Google Adsense now offers Adlinks Options

[bwelford]

Just heard that a new form of Google Adsense ads are available. These are called Adlinks and display a series of topics for which a visitor can select to see a series of ads. The details are shown at
https://www.google.com/adsense/adformats#adlinks

I'm not sure what they look like when you click on an Adlink since this is all very new. However I'm intrigued enough to try it on on my blogs.

What are folks reactions to this?

[Tim]

My reaction? I don't get it - it would greatly reduce click through rates.

The idea of PPC ads is to write something that will entice a visitor to click. Why would a visitor click on text saying "Binoculars", when they could just go to Google and search for binoculars? On second thought, maybe that's the motive.

I only click on an ad if it catches my attention. If I'm on a page about binoculars and I'm interested in purchasing a pair, and I see an AdSense ad offering two for the price of one or some similar offer, I'd probably click to see it. But if there's just a text link labelled "binoculars" I doubt I'd bother.

If it decreases click-through rates, why do it? Or more importantly, why do Google offer it as an option?

[bwelford]

I see it differently, Tim. I guess you've got two groups of folk who may land on your web page. I'm thinking here of a web page that is an article or perhaps a blog post.

Some were looking for a specific product and happen to have ended up on your web page. Your page doesn't sell this product. However with Adlinks there's a clickable link on relevant Google Ads. They click there and may be presented with a page with say 10 Google ads on it. They can scan through these and select one or more that seem relevant. So if someone is motivated to look for a product, I believe Google is serving up more relevant information.

Others may just be interested in the topic of the web page for itself. They weren't looking to buy anything. However they're intrigued enough to check the Adlinks link. Scanning the Ads, they may be interested enough by the wording of a particular ad to click on it. So you have a greater chance of picking up "impulse" clickers.

Overall, I think you multiply the chances of someone clicking on an ad several times, say five or more times. I checked the Adlinks for one of my blog entries on St-Patrick's Day. It was a hoot. Mostly cards for St-Patrick's Day but one or two others were most intriguing. Here's a sample: I've removed the links.

St. Patrick's Day
Download our cool Free Irish wallpapers, screensavers & skins!

St. Patricks Festival ‘05
Celebrate, watch it online, Get festive downloads. More

Free St. Pat's eCards
Send funny lucky or stupid messages to your friends and drinking pals

St. Patricks Day cards
Post a card from Ireland. Write a greeting card online, we post it.

saint patrick
Meet Tens of Thousands of Sexy Catholic Singles for Love

[send2paul]

Hmm... I think I may have to agree with Tim, Barry.

I got the info on the Adlinks, went to the example page and thought "Oh my Gawd!?!" - they look terrible. They look just like someone's own links, but with a little bit above it about Google.

What I like about the Adsense Ads, (apart from the occasional ker-ching, ), is the fact that you can customise them to fit in with your webpage, they provide an additional "space-filler", and they also can give some kind of "credibility" to your content.

The Adlinks look.....well......amateurish, and like Tim, I wouldn't be clicking on one if I saw one on page.

And, (one final thought), just because we know it's an Adlink and not an Adsense advert, doesn't mean anything to the intrepid surfer who happens by your website and sees either some nice looking Adsense ads, or some tatty looking Adlinks.

p.s. here's what I'm going to do......I'll set up a webpage identical to one I have now with Adsense ads on it - and replace them with Adlinks. So, it'll be SEO'd the same, same content, I'll register it with Google. And then we'll see. Does that sound like a good plan?

[bwelford]

That sounds great, Paul.

I suspect it will depend on what traffic you're working with, what are their needs and what are your objectives. My own site gets a lot of folk trying to understand all aspects of say Internet marketing or marketing strategy. Although the list of Adlinks may not be all that visually appealing, I think it may meet the needs of my visitors.

For example, I have an early newsletter that is one of my most visited pages. It comes up #1 in Google if you type in 'michael porter internet marketing'. The Adlinks on that page are currently showing:
Brand Strategy (10)
Business Growth (10)
Judo Strategy (10)
Leadership (10)
Michael Porter (10)
The numbers I've added in ( ) are the number of ads if you click through to each of the pages.

So if someone is searching around they have 50 other links that they may find of interest. For my audience, I'm guessing that this will do better than the tower of 4 Adsense ads I had on that page.

Still it's early days and we'll see how this develops.

[send2paul]

Basically Barry, (hey that rhymes!),

I've set up exactly the same laser eye surgery webpage, but with Adlinks instead of Adsense Ads.

It's here: http://www.blogstudio.com/woodgnome/laser2.html

My first intial reaction is BLAH! from a visual point of view. Also, there only appears to be the first strip of Adlink ads appeared, the other two strips have not - or at least that's how it looks in the UK at the moment.

The ad looks like this:

.......................................................................

and, without prompting anyone to click on anything here....(!)...I wonder what the links will take you to?

[bwelford]

Practically Paul, (hey that's alliteration but it doesn't rhyme - ), I visited your website link and from here in Canada got the following list of Adlinks.

Blog
What Is a Blog
Link-Blog
Blog Web Hosting
Photo Blog Host

You as the owner can click on these links since they only take you to a page of Adlinks. I'm seeing a maximum of 10 adlinks on such an adlink page. Of course you shouldn't click on one of these 10 adlinks since they are the equivalent of the normal Adsense ads.

As you say, we will see what we will see.

[send2paul]

Ah ha - I clicked on the links on the Adlink ad on the laser2 page, and it takes you to a Google generated page of links.........links which you would have seen from the Adsense ads.

I'm not convinced about this.....but I'll let it ride for a bit....

[send2paul]

And after querying the reaosn why only one of the three Adlinks appeared on my page - the answer is this......

Publishers may only display one Ad Links unit  per page at this time.

- so that ends that little experiment - it looks ugly, and this page: http://www.blogstudio.com/woodgnome/laser2.html - is coming down!

[bwelford]

Paul, you may have spotted this, but I record it for the benefit of others. You can have multiple other regular Adsense ads as well as a single Adlinks entry if you wish. I have put say a two ad vertical unit at the top right of a newsletter and an Adlinks unit right at the bottom of the newsletter. Seems to do the job, as far as I can guess.

[send2paul]

Ah ha! (again) - I'll give that a whirl elsewhere and see what happens - thanks Barry