In a new development Google is featuring little Google Checkout icons on Google Adsense ads in what appears to be a test.
This is only happening to a limited number of websites and I have never personally seen them. But the ads seem to appear in from of products that are featured on Google Checkout.
The Google adsense blog is not telling us anything yet so this isn't an official feature so expect it not to be here to stay.
Thank You
Google adsense just announced at the Google Adsense blog that they changed their policies. The new version includes a lot of things different from the last for example images next to ads has been expressly banned. Here's a review of the changes and differences from the last policy.
What are the changes? Well here's a little outline:
Competitive Ads and Services Policy
Now it even more restricted:Competitive Ads and Services In order to prevent user confusion, we do not permit Google ads or search boxes to be published on websites that also contain other ads or services formatted to use the same layout and colors as the Google ads or search boxes on that site. Although you may sell ads directly on your site, it is your responsibility to ensure these ads cannot be confused with Google ads.
Meaning ad programs like YPN cannot be used on the same website as Google adsense. That's right the whole website not just a page or two,and added to that is the fact that you can't rotate the ads 50/50 like Google Adsense publishers have been doing for a while now. But there is a way to display these we not at the same time but in different pages. As Jensense points out you can use the A/B method if the ads have different backgrounds.
Referrals
The numbers of referrals ads has been changed:
Up to two referral units from each referral product or offering may be displayed on a page, in addition to the ad units, search boxes, and link units.
This gives you much more freedom in the sense that Google might be developing a full on affiliate program out of Google Adsense. With these new relaxed rules for referrals something is definitely in the works.
Domain Parking
Domain parking is still not allowed by Google Adsense as this would go against their policies to have content before ads are served.
Images Next To Google Adsense Ads
May not direct user attention to the ads via arrows or other graphical gimmicks. May not place misleading images alongside individual ads
As announced by the Google Adsense blog images next to ads is still not allowed.
Google Adsense Search
Now you are allowed to put a Google Adsense ad unit on the result pages of the Google search box.
Google Adsense for search results pages may show only a single ad link unit in addition to the ads Google serves with the search results.
This comes as a surprise since Google already had ads on the search result page. Adding your own unit really won't help anything at all.
Copyright Content
This new rule is to stop scrappers and many MFAs (Made For Adsense) out there. It states that:
Website publishers may not display Google ads on web pages with content protected by copyright law unless they have the necessary legal rights to display that content. Please see our DMCA policy for more information.
That's about it overall these rules were already widely know bu these new changes present opportunities for Google Adsense to move into new fields. Thank YouNews of Google adsense beta testing their new Keyword-based Ad Filtering tool has excited many adsense users such as myself mainly because of what this could mean for my revenues.
What is it?
This is a feature that will allow a user to select "negative keywords" for a site. Meaning those keywords selected will never be used in the google ads that are on the site.
What is to be expected?
This would greatly help webmasters that have been getting low paying ads on their websites because of some keywords. For example many users with websites like this get these CPM 0.07 ads from google with the keyword google inserted in the tool you'll never see them again.
That's just one example another would be use this tool to your advantage by eliminating all low paying ads not by website like normally, but by keyword. Which will allow for a block of several websites that all target a keyword.
When can we expect it to be out?
My guess would around spring as this is when the first quarter of the year is nearing the end.
