Adsense Terms That You Should Know
If you are adding Adsense to your blog or website, it is imperative to get a firm grasp on some of the unique terminology associated with the Adsense program.
Here is a list of important terms, their common abbreviations and meanings:
Terms of Service (TOS). All participants in the Adsense program are required to abide by Google’s Terms of Service. This is basically the “rule book” for Adsense. Anyone who fails to conduct themselves according to the TOS may be banned from participation and/or have their account suspended. You should read the TOS carefully.
Publisher. That’s you. Anyone operating a site displaying Adsense ads is considered a publisher.
Pay per click (PPC). Google Adsense operates predominantly on a pay per click basis. That means the advertiser pays for each time someone clicks on their ad. It also means that you will get paid for every click.
Click through rate (CTR). This represents the percentage of page impressions that result in a click on an ad at your site. For instance, if your blog gets 100 impressions and 17 of them result in a click, the CTR for your site is 17%.
Ad unit. An ad unit is a displayed block of Google Adsense ads. There are a variety of ad units from which to choose. They are usually expressed in terms of their size in pixels. For instance, a 120 x 600 tower ad unit will be 120 units wide and 600 units long – tall and skinny.
Ad placement. This refers to the location of your ads on your site. You may place Adsense units anywhere on a page consistent with the TOS. There are a variety of online guides, charts and recommendations demonstrating the various location options and how successful they tend to be in producing a high CTR on the Adsense program site.
Channel. You can set up channels to track the performance of individual Adsense ad units or to track earnings on particular sites. You can establish your channels in the “Set Up” area of your Adsense account.
Competitive Ad Filter. Google gives you the option to block certain advertisements via the competitive ad filter. This allows you to avoid inadvertently advertising your competition.
The world of Adsense brings with it a new vocabulary that you must master in order to achieve maximum success. Terms like those above become second nature in a short period of time for most Adsense publishers. By knowing and understanding those terms, you can understand your performance charts better and also pick up all the latest Adsense strategies faster.