or
advertisers, and we wanted to make you aware of this risk. This is why
we ask that you maintain sufficient distance between your ads and any
elements of your page on which users may often click. Because every
site is different, we can't provide you with the exact amount of space
to put between these page elements. However, we hope you understand our
reasoning, and we ask you to use your best judgment so as to avoid
possible accidental clicks in the future.To help you, here's an example
of an ad placement that could have a high risk of generating accidental
clicks, and which we'd recommend avoiding:Thanks again for your
cooperation and your feedback. If you have any questions about
optimization techniques, feel to visit our tips page.Discuss this
postPosted by Mike Deeringer - AdSense Publisher Support

TOPIC: You're invited!

Date: Thurs, May 10 2007 4:30pmFrom: Inside AdSense Team


We understand that there's been some confusion surrounding our recentpost about accidental clicks. Specifically, many of our publishers feelthat we've been sending mixed messages about placing ads nearnavigation controls, particularly where site optimization isconcerned.For those of you concerned about our optimization tips, westill recommend integrating your ad units and link units with your pagecontent or navigation, in order to offer your users relevant ads inaddition to the content they normally see. Here are a few examples ofacceptable implementations:However, in some instances we've found thatpublishers have placed their ad units so close to interactive(clickable) content that users accidentally click on the ads instead ofthe site content. While this type of ad placement may not inherentlyviolate our program policies, it could increase the risk of invalidclicks being generated on the ads, which would be in violation of ourpolicies.You can understand that increasing the possibility ofaccidental clicks on your sites is not in the best interest of users oradvertisers, and we wanted to make you aware of this risk. This is whywe ask that you maintain sufficient distance between your ads and anyelements of your page on which users may often click. Because everysite is different, we can't provide you with the exact amount of spaceto put between these page elements. However, we hope you understand ourreasoning, and we ask you to use your best judgment so as to avoidpossible accidental clicks in the future.To help you, here's an exampleof an ad placement that could have a high risk of generating accidentalclicks, and which we'd recommend avoiding:Thanks again for yourcooperation and your feedback. If you have any questions aboutoptimization techniques, feel to visit our tips page.Discuss thispostPosted by Mike Deeringer - AdSense Publisher Support

--Posted By Inside AdSense Team to Inside AdSense at 5/10/2007 04:30:00 PM