Giám sát tình hình trang web của bạn qua dịch vụ Google Analytics

Giám sát tình hình trang web của bạn qua dịch vụ Google Analytics

Giám sát tình hình trang web của bạn qua dịch vụ Google Analytics


Nếu bạn muốn biết những con số thống kê thật chi tiết về lượt khách đã truy cập website của mình như số lượng là bao nhiêu, họ cư ngụ ở nơi nào, họ dừng lại xem trong bao lâu... thì giờ đây, bạn chỉ cần đăng ký dịch vụ này với Google Analytics. Từ những số thống kê đó, bạn sẽ có cơ sở để thực hiện những điều chỉnh thích hợp nhằm thu hút được nhiều người xem hơn.




Google Analytics là một dịch vụ giúp bạn theo dõi website của mình một cách đầy đủ. Điều đó rất có ích với các webmaster vì nhờ những kết quả thu lượm được bạn có thể đưa ra những chiến lược khác nhau cho việc phát triển website của mình. Xét về tính năng, uy tín cũng như độ tin cậy, dịch vụ này không hề thua kém bất cứ một dịch vụ trả phí nào. Bạn có thể xem số người truy cập mỗi ngày, số trang họ đã xem, số người quay lại trang web, và rất nhiều thông tin khác... Các thông tin đều được thể hiện một cách rõ ràng dưới dạng biểu đồ hoặc bảng biểu, và bạn có thể trích xuất nó ra thành tập tin xml, txt để xem offine trên máy tính. Với những tính năng tuyệt vời, độ ổn định cao, Google Analytis quả là một dịch vụ đáng để các webmaster lưu tâm.



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Giao diện của Google Analytics gồm có 2 phần:
- Analytics Setting: để quản lý danh sách các website.

- View Record: để nhận báo cáo từ việc theo dõi website.

Bạn bấm vào từng mục để sử dụng, trang web đáp ứng khá nhanh.

l Đăng ký và sử dụng

Việc đăng ký và sử dụng rất đơn giản. Bạn chỉ việc vào địa chỉ www.google.com/analytics và đăng nhập với địa chỉ thư điện tử Gmail của mình (hiện nay đã có thể đăng ký Gmail mà không cần Invite). Sau khi đăng nhập, giao diện của Google Analytics sẽ hiện ra. Nếu chưa thiết lập theo dõi một website nào thì bạn bấm vào đường link Add Website Profile tại bảng Website profile để bắt đầu.

Đầu tiên, bạn cần khai báo website cần theo dõi. Ở mục Choose Website Profile Type bạn chọn Add a Profile for a new domain để tạo profile website mới, hoặc chọn Profile for an existing domain để chỉnh sửa profile cũ từ trước. Mục Add a Profile for a new domain, bạn nhập vào tên miền website của mình. Nếu đã thiết lập theo dõi từ trước thì bạn chỉ việc bấm nút Finish để kết thúc và nhận đoạn mã từ Google Analytics. Nếu là lần đầu tiên, bạn sẽ phải khai báo thêm một số thông tin cá nhân nữa.

Về phía website của bạn, bạn cũng cần phải copy đoạn mã từ Google Analytics và chèn vào phía sau thẻ Body của từng trang web nếu nó được làm bằng HTML. Với các trang web động, bạn chỉ cần chèn vào template của trang web mà thôi.

l Theo dõi website

Sau khi làm theo các bước như trên, website của bạn đã sẵn sàng được theo dõi. Tại phần Analytics Setting bạn bấm vào tên website cần theo dõi ở mục Website Profiles.

Tại giao diện của mục View Record bạn sẽ thấy phía bên tay trái là danh mục các kiểu theo dõi, phía bên tay phải là bảng hiện thị chi tiết từng mục. Phần chi tiết được trình bày dưới dạng biểu đồ hoặc bảng biểu rất trực quan. Bạn có thể bấm vào từng mục để xem các thông số. Bạn có thể xem số lượng người ghé thăm website, số lượng người thăm mới, số lượng người tìm thấy website bạn tại bộ máy tìm kiếm, số từ khóa được dùng nhiều nhất để tìm thấy trang web của bạn, v.v... Ở dưới mỗi mục theo dõi còn có phần Help (bằng tiếng Anh) khá dễ hiểu giúp cho bạn có thể tận dung tối đa Google Analytics. Ngoài ra bạn còn có thể xem lại thông số những ngày trước bằng cách bấm vào ngày cần xem trong mục Date Range.

Để in bản theo dõi, bạn bấm vào biểu tượng máy in trên thanh tiêu để của mỗi mục chi tiết. Ở đây cũng có 3 biểu tượng giúp bạn xuất các thông tin thành các tập tin theo 3 dạng văn bản là txt, xml, xls.

l Thiết lập bộ lọc

Ngoài các tính năng hữu ích trên, Google còn cung cấp cho bạn một công cụ giúp lọc thông tin trước khi đưa ra cho bạn xem xét. Để sử dụng tính năng này, tại giao diện Analytics Setting hãy bấm vào mục Filter Manager. Tại đây bạn sẽ thấy danh sách các filter mà bạn đã thiết lập. Nếu chưa thiết lập filter nào, bạn bấm vào Add Filter đễ thiết lập 1 filter mới. Ở mục Add Filter, bạn chọn tên filter, kiểu filter (Filter Type) và website mà bạn muốn thiết lập filter.

Google cung cấp cho bạn khá nhiều kiểu filter hữu ích, dưới đây sẽ là sơ lược về từng filter:

- Exclude all traffic from a domain: sử dụng bộ lọc này để không nhận các truy cập từ một địa chỉ nào đó như là một ISP chẳng hạn.

- Exclude all traffic from an IP address: bộ lọc này sẽ loại trừ mọi truy cập từ một địa chỉ IP nào đó.

- Include only traffic to a subdirectory: bộ lọc này sẽ giúp bạn chỉ nhận thông tin từ một subdomain của website.

Ngoài ra còn có mục Custom Filter giúp bạn tùy biến các bộ lọc cho riêng mình:

- Exclude: mục này giúp bạn loại bỏ không theo dõi một mục nào đó.

- Include: chỉ nhận thông tin trong một mục nhất định và bỏ qua các mục khác.

- Lowercase: lọc chữ thường.

- Upcase: lọc chữ hoa.

- Search and Replace: tìm kiếm và thay thế các chuỗi trong các mục.

- Lookup Table: mục này hiện chưa thể sử dụng được.

- Advande: mục này cho phép bạn tùy biến một kiểu lọc cao cấp phù hợp với công việc riêng của mình.

l Bổ sung người dùng mới

Giả sử nhóm thiết kế website của bạn gồm nhiều người, tính năng này cho phép bổ sung các người dùng (user) mới có thể cũng theo dõi website của bạn.

Để tạo thêm user mới, tại giao diện Analytics Setting bạn bấm vào phần Access Manager, xuất hiện danh sách các user mà bạn đã tạo. Bấm vào phần Add User để tạo một user mới. Tại đây, bạn nhập vào email của user cần tạo tên tuổi và quyền của user (Admin hoặc View Reports). Sau đó bấm Finish để kết thúc quá trình tạo. O


from internet

ProBlogger Disclaimer

ProBlogger Disclaimer

ProBlogger Disclaimer
For some reason a lot of people find this site and think I’m writing it solely for the money, that I’m selling something or trying to sign people up for some sinister and selfish purpose.

On one level I understand this - there is a lot of hype and spin out there in the ‘make money online’ field and readers are well advised to be cautious and a little skeptical about what they read. On the other hand however it is hard when you do have genuine motivations to know how to convey them.

Regular readers of ProBlogger know that I’m not just in it for the ‘money’ - I share what I know as openly as possible. Every way I know to improve a blog’s performance goes onto the blog at some point or another - it’s all in my archives for free.

Having said this - I do ‘get’ things out of this blog (including money) and want to declare it up front in the hope that it might give you a more complete picture of my motivations from maintaining ProBlogger.

So What do I get out of ProBlogger?
I believe in being transparent with one’s blogging so as part of that I want to tell you what I gain from this blog up front. Here’s what I receive from ProBlogger:

Money - Yes I do make a little money from this blog - at present its at around $20 (updated September 2006) or so per day from Adsense and has the occasional affiliate sale through amazon or clickbank (I try to mark all affiliate links with an (aff) after them - let me know if you find one that’s not as I try to be transparent but sometimes they get through when I’m posting late in the night).

I also have sold occasional advertising spots to related companies/bloggers. These endeavors are more about paying for the costs of running this site than making me rich. They also illustrate some of the methods for making money that I talk about in my posts (after all this is a blog about making money from blogging).

I have other blogs that make significantly more than this one (the topic of blogging for money just isn’t that lucrative) and if I was motivated purely by accumulating money I’d concentrate more on those. I do not and have never linked to anyone in my posts in exchange for money or other incentives. On one occasion I have done a sponsored post but clearly marked that as being sponsored and would do the same in future (although that’s not really my style of blogging).


Profile - This blog has without a doubt lifted my profile in the blogging (and wider) community. Talking about money gets a reaction out of people - for some it’s positive, for others its not. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping to build a profile through this blog. Whilst I’ll never be an expert in all aspects of blogging I’m committed to learning whatever I can about how people make money from blogging and in sharing what I do hope to carve out a niche for myself on the topic.

In doing so I do have the goals of writing a book and freeing up more time to do consulting work in this area. These of course are ways of making money so in a sense there is some financial gain to be made through this blog in the long term.

Satisfaction - I enjoy this blog. I enjoy writing the content and I enjoy meeting and helping readers. This is a genuine motivation for doing what I do here. People often ask me why I give my ’secrets’ away for free - to be honest I just can’t seem to keep them to myself - I like to help people.

PR for my other Blogs - Something else I’ve discovered since starting ProBlogger is that in doing so I’ve actually raised the profile of some of my other projects. To be able to announce a new project or to highlight what I’m doing on another blog actually brings attention to my other work which is of benefit to my overall success as a blogger. I do try to keep in check the amount that I promote my other work (it’s not good business sense to constantly promote my own work here). When I do (and it is rare) it it’s almost always to illustrate a point I’m making in a post and I make it clear that it is my own blog that I’m linking to.

What does this Blog Cost me?
If I’m being transparent about what I get out of this blog I feel I should also be transparent about what it costs me (it only seems fair). Part of my philosophy of blogging is that an honest portrayal should always be given - I don’t want to paint ProBlogging as only a positive, easy, rewarding thing - this would be dishonest. I want to paint a realistic picture in order that readers make an informed decision of whether blogging for a living is something that they want to pursue.

Time - I spend more time writing posts for this blog than any of my others. The posts here are generally longer, better researched and more thoughtful than my other blogs. I also get a lot of comments at ProBlogger (it isn’t unusual to have moderate 200 or so per day) as well as many emails from readers asking questions and wanting feedback on their own blogs. Whilst I can’t respond to all of them I do endeavor to help as many as I can (it’s getting harder and harder these days) - this takes an increasing amount of time and energy. Blogging is hard work most days - I put in longer hours than I’ve ever put into any other job.

Competitive Edge - In blogging as openly as I do here at ProBlogger I give away many of the secrets that any smart business person would not reveal. Many of my readers (some who I’ve given free personal coaching to) have started up blogs in direct competition with my blogs in addition to that some have used my designs, stolen content (I take action on this - thieves beware), even used the same names for blogs as mine. To be honest I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand I think it’s great and know that some of these blogs link back to my own blogs and have good working relationships with me. I don’t have a monopoly on any given topic and don’t want to stop anyone starting any blog that they choose to - but at times I feel rather ripped off and used. I guess this is the downside of offering any service for free and I’m willing to accept that - it’s just some days it’s easier to accept than others in all honesty.

Personal Attack - This is all sounding rather heavy here and I don’t want to get too gloomy but another cost of this site is that at times the response that people have to my writing here is to attack. I guess I’m writing about topics that people have strong feelings on (money and blogging) and people feel they want to have their say. Unfortunately the internet can be a pretty impersonal medium and people feel they have the right to write things that they would probably not say to the face of a human being. I try to respond graciously to such emails, comments and instant messaging interactions and don’t let them get to me too much - but at times it all gets a bit too much and takes its toll on me.

