42LiBeLa's Blog

This past March, we launched a referrals beta to test the feature and iron out some wrinkles. Now that we've finished our testing, we're pleased to announce that referrals 2.0 will soon be available to all AdSense publishers in referrals-supported languages.

While some of you may already be familiar with referrals for Google products, this launch will greatly expand the inventory and functionality of referrals for AdSense publishers. Below we've highlighted a few of the key benefits of referrals 2.0:

• Expanded product inventory: While many of you have had success referring one of our Google products, some of you weren't able to find a product that fit the context of your site. Referrals 2.0 offers products from thousands of AdWords advertisers, so you can find the right ads for your sites.
  
  
• Category and keyword targeting: With thousands of products available, it can be difficult to decide which ads will perform best on your site. That's why we give you the option to refer products by category and keyword. You can narrow down the types of ads you want to display and let AdSense figure out which ones will perform best on your site. Whether you want ads for a specific category, advertiser, or product, referrals 2.0 will give you the control to decide.
  
  
• Ad unit optimization: It can be tricky picking the best ads for your site, so we've included ad unit optimization for referrals. When you create a new referral ad unit, simply select the Pick best performing ads option. We'll then compare your selected ads to other relevant ads, and serve the ads we expect to perform best on your site.
  
  
• Better targeting for pages with multiple themes: With standard contextual targeting, ads may not match up directly with the text around them if there are a number of themes on the page. With referrals, you can select unique “keywords” for each ad unit to narrow the targeting directly to the theme you want. Better targeting means higher earnings for your site.
  
  
• Greater compensation for high-quality traffic: Since referrals are paid on a cost-per-action (CPA) basis, your traffic matters. If the traffic you send to advertisers is more likely to turn into a completed sale or lead, you will earn more with referrals.
  
  
• Add your seal of approval: Unlike AdSense for content ads, our program policies allow you to make specific references to referral ads on your site. If you endorse the product that you are referring, feel free to let your users know. By adding your personal review of the products you refer, you can help your users make more informed choices.
  

To get started with referrals, click the AdSense Setup tab in your account, then click Referrals. If you don't see referrals 2.0 right away, please check back in a few days, as the feature will gradually become available in all accounts over the next few weeks. Please also keep in mind that for some languages, advertisers are just getting started so ad inventory may be limited at this time. We encourage you to check back frequently to see new offers.



If you have any questions about how to add a new referral unit to your site, be sure to check out the updated referrals section of the Help Center.

UPDATE: Clarified that referrals 2.0 is currently only available in referrals-supported languages

Today, we're excited to announce the launch of our 11th AdSense blog -- Inside AdSense: AdSense ????. The new blog is written in Simplified Chinese, and will provide Chinese-speaking publishers with the latest AdSense updates and announcements. Members of the Chinese support team will be addressing commonly asked questions, sharing optimization advice, and introducing you to publishers who have been successful with the program.

We encourage you to subscribe today to begin receiving posts directly in your email inbox!

We've learned through your feedback that some AdSense publishers are concerned about potentially malicious behavior on the web, such as having their ad code stolen, to be placed on an inappropriate site. To give you more control and security concerning ad code, we've recently launched the Allowed Sites list.

The Allowed Sites list, which you'll find by clicking the Allowed Sites link under your AdSense Setup tab, is the place for you to list sites or URLs where you want to allow your ads to appear. Sites that aren't on your list can still display ads using your ad code; however, impressions and clicks for these sites won't appear in your reports, advertisers won't be charged, and you won't receive any earnings from them.


Of course, it's entirely your choice whether to use this Allowed Sites feature. If you don't want to create an Allowed Sites list, there's no need to change the settings in your account; it will automatically default to allow any site to show ads.

To create your Allowed Sites list today, visit your AdSense Setup tab, click the Allowed Sites sub-tab, and choose the radio button for Only allow certain sites to show ads for my account. You'll then be able to enter allowed URLs for all your sites. Make sure to keep your list up to date when you add your code to new sites, too.

Psst...one last thing! We'll be doing routine maintenance tomorrow, September 8th, from 10am to 2pm PDT. As usual, your ads and earnings will keep tracking during this time, but you won't be able to access your account, including your Allowed Sites list.

42LiBeLa

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