SEO Updates

Just came across this great thread on Webmaster World.

If you are running AdSense on your website, and haven’t yet experimented with the new Ad Links unit, you should definitely give the entire thread a good read.

Some highlights:

I have tried AdLinks in two different locations on a 3 column layout:
(a) middle of right column
(b) top of left column (just above site navigation)
Results:
1. Location (b) receives 5 times as many clicks as location (a).
2. Location (b) has increased total earnings by 125% whereas location
(a) made no noticable change to anything.

And this comment:

I included Ad Links as soon as it came out and so far I’m very impressed.
Targeting spot on which is good for publisher and advertiser alike and earnings up more than 32%!

We’ll see how it pans out for the rest of the month to judge whether it’s the novelty factor or an accepted more highly focussed results page for the visitor.

Anywhere from 32% to 125% isn’t bad!

There seems to be a bit of confusion regarding the CTRs (click-thru ratios) for Ad Links, and when you actually get paid.

Google only makes money (and hence you only get paid), when the visitor clicks through on the second link via the Google Ad Link results page.

It’s key that you implement Ad Links effectively, otherwise it’s possible that your CTRs will drop and you will be penalized under this new Smart Pricing thing that Google has going. (This is all just from the thread - the Smart Pricing thing seems to be in beta or alpha stage - details are sketchy.)

Good luck! I’ll report back with my results in a week or two, after trying out a few Ad Links formats on some of the new Niner sites.

Shanti Braford wrote this on April 10th, 2005 and filed it under Google News, Contextual Advertising, Google AdSense |