And so I Blog
So blogging here has it’s benefits and costs. Some days I’m energized by it and couldn’t think of too much I’d rather do for a job - and other days I am tempted to close up shop because it seems to take more than it gives. In the long run though the good far outweighs the bad and I so I blog on.

Blogging for Beginners

Blogging for Beginners

Blogging for Beginners
Welcome to my Blogging for Beginners Series.

Over the next weeks I will be presenting an introduction to blogging that will help PreBloggers and NewBloggers unpack some of the basics of blogging.

The series is based largely upon the questions I regularly receive from newer bloggers.

By no means do I want to come across as the all knowing expert in this series - I’m very aware of my own limitations as a blogger and strongly believe that it is only collectively as a group that we really know anything. As a result I’d encourage everyone (beginners or old hands) to see each post in this series as an invitation to share what you know on the topics we cover. As we all contribute what we know I’m confident that we’ll all learn and create a useful resource for bloggers starting out.

Also before I start - let me point you to an excellent series of videos by Jon Symons which are ideal for beginner bloggers wanting to learn how to register a domain name, set up hosting and set up a WordPress blog on it. They are aimed at the very beginner and run through some of the technical aspects of setting up. The $15 cost of the videos is well worth it in my opinion.

By the way - if you enjoy these posts and want to keep in touch with ProBlogger subscribe to our weekly email update and/or track us by our RSS feed.

Blogging for Beginners - The Posts So Far
Introductory Posts

What is a Blog?
23 Questions for Prospective Bloggers - Is a Blog Right for You?
How to Choose a Niche Topic for Your Blog
Choosing a Blog Platform
Choosing a Domain Name for your Blog
Blog Tools
Blog Design

Blog Design for Beginners Part 1
Blog Design for Beginners Part 2
Writing Content

Useful and Unique Content
Post Length
Granular (One Topic) Posts
Using Titles Effectively on Blogs
Scannable Content
Basic HTML Tags
More on Writing Content for your Blog
Making Money from Blogs

Introduction to Making Money from Blogs
Should I blog for Money?
Making Money From Your Blog - Direct Methods
Making Money Because of your Blog - Indirect Methods
How Much Money Can a Blog Earn?
Introduction to Advertising Optimization - Traffic
Introduction to Advertising Optimization - Ad Position
Introduction to Advertising Optimization - Ad Design
Introduction to Advertising - Ad Relevancy
Introduction to Advertising - High Paying Ads
Blog Networks

Introduction to Blog Networks
Why Should you join a blog network?
Why you shouldn’t join a blog network
Other Beginner Topics

An Introduction to Using Images on Blogs
How to Start a Blog Partnership
Kick Your RSS - Jumping on the Syndication Bandwagon
Introduction to Trackbacks
Tag You’re It - Leveraging Tagging for your Blog
10 Techniques for Finding Blog Readers
19 More Strategies for Finding Readers
A few readers have approached me to ask if they can submit posts to this series. At this point I’m going to say no - but towards the end of the series I’ll reconsider this when we see what topics we’ve not yet covered.

The series will probably go for 2 weeks with at least one post per day with each listed below on this post (so bookmark this page). Between ‘beginner’ posts will be the normal array of ProBlogging posts. If you’re not a beginner and don’t want to contribute to the back to basics conversations I hope you’ll find that there is plenty of other things to keep you interested.

The series that follows is a combination of types of posts that includes:

New Posts on topics I’ve not written about before
New Posts on topics I have written about before
Re-Posts - older posts that I still feel are relevant for new bloggers
Guest Posts from other bloggers who know more about a particular topic than I do.
Open Mike Discussions (I’m not sure which topics to do these on yet, but am pretty sure there will be a number of them)

How Much Do I Earn from Blogging?

How Much Do I Earn from Blogging?

How Much Do I Earn from Blogging?
This is a question that I get asked more than any other. I was brought up not to really talk about money and what you earn so I’m always hesitant to do so - but due to the large interest in the subject I’ve from time to time given some indication (it can be vague) of what kind of money blogging brings me.

Keep in mind that I have numerous blogs and these figures are not just for ProBlogger (in fact this blog is one of my smaller earners). I also use a variety of income streams including AdSense, Chitika, Text Link Ads and Amazon Associates (to name just four of the main ones).

update: here are my top earning income streams from my blogging..

Here are a few of the more recent posts I’ve done on the topic:

- Earning a Six Figure Income from Blogging
- Look what Blogging Bought Me - the house that Google Bought
- Network Blogging vs Individual Blogging
- I’m a Six Figure Blogger
- Chitika eMiniMalls - How much do they Earn? - the day eMiniMalls became my number 1 earner!

I should clarify (as its a misconception that I often come across) that my earnings do NOT just come from this blog - rather I have 20 or so that I work on plus am now involved in various others through b5media which I am a co-director in.

I also earn my income via a number of courses including the Adsense program and especially Chitika’s MiniMalls.

I also always like to emphasise that blogging is NOT a get rich quick thing. To balance the links above (and before you run out and quit your job to become a Pro Blogger) I also STRONGLY recommend you take a look at some of the links and information that I mention in my ProBlogger Public Announcement Post.

Adsense Tips for Bloggers 8 - Miscellaneous Adsense Tips

Adsense Tips for Bloggers 8 - Miscellaneous Adsense Tips

Adsense Tips for Bloggers 8 - Miscellaneous Adsense Tips
This is part 8 (and the last) in a series of posts on increasing AdSense revenue for bloggers. The full series is Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7 and Part 8.

We have unpacked our Adsense Equation in detail and have given numerous tips for maximising Adsense Revenue. Whilst there are occasions that Adsense doesn’t perform as well on some websites for no particular reason as others we can safely predict that if you work on each of the four areas you should see an increase in the amount of the cheque that Adsense sends you at the end of each month. Remember though that your revenue will only be as high as your weakest link - work on all elements of the equation - not just one or two.

As well as the proceeding tips there are a number of other things that might be helpful to know in using Adsense that we couldn’t find a place for in previous posts.



Outgoing Links - One theory going around is that pages with fewer outgoing links result in higher click-throughs. Give your readers fewer options of links to click on and they are more likely to click on your ads. This MAY be true, but don’t let it determine your content. My Digicam site has many outward links because it is a page that acts as a hub of information from around the web. I’ve not noticed that this makes my revenue levels suffer - in fact I suspect its because of these helpful links that people come to my site.

Using Frames - If your site uses frames I’m told you should make sure your ads are placed in the frame where you content is or else it will not provide relevant ads for your content. Thanks Greg for this tip.

Don’t click your own ads. - It might be an obvious way to get a few click throughs and increase your Adsense revenue - but Google is very clever at working out if your clicks are genuine or not. Its not hard to track IP addresses and to see patterns emerging between where clicks are coming from. It is not worth the risk of being banned from the program for a few cents per click. Especially don’t click ads from the same IP address that you check your stats from - this is asking for trouble.

Don’t encourage your readers to click on your ads. Its against the agreement that you enter into with Google. Once again they will track you down if you break these rules. I’ve seen a number of people who have been banned from Adsense for this. Let your ads speak for themselves.

Monitor your Statistics. Many adsense users check their stats all day everyday. Whilst this might be overkill (its like watching grass grow) it is useful to track what is happening at this end of your campaign. Use channels to monitor which pages are doing well and which are not. Tweak pages that are not doing well and make more pages similar to those that do.

Alternative Ads - Use alternative ads for when Adsense cannot serve ads to your page. When they cannot find a suitable ad for your page Adsense will serve you with a ‘Public Service Announcement’ (PSA). These ads may be for a good cause, but they will not relate to the content of your page and will not earn you any money. Instead Adsense allows you to nominated an alternative ad that they will serve into the position instead of the PSA. I use Amazon for this, but also have experimented with affiliate alternative ads Affiliate Sensor which I find works really well as it lets you choose from a wide range of affiliate products and still target them to your site.

That is the end of our Adsense tips for Bloggers series. Feel free to submit your own Adsense tips and strategies in comments below. You also might like to check out some of the following alternative Adsense Tips pages for more tips from around the web. You might also like to check out the the Chitika eMiniMall Ad system which I make most of my income off these days. I reviewed it here and have a series of tips for getting the most out of your eMiniMalls.


Adsense Tips from around the Web
- Google’s Official Adsense Tips
- What Google Never Told You About Making Money with Adsense
- Google Adsense Information, hints, tips and examples
- Adsense Tracker

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Adsense Tips for Bloggers 7 - Well Placed and Designed Ads

Adsense Tips for Bloggers 7 - Well Placed and Designed Ads

Adsense Tips for Bloggers 7 - Well Placed and Designed Ads
This is part 7 in a series of posts on increasing AdSense revenue for bloggers. The full series is Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7 and Part 8.

Revenue = high readership + high paying ads + relevant ads + well placed and designed ads

The forth element of our Adsense Equation is that of having well designed and optimally placed Adsense Ads. I’ve found that ad positioning is incredibly important. I remember shifting the ads on one of my blogs a while back and being over the moon to discover the next morning that the move had doubled the click through rates that I’d had over night! Its worth doing some tweaking.


Adsense Ad placement and design is an issue that is often hotly debated in Adsense discussion forums. It seems that each Adsense user has their own strategy - some like ads that blend in, others like ads that stand out from the rest of the page. Some like ads in banner positions, others in skyscrapers, others like to put them right in the middle of content. In my experience, different strategies work on different blogs at different times. The key tip I’ll give you is to experiment. Try new positions and design and track your results. One of the best ways you can do this is by using Adsense Tracker which is an amazing tracking package for adsense which gives you much more control over what and how you track your adsense performance. It does cost to purchase the tracker but in my experience you’ll make your money back pretty quickly by using it to adapt your Adsense strategies.

Let me also share a few other tips that you might like to experiment with.

Blend - Most successful Adsense users seem to be taking the approach of blending their ads into the overall theme of their page. This often means making the ad’s background (and often border) the same (or similar) colour to the background of the page and making the title and URL the same as links of the rest of the page. In this way the ad does not stand out as being ‘ad-like’. Having said this I know of a few bloggers who take the opposite approach and make their ads as bright and ugly as possible in the hope of attracting the attention of their readers. I don’t subscribe to this because I think it cheapens the overall feel and look of a page.

In Content - More and more bloggers (and webmasters) are putting their ads inside the main body of their posts. In this way the ads are prominent and more likely to be seen by readers as they read your content. If your text wraps around the ads this can be quite effective. On the flipside of this argument is that you may run the risk of frustrating your readers with dominant ads. People reading content online are a fickle bunch and get easily turned off by blatant advertising.

Above the Fold - it is generally accepted that your Adsense ads should be placed towards the top of your page and be visable without your reader having to scroll down. Studies show that blog visitors stay on average for only 60 or so seconds, many without scrolling down. If you ads are hidden towards the bottom of your page you decrease the likelihood of them ever being seen let alone clicked.

Left is Best - Google has put together a ‘heat map’ which is probably the best thing that you can look at when thinking about the positioning of your ads. You’ll see from it that they have found that ads on the left hand side of the page do much better than those on the right hand side.

Too Dominent? - The position and design of your Adsense ads needs to be balanced with the overall purposes and design of your blog. What is the priority of your blog - is it to make money or is it something else. I have a number of blogs - and place ads differently on each depending upon their purposes. For example this blog is not a commercial blog - I’m more interested in building relationships, sharing and hearing others ideas and updating those interested in what I’m doing with my life. As a result my Adsense Ads are in a less prominent banner position and are designed to fit with the overall theme of the blog. However on my Digital Photography Blog there is obviously a more commercial intent (as well as it being something of a passion and hobby). As a result I experiment with more prominent Adsense ads (usually skyscraper and within content).

I cannot stress enough how useful it is to experiment. What works on one blog doesn’t always work on another. I’ve also noticed that if you have a blog with regular and loyal readers that it is good to keep things changing as your readers tend to get used to the way your blog is and become blind to things like Adsense Ads. I notice that when I move my ads around that it often creates higher click throughs for a few days - until the blindness kicks in again. Joel Comm’s What Google Never Told You About Making Money with Adsense is an excellent E-book written with lots of good tips on positioning your adsense ads if you’re wanting to get another person’s opinion on this topic.

