AdSense Update: Alternate Ads on AdSense

[polarmate]

Google introduces the concept of an 'Alternate Ad' feature to an AdSense account. What this means is that in the event that Google cannot find an ad to match the content on your site, you can specify an ad that will be placed instead of the AdSense ads. This means that your ad will be shown instead of the PSA ads.
More here: https://www.google.com/adsense/faq#basics10

Google also wants everyone's tax info by Nov 30: https://www.google.com/adsense/taxinfo
No tax info by Nov 30 means no payments.

[bwelford]

I think this Alternate Ad approach is just great. The Adsense Googlebot probably only goes to a page after there has been a Google search leading to the page. So if you have some obscure pages in your website that have not yet been spidered, you can advertise other internal web pages that may be more relevant to your website visitor.

Some of the Community Service ads can be particularly inappropriate since there is no attempt to match them with the web page content.

Way to go Google. :cheers:

[polarmate]

The Adsense Googlebot probably only goes to a page after there has been a Google search leading to the page. Barry, I doubt that is the case as I have seen the bot soon after a new page was put up and no other requests made except by me to test the page. :) The javascript is pulled from Google so they see the request for the script from a page that is new to them, which is subsequently spidered.

Unless you are giving them access to your logs or they track every URL on their SERPs, Google really should have no way of knowing whether the visitor reached the page using a Google search or a HotBot search or a simple link from somewhere else.

[bwelford]

You're right. Why didn't I think of that? :confused: