AdSense Publishers Panic About Not Receiving Payment

Typically, Google issues payments by the 25th of the month for the previous month and the money is then available on the 26th (if sent electronically). But many Google AdSense publishers are complaining in threads at both Google AdSense Help and DigitalPoint Forums that they have no word from Google on if the payment has been issued.

Here are some of the scared publisher's posts:

I used to get the "payment in progress" message within 24-24 of the month. And pick my payments on 26-26 of the month. Today is 27, and even no "payment in progrees" statement has appeared.

I am scheduled to receive payment through Westren union quick cash. Normaly payment is issued on 25th and can be picked on 26th. my march earning was more then $100 but i cant see any payment issued link.

Personally, I see that my payment was issued on April 24th and I should see it on the 28th. But many publishers are concerned the Google is holding payments from them for no reason.

An other, but older Google AdSense Help thread has confirmation from a Googler that Google is indeed delayed on paying some publishers.

AdSensePro Obair from Google said:

If you're scheduled to receive a payment this month, you should see the following message on the payment history page of your account:

"You are scheduled to be sent a payment by the 30th of this month. If you're receiving a standard delivery check, please allow up to 4 weeks for delivery, depending on your location. If you're using EFT or secured express delivery, your payment should arrive by the 5th of next month. Learn more..."

So don't panic, your money will come, the question is when. Some publishers depend on this check and to have it delayed, can be serious for some. Hat tip to Morgan Chemij for encouraging me to write about this.

Forum discussion at Google AdSense Help and DigitalPoint Forums.

Microsoft’s AdSense - Like PubCenter Goes into Public Beta Soon!!

Microsoft is finally making its PubCenter ad publishing tool available to the public after some months of being under close private beta mode. Public beta meaning U.S. public only.

Just like other contextual advertising program, Microsoft PubCenter will be offering websites an opportunity to display ads coming from Microsoft’s online advertising networks.

Specifically, Microsoft PubCenter will allows publishers to :

* Display targeted ads on their web sites
* Customize adds based on the design of their websites
* Deliver high-quality ads from Microsoft advertising networks
* Track ad performance using Analytics tools

Of course, there’s no promise that you’ll earn millions from displaying PubCenter’s ads but it could be a good alternative to Google AdSense and other advertising program that may not be earning that much for your sites.

To sign up for Microsoft PubCenter beta, check out the details here. You may also want to read the PubCenter Blog for some enlightening articles on contextual advertising related to Microsoft PubCenter.

Light up your site

We all know how it feels to find the perfect gift. After scouring stores far and wide, suddenly your hunt is over: the stars have aligned to bring you just what you're looking for -- and not a moment too soon. It's a bit the same way when a search brings you to just the right site. But what if your site's just the right site, and users can't find it?

We're happy to let you know that you don't need divine forces to play a role in the findability of your site. Nope -- you can help make sure that your site turns up just when it should by taking advantage of these tips from our Search Quality Team.

1. Not sure if all your pages are being seen by Google? Search for your site's address after the command "site", like [site:example.com]. When you see your pages in the results, check your snippet content and page titles. Include information that matches the topic of a particular page. If anything is missing or you want more details, you can also use the Content Analysis tool in Webmaster Tools.
   
   
2. If you upload new pages or topics faster than Google crawls your site, make sure to submit a Google Sitemap and include a refresh rate.
   
   
3. Label your images appropriately. Users searching in Google Image Search will more easily find the image on your site. Don't miss out on potential traffic because of [001.jpg] instead of [NintendoWii.jpg]. Image Search is one of the largest search properties out there, so you should take advantage of it.
   
   
4. Manage your SiteLinks. Your most valuable links may not be the ones that Google chooses as SiteLinks, so remember you can remove any that you don't think users will find useful.
   
