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Google’s own definition of AdSense
For online advertisers, AdSense is a huge network through which they can sell themlselves, their products and their services. For web publishers, it’s a revenue stream but what about Google, what’s their take on the service?
Over the years, a large number of AdSense publishers have wondered what words Google would use to properly define the “publisher side” of its all important pay-per-click advertising system (comprising other elements, namely AdWords where advertisers purchase the ads [that are later shown through AdSense]).
If you’ve been wondering about that too, here’s how Google defines AdSense, in its 2008 annual report, on page 56:
AdSense for content is our online service for distributing ads from our advertisers that are relevant to content on our Google Network members’ web sites. Under this program, we use automated technology to analyze the meaning of the content on the web page and serve relevant ads based on the meaning of such content. For example, a web page on an automotive blog that contains an entry about vintage cars might display ads for vintage car parts or vintage car shows. These ads are displayed in spaces that our AdSense for content partners have set aside on their web sites. AdSense for content allows a variety of ad types to be shown, including text ads, image ads, Google Video Ads, link units (which are sets of clickable links to topic pages related to page content), themed units (which are regular text ads with graphic treatments that change seasonally and by geography) and gadget ads (which are customized —mini-sites— that run as ads on AdSense publisher web sites).
For our online AdSense program, our advertisers pay us a fee each time a user clicks on one of our advertisers’ ads displayed on our Google Network members’ web sites or, for those advertisers who choose our cost-per-impression pricing, as their ads are displayed. To date, we have paid most of these advertiser fees to our Google Network members, and we expect to continue doing so for the foreseeable future. We recognize these advertiser fees as revenue and the portion of the advertiser fee we pay to our Google Network members as traffic acquisition costs under cost of revenues. In some cases, we guarantee our Google Network members minimum revenue share payments based on their achieving defined performance terms, such as number of search queries or advertisements displayed. Google Network members do not pay any fees associated with the use of our AdSense program on their web sites.
Our agreements with Google Network members consist largely of uniform online —click-wrap— agreements that members enter into by interacting with our registration web sites. The standard agreements have no stated term and are terminable at will. Agreements with our larger members are individually negotiated. Both the standard agreements and the negotiated agreements contain provisions requiring us to share with the Google Network member most of the advertiser fees generated by users clicking on ads on the Google Network member’s web site or, for advertisers who choose our cost-per-impression pricing, as the ads are displayed on the Google Network member’s web site.
Whoever wrote this, at Google, did a very good job at explaining AdSense… in just three paragraphs!
If similarly-sized businesses, like IBM, Cisco or Microsoft had attempted to define such an important business operation as this one is such a short linespan, chances are they would’ve failed, filling page after page to eventually “get to the point”.
This AdSense definition, published in the annual report and reprinted here, follows the exact same logic as Google’s search home page. “Easy does it” seems to be the general rule of thumb behind what AdSense is and seeks to be. In itself, this is wonderful news for all the smaller web publishers out there because it means Google doesn’t intend to overly formalize its ad network, like some competitors have.
Take APT, Yahoo!’s unified digital advertising platform.
It’s probably good but you likely need millions of visitors per day to get any level of attention from them to be —considered— for their ad program. Which is basically out of reach for over 99% of the web publishers out there. So all these fine web enthusiasts flock to Google’s AdSense where such insane “barriers to entry” simply don’t exist.
Talking about Yahoo!’s ad network, one has to wonder why they insist on being so elitist about who gets to show their ads. Is it because Yahoo! hate smaller publishers? Are they convinced only “they” know how to deliver content, and value? It’s anybody’s guess why Yahoo!’s “external publisher base” is so severely skimmed to keep only astronomically huge publishers while slamming the door in the face of all others.
Oh! Well, it’s their problem, not Google’s.
For those who like to read annual reports (even if the very idea of it might seem odd, at first), Google’s 2008 review of its activities, amidst the economic downturn that has started to be felt at the end of that year, proves that Larry and Sergei still steer this search giant with agility and grace.
Tens of thousands of people stand behind Google’s success but even though the valuation of the company has skyrocketed in the last decade, the people at the top have kept cool about it.
And it’s probably why any web publisher with sound content (i.e.: unique, useful and valuable) and a legitimate desire to generate revenue can apply to Google’s AdSense and reasonably expect to be accepted.
If you’re looking for a true sense of entrepreneurial spirit, online, look no further that Google AdSense… even in these hopefully episodic times of economic crisis.
Tags: google, adsense, adwords, definition of adsense, what is adsense, why adsense, how does adsense work, adsense publishers, ppc, pay-per-click, online ads, ad network, advertising, contextual ads, yahoo, apt, online publishers, money, revenue, online revenu, content monetization
3 Responses to “Google’s own definition of AdSense”
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[...] Google’s own definition of AdSense [...]
[...] Every piece of advice and information on my blog is free. I also sell no products through my blog. In fact, my blog is one of the few blogs on the Internet that does not contain Google AdSense. [...]
You can easily earn lots of money from AdSense if you have a high traffic site.