Adsense Tips for Bloggers 6 - Relevant Ads

Adsense Tips for Bloggers 6 - Relevant Ads

Adsense Tips for Bloggers 6 - Relevant Ads
This is part 6 in a series of posts on increasing AdSense revenue for bloggers. The full series is Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7 and Part 8.

Revenue = high readership + high paying ads + relevant ads + well placed and designed ads

The third element of our Adsense equation is that of relevant Adsense ads. It is all very well to rank high in search engines to generate high levels of traffic, but without relevant ads that relate to the content of your blog you are not likely to generate much in the way of click throughs.

Let me give you an example. Recently I was asked to help a fellow blogger who has struggling with his Adsense ads because whilst his content largely focused upon the topic of ‘health care’ - most of the ads being served to his blog were focused upon ‘blogging’. He was getting quite reasonable traffic levels and had a reasonably high paying topic (there are some good health care ads out there) but as you’d expect, people coming to a blog about health care did not click on ads for blogging software and services at a very high rate. The challenge was to get his ads reflecting the content of his blog.

Another fellow blogger had the problem of not getting ANY ads being served to his site. Instead of paying ads all he was getting was the public service ads that Adsense serves when they couldn’t find any relevant paying ads (these pay nothing).

How do you get relevant ads? Here are a few things to try.

Make sure there are ads available - My friend who didn’t get any paying ads served was focusing on a key word for which there was no or very few ads. A simple way of checking this is to do a search on Google for the key word you are targeting. If they don’t serve ads on their own search results page its an indication that such ads are scarce - if not non existent. They way we got ads on my friends blog was to experiment with other related keywords. He didn’t have to change the focus of his blog - just the way he described his topics. For example if there are no ads for ‘bed linen’ try ‘blankets’, ’sheets’, ‘quilts’ etc. Experiment with different combinations until you find something that works.

Increase your Keyword density - The more you use your keywords the more likely you are to get ads on those topics. Its not common knowledge exactly how the Adsense bot decides what ads suit your content best (if someone knows feel free to post it in comments below) but it’s a pretty safe bet that if you put you keyword in your title, at least once in your first paragraph and then scatter it throughout the rest of your page that you’ll convince the Adsense bot of what your topic is. It MAY also be helpful to include your keywords in the URL of your page (Moveable type can let you do this - ie look at the URL of this page - it incorporates my title and therefore some keywords). It MAY also be worth putting your keywords in outward links, bold, italics etc. All of these strategies also help optimise yor blog for search engines which won’t hurt either.

Examine your Sidebars, menus, header and footer - It is not just your main content that the Adsense bot searches to find the topic of your page, but also your other areas. When I looked at the healthcare blog that was getting ‘blogging’ ads I noticed that he had the word ‘blog’ in his title, three times on his sidebar and once in his footer. It was also in his URL and he also used the word quite often in his content. My recommendation was to remove the word from as many of those places as possible and to increase his health care keywords. The ads improved their relevancy almost immediately.

Stick to one topic per page - Obviously this may not be feasible on your front page - but attempt to keep each individual blog entry/post as highly targeted as possible. I’ve noticed that some people often include two or three topics in one entry - this will confuse Adsense’s bot so split them up into two entries.

Block irrelevant Ads - Sometimes despite your best intentions Google just gets it wrong and serves your ads that have nothing to do with what you write. If you’re getting some repeating irrelevant ads block them. Adsense lets you do this to quite a few sites and its easy to do. I have a number of ads blocked, some because they are philosophically not consistent with what I write about, but mainly because they just are not relevant to the topic of my blogs.

Ask Adsense - If all else fails notify Google Adsense of your issue. Of course they are busy people - but Google prides itself on being responsive to its users. I’ve emailed with queries a number of times, once on an issue of irrelevant ads, and every time I’ve had positive results from my query. You’ve got nothing to loose - shoot them an email!

If you do all of the above you SHOULD find Adsense serves you with relevant ads. In conjunction with the other elements in our equation this will contribute to increased click throughs and hopefully higher Adsense revenue. Next in this series on maximizing Adsense revenue is a post on Well Placed and Designed Adsense Ads.

Read the full series at Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7 and Part 8.