   
5. Check for errors and keyword traffic in Webmaster Tools. See our diagnostics checklist.
   
   
6. Serve accurate HTTP status codes. If you've retired a page permanently, serve a 404. If you've simply relocated it, serve a 301. The more we know about your old pages, the faster we will find the next best page on your site for a given query. 
   
   
7. Users and search engines like organic content. Make some of your own!
   
   
8. Read our recently released SEO Starter Guide.
   
   
9. Watch our Tutorials for Webmasters.
   
   
10. Find out what information Google has about your website in Webmaster Tools.
    
    
11. Get the latest updates from the Webmaster Central Blog.
    
    
12. Find answers to your questions in our Webmaster Help Center, or ask your questions in the Webmaster Help Group. 
    

Whether it be the perfect gift, the perfect site, or the perfect cup of cocoa on a cold winter's night, we hope all your searches are fruitful this holiday season.

Daily Tidbits: Make money off parked sites and go mobile with Visa

Anyone with an unused, parked site can now make some cash by using Google's new AdSense for Domains, the company said Friday.

"AdSense for domains allows publishers with undeveloped domains to help users by providing relevant information including ads, links and search results," Google said.

The company is opening AdSense for Domains up to "English-language AdSense publishers located in North America" first, but it will eventually expand the service to other regions. When that happens, the new program will also support other languages.

Credit card giant Visa said Friday it has launched its Visa Mobile Application, which has become the first financial app for Android-based mobile phones. According to the company, the app alerts users to account activity and provides them with special offers from merchants. Once received, those offers will work with the Android phone's GPS functionality to map where those offers can be redeemed. The app is available now in the Android App Store.

According to a survey conducted by research firm eROI, which asked 283 high school and college students about their online lives, 25 percent of respondents claim they signed up for their first e-mail address so they could shop online. A whopping 81 percent of respondents said they got their first e-mail address to communicate with family, and 52 percent said they did it to chat with friends. eROI also asked the students which e-mail service they preferred. Google won with 32 percent saying they use Gmail. Yahoo took the second spot with 19 percent adoption, followed closely by Microsoft's MSN with 18 percent.

ReadWriteWeb is reporting that Google has removed a slew of sections from its Chrome browser's end user license agreement. According to the report, the new agreement has removed Chrome's age restriction policy and its requirement for personal information. It also no longer bans automated access. Google has yet to comment on the changes.

Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts atThe Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.

Exactly What Is Google Adsense And How Are People Earning Money With It? Exactly What Is Google Adsense And How Are People Earning Money With It?

Most of the Internet marketing community is at least somewhat familiar with earning money through Google Adsense at this point. It is worth spending some time mastering Google Adsense for earning money, as Adsense can be financially lucrative.

Small contextual ads published on web sites with the consent of the web site owner is Google Adsense. The ads are created by publishers that are selling products and/or creating brand awareness. The ads that are created are called Adwords which is a Google sponsored program.

Google Adwords and Adsense run hand in hand. After doing a search on Google or one of their partner networks, if the user clicks on an ad then the person who created that ad pays Google a certain amount. This is described as "pay per click".

When Google receives money from the creator or publisher of the ad, they have to split the amount with the person who owns oil gas exploration the web site that the Adwords ads appear and that is the beauty of Adsense. It is a well guarded secret what the percentage of the split is, and it does vary, but for our purposes let's say it's 50%.

If the ad creator is fine to pay .40 per click for his Adwords ad, then the website host who has joined the Adsense scheme can expect to receive .20 when the ad is clicked. The 50% that is left will be kept by Google. So basically it is a partnership of sorts between Google and web site owners.

Adsense is shown in the most appropriate manner possible. What does this indicate? Well, let me give an example that probably illustrates it best. Let's say a website owned by Mary women's clothing. Google Adsense once Mary decides to monetize her web site can help her to show ads on her web site that would be related to clothing or to be more specific, women's clothing. In her web site if shoes are dedicated to a particular page, then on that page there would be Adsense ads appearing for women's shoes.

