24 November 2007

AdSense Ads Clickable area changes

November saw Google introduce changes to the clickable area in AdSense ads. Previously AdSense Ads have been clickable across the whole area of the ad including the whitespace background. Google have however changed this in an attempt to further control accidental clicks and to ensure more value for Adwords users. The new ad format is only clickable in the title and in the URL sections. Adwords users will welcome this change because it makes it less likely that users will accidentally click through on ads as click through will now require a more deliberate action.

If this change is successful for Adwords users though then it is likely to have some impact on CTR for AdSense users and would be anticipated to lead to some drop in CTR. Initial comments have suggested that AdSense users experience of this change has been mixed so far though. Some have been reporting a drop in CTR but others have reported no noticeable change.

AdSense users should probably welcome the change though even if in the short term it produces some drop in CTR. If Adwords users are reassured about the reliability of click through then this can only help to encourage Adwords use which in turn should help to keep click bid levels up and in the longer term this translates to better profits for AdSense users.

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04 November 2007

How to create a Web Page -basics 1

One of the frequent headaches beginners have is understanding how to create their web page and load it into their hosted account. It's actually very easy but first you need to understand what kind of account your web page is being hosted by.


First, I would strongly advise you to avoid Googlepages. They are free but Google has not made a good job of them and most importantly it is very cumbersome getting your code properly edited.


Instead use a Free Web Hosting account ( I have a link to a good one in the top left links).


This is a very typical hosted web account.


Your first option once you start your account will be deciding if you will just use a free sub-domain that the host provides (eg yourwebname.hostsname.com ) or whether to purchase your own domain name. I would strongly urge that you purchase your own domain name - it gives you a much higher profile and makes you look more professional. They are not dear and can be purchased through the host. Try to buy a dot com name as dot Com's have much more prestige.


If you can afford the tiny monthly fee then buy a paid hosting plan. Paid hosting plans also sometimes come with web page content software that will make your task of creating web pages and content very easy. Often you will find that wordpress will be one option and this is probably the best blogging software that there is. (There wont be any extra charge for this).


If you go for a Free account you either need to install such software yourself or start to make your own web pages.


In the next series of posts I am going to tell you how you do this and how you upload your webpages to your site.


You can subscribe to my eMail course which gives a lot more information about how to build develop and promote your website. You can subscribe at the bottom of this page if you wish.