TOPIC: Diagnosing and Treating Revenue Fluctuations (Part I)

Date: Wed, Mar 5 2008 3:25 pm
From: Inside AdSense Team


You love your website and you want it to thrive. You create content,
manage your community, and keep an eye on your AdSense performance. If
AdSense revenue is down, you're understandably concerned. If AdSense
revenue is up, you're happy, but you want to know why. Revenue
fluctuations are obvious enough when they occur, but the root cause
isn't equally clear. It can be challenging for both new and experienced
publishers alike to analyze their AdSense data and respond effectively
to changes.The goal of this post, and our follow-up later this week, is
to help you understand the AdSense revenue model so you can diagnose
and treat revenue fluctuations like an experienced MD.Study upThe first
step is knowing how the figures reported in your account (such as eCPM,
CTR, and page impressions) interact to describe your total revenue.
Think of each number as a variable in the revenue formula for your
site. At the highest level, you can calculate revenue by multiplying
your page impressions by the effective cost-per-thousand impressions
(eCPM) and dividing by 1000.Revenue = Page Impressions * eCPM /
1000eCPM = Revenue / Page Impressions * 1000The eCPM metric provides an
estimate of how much revenue you can expect to earn for every 1000 page
impressions. For example, if you serve 10,000 page impressions and earn
$40, your eCPM is $4. If page impressions increase to 30,000, you can
predict that you'll earn $120 given the $4 eCPM.Most AdSense ads pay on
a cost-per-click (CPC) basis, so eCPM is really a measure of your
average ad performance. Breaking eCPM into the click-through-rate (CTR)
and the average cost that advertisers pay per click (CPC) gives you a
more accurate measure of performance.Revenue = Page Impressions * CTR *
average CPCOnce you know your average CTR and your average CPC, you can
predict how much revenue you'll earn for a given amount of page views.
You can also analyze your revenue by looking at placement-targeted ads
versus contextually-targeted ads.Total Revenue = Revenue (contextual) +
Revenue (placement-targeted)While contextually targeted ads always pay
per click, advertisers can pay for placement-targeted ads by impression
(CPM) or by click (CPC). To account for both of these bid types, you
should look at the average eCPM for placement-targeted ads. More
simply, you can just add placement-targeted revenue to your
contextually targeted revenue.Revenue = (Page Impressions
(contextual) * CTR * average CPC) + (Page Impressions
(placement-targeted) * eCPM (placement targeted) / 1000)Revenue = (Page
Impressions (contextual) * CTR * average CPC ) + Revenue
(placement-targeted)Even though we're looking at contextual and
placement-targeted revenue separately, don't forget that these two
types of ads compete against each other in the auction. We'll always
show the best performing ad, regardless of targeting type, so more
competition creates higher winning bids.Identify the symptomsNow you're
ready to diagnose any revenue fluctuation. Just like the revenue
formulas above, let's start simple and gradually get more complex.The
first question to ask is: Did either your page impressions or your eCPM
change? You can compare trends in both page impressions and eCPM using
the Advanced Reports in your account.If your AdSense page impressions
have declined, you should determine if traffic to your entire site is
declining as well. A web analytics tool such as Google Analytics can
provide you with this information. In addition, you should check your
pages for unpaid public service ads (PSAs).If your eCPM is down, you'll
need to dig one level deeper and find out if your contextual or
placement targeted ad performance has dropped. You can also find this
data in the Advanced Reports tab using the options shown below.Let's
consider your contextual ads first. The two key metrics to investigate
are CTR and average CPC. CTR is given in your reports, but you'll need
to calculate your average CPC using your favorite spreadsheet. (My
favorite goes without saying). Please keep in mind that this is still
an average CPC for your account and doesn't necessarily correspond with
the price paid by any specific advertiser. Once you've narrowed the
change to CTR or average CPC you're ready to start treatment.For
placement-targeted ads, you should analyze how much total
placement-targeted revenue you are receiving and the average eCPM.
Changes in either of these metrics usually indicate that advertisers
are beginning or ending campaigns targeted to your site. Again,
placement-targeted campaigns are more likely to be short-term than
contextual campaigns.That's all we have time for today -- now that you
have a better understanding of what factors can affect revenue, don't
forget to check back later this week for the second part of this
series. We'll be treating ways to treat revenue fluctuations based on
the symptoms you've discovered.Posted by Christian Ashlock - AdSense
Optimization Team

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Posted By Inside AdSense Team to Inside AdSense at 3/05/2008 03:25:00 PM

TOPIC: Quick update on the Manage Ads feature

Date: Thurs, Nov 8 2007 4:22 pm
From: Inside AdSense Team

http://groups.google.com/group/Inside-AdSense/browse_thread/thread/b2e689af6b302b0b?hl=en

Thanks for all of the immediate feedback on our new Manage Ads feature.
Your comments have helped us identify a technical issue causing delays
in some publisher accounts. This is not directly related to the
capabilities of the new feature, but it has been preventing new ad
units from immediately appearing on some publisher sites. We dislike
delays as much as you do, so our trusty operations folks are working on
fixing the problem and we expect to have things back to normal by next
week. We appreciate your patience.We know you have a lot more to say
about this feature and we want to hear your feedback, so please send us
your comments and we'll continue to keep you updated on future
enhancements.Posted by Traci Hailpern - AdSense Product Marketing

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Posted By Inside AdSense Team to Inside AdSense at 11/08/2007 04:21:00
PM

TOPIC: The AdSense API on an e-commerce platform

Date: Thurs, Aug 30 2007 10:12 am
From: Inside AdSense Team


A few months ago, I mentioned how e-commerce sites could use AdSense to
increase their overall revenues without changing their current business
models. Today Zlio.com has taken it to the next level by using the
AdSense API to allow their users to implement this strategy.The core
service of Zlio is to allow internet users to create and run their own
internet shops. After a quick registration process, users can pick from
millions of products and earn commission on every item bought from
their ZlioShops. Aside from choosing their products, future shopowners
can select from a few different templates to give their shops the look
and feel they want. Finally, these shopowners can add text to describe
the products and highlight their favorites.Today, as added
functionality, Zlio users can also add Google ads to their shops. Very
much like what we currently offer via Blogger, users can pick shop
templates that already include AdSense ad units without ever having to
dig into the HTML code of their shop. We hope that this new API will
help bring AdSense to existing Zlio users, and also that current
AdSense publishers will try Zlio as a way to increase their current
AdSense revenue.The screenshot above shows an example of a shop
offering scuba diving items -- you might notice that two AdSense ad
units and one link unit have been placed on the page. From a revenue
perspective, 60% of all the revenue generated from AdSense will go to
the shopowner.If you wish to create your own shop and associate it with
your current AdSense account, you can visit Zlio.com and follow these
steps:
- Select a general template for your shop.
- Create your own shop by choosing among the available products.
AdSense for my shop.
- If you aren't an AdSense publisher yet, you can apply for an account
through Zlio. If you already have an AdSense account, enter your
AdSense e-mail address and your current zip code. Account Access.
- Go back to your ZlioShop, where you'll be able to view your products
and relevant Google Ads.If you wish to learn more about the AdSense API
and how you can use it to integrate AdSense sign-up and ad creation
into your site, visit the AdSense API website.Posted by Etienne Jambou
- AdSense Optimization Team

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Posted By Inside AdSense Team to Inside AdSense at 8/30/2007 10:12:00 AM