Google
Adsense Contextual Advertising for Content Sites
How to Qualify for Google Adsense Contextual
Advertising
by Mike Banks Valentine copyright © 2003
Recently I wrote about Google
Adsense contextual advertising innovation
that was introduced by the popular search engine
to allow "Content" web sites to profit
from advertising. Suddenly it has become possible
for those who have an intense interest in nearly
any focused subject to gather information, resources
and commentary to publish a profitable web site.
How? Well, that's the new buzz. Just what is
content and what will Google approve for the
Adsense program? I can't speak for Google, but
after my recent article on the popular new Adsense
program ran in several high traffic web venues,
I've received a string of notes from webmasters
who have been turned down by Google for pariticipation
in contextual advertising programs.
I'm curious, what constitutes unacceptable content
for Adsense? So I visited dozens of domains
owned by those that had sent me those emails
to see if I could tell, A) Why Google turned
away a site that believed they qualified and,
B) Whether I agreed with Google's assessment.
Without fail I found that those sites that had
been turned down by Google for participation
in Adsense simply had no content! Since the
key to contextual advertising is having content
within which to place advertising in context,
what constitutes content?
Here's the http://www.Dictionary.com definition
of "Content"
"Subject matter of a written work, as a
book or magazine."
That definition puts web site content in context
for me. If you see your web site as an online
written work that's like a print magazine or
book, then you have a content web site. Emphasis
on the first syllable. CONtent.
Again and again I looked at those sites that
Google had turned down for Adsense and see either
sites entirely self focused and promoting their
own products, services and subscriptions, or
sites that were entirely outwardly focused and
promoting and linking to other sites without
writing anything or having anything to say about
those sites.
First a word about self focused sites. Those
sites that exist for sales of their own product
or service absolutely SHOULD NOT participate
in Adsense contextual advertising because their
site content will always show Adsense advertising
for competitors!
While Google has a filtering method that allows
those showing Adsense ads to keep direct competitors
advertisements from appearing on their site,
that method would filter most of those advertisements
and leave those sites with no ads at all! When
all of your content is about what you sell,
you should probably keep your attention focused
on those sales and off of contextual ads.
Who should participate in Google Adsense then?
Content sites - that is those that see themselves
as sort of online magazine that discusses, analyzes,
comments, reviews or editorializes. Those who
have extensive CONtent, not those who are conTENT.
A client contacted me recently after hearing
of the Google Adsense program. He has about
three articles on his web site that discuss
and analyze issues of interest to those who
might buy his products. He'd done his homework
by reviewing his site visitor statistics and
had discovered that those articles were responsible
for the majority of referrals to his site from
the search engines. I basked in the warm glow
of his praise as he excitedly told me how these
pages (that I had recommended he add to his
site) were drawing fully a third of his web
site traffic!
It always pleases me when clients see the positive
results of implementing strategies that I've
recommended to them. These pages increased traffic
and sales of his products.
This client then leapt to the conclusion that
if those articles were drawing most of his search
engine traffic, then we should place the Google
Adsense code on those pages and capitalize on
that traffic with contextual advertising!
I had to let him down easily, explaining that
three articles don't constitute significant
content. When he asked me what WOULD constitute
substantial enough content to qualify for the
Adsense program, it made me stop and think.
My answer to him is likely to dismay many web
site owners who believe their site might qualify
for contextual advertising. After a brief pause,
I responded that I thought it would take about
fifty articles of 500 words or more to qualify
for Adsense advertising.
As he silently digested that admittedly daunting
number, it was suddenly crystal clear to me
why so many web site owners that don't write,
don't qualify for Google Adsense. Web site owners
that do write their own articles, opinions and
analysis on subject matter that is important
to them will have that much content on their
site already. My client had struggled for weeks
to research, distill and edit his thoughts into
those three articles on his site.
During that pregnant pause, I digested the ramifications
of my own words, my client gave up immediately
and said simply, "I can never write that
many articles, so I'll never qualify for contextual
advertising on my web site.
Oh, you may not write, but you are wrong about
qualifying for contextual advertising-if you
really want to. And, by the way, your search
engine ranking will go through the roof if you
reproduce 50 articles on that topic on your
web site. On top of that, your web site traffic
will increase dramatically, your sales will
go up and you will qualify easily for Google
Adsense.
He paused as if I had spoken to him in a foreign
language and said, "If I don't write those
articles to put on my site, who will?"
I immediately responded with my favorite sources
for free web content, one of which I've operated
myself for nearly four years.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aabusiness/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/free-content/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/article_announce/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/netwrite-publish-announce/
There are also literally hundreds of web sites
that collect and distribute articles. Their
policies and practices vary widely so I'll leave
it to you to find those appropriate to your
site subject matter, but here a few that immediately
come to mind.
Publish101
GoArticles
MakingProfit
Amazines/
IdeaMarketers
Web publishers and authors regularly join these
lists to exchange content on popular topics.
Writers make their articles available to ezine,
newsletter and web site publishers in exchange
for that publisher running a small bio at the
end of their article with a link to the authors
web site. This exchange offers value to both
parties. The publisher gains content, the writer
gains a web link and that link increases her
visibility and her web site search engine ranking
goes up due to link popularity.
The content is out there, you simply need to
gather it, publish it and then apply to Google
Adsense for contextual advertising. You are
benefitting those authors by linking to them,
your search engine ranking by increasing your
own site content and relevance, and finally
your bankbook by qualifying for contextual advertising
and making all of that content pay.
Don't be conTENT, have CONtent! Then apply for
Google Adsense.
http://google.com/adsense/
Mike Banks Valentine is a Search Engine Optimization
specialist practicing ethical small business
SEO
Search Engine Placement, Optimization, Marketing
http://SEOptimism.com/
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