So the price per click is determined by what? This is where the Adwords side of the equation kicks in. Publishers who create Adwords bid on keywords. publisher will be willing to pay more for each click if the keyword is more lucrative or sought after. Keywords can be as high as $50 and above per click or as low as a few cents per click.

By putting Google Adsense on their web site, it wouldn't be a wonder to see them making some nice money if the web site they own generates some decent traffic. Web sites with specific content are created by most Internet marketers with the sole purpose of attracting high paying Adsense ads. 

Google Expands AdSense For Domains - Enough Already

The Google AdSense Blog announced they have begun rolling out the AdSense for Domain product to US based publishers and will continue to roll this feature out to all publishers in the future. AdSense for Domains allows publishers to place ads on domains that have not yet been developed yet, also known as parked domains. Google said they would show “ads, links, and search results on the pages, and may add other useful information in the future,” on these pages.

You have to understand that AdSense for Domains, formerly known as Domain Park, is a product that has always been extremely controversial in the ad space market. Since 2005 and likely before then, Danny Sullivan has called for major reform of the product, because it delivered poor quality traffic sparked huge controversy. Not only that, we have reportedlawsuit after lawsuit over the product and even with the reformed opt out feature, it still has resulted in more lawsuits.

So why did Google promise to make this available to all publishers? I think because they are getting worried about the economy and want to earn a buck anywhere and everywhere they can. Let’s look at the recent history, all in Q4 of 2008.

• December 8, 2008, Google now allows hard liqueur search ads in some cases, a policy they were against since AdWords launched.
• Before that, on October 31st, Google loosened their policies to allow beer search ads.
• On December 1st, we noticed Google showing text ads on image search
• Before that, Google on October 3rd, for the first time, placed display ads on Google Image search.
• In mid-November started placing ads (for the first time) on Google Finance and Google News.
• YouYube got ads in November as well
• Google Maps ads started appearing in early October.
• Google also started to allow gambling ads in the UK sometime in October.
• Google is also giving us more tools so we can spend more with them, including theSearch-based keyword tool launched in November.

Again, these are only the changes we have seen to AdWords in the fourth quarter, or in the past two months and 11 days. I did not include the November quality score change that gave ads an easier time reaching the top spot above the organic results, which would likely drive more clicks on the ad and thus earn Google more money.

Do you see a pattern here?

Simplify Creative Commons, Don't tweak it

As part of a study of how people understand the term "noncommercial use," Creative Commons CEO Joi Ito is conducting a poll linked to from his blog.

It's certainly a problematic restriction, as things stand. Unfortunately, Creative Commons appears to be going down the path of merely defining it more crisply when, in my view, the better approach would be simply to eliminate it entirely.

First, a little background. Creative Commons licenses are a sort of counterpart to open-source software licenses that is intended to apply to things like books, videos, photographs, and so forth. There are a variety of Creative Commons licenses worldwide (e.g. these are the choices offered on Flickr), but for our purposes here, one important distinction is between the licenses that allow commercial use and those that do not.

A noncommercial license means: "You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your work--and derivative works based upon it--but for noncommercial purposes only."

The problem Creative Commons is trying to solve is that noncommercial turns out not to be easily defined. I've discussed this issue in more detail previously, but essentially, we operate in a world where opportunities to "microcommercialize" through Google AdSense and self-published books abound. So drawing a line--especially one that the content creator and the content user can agree on without too much thought--is hard.

See this comment from an earlier post, for example. ("Commercial" is a particularly confusing term, with respect to photography, where it refers to uses that aren't primarily editorial or artistic, and involves requirements for model releases and the like--which is only incidentally related to commercial use, as Creative Commons uses the term.)

It's not hard to see how we came to have such a noncommercial-use clause. There's a certain visceral appeal to saying, "I'll share my creative works with the world, and anyone can use them for free, so long as they credit me and don't make money off them. If they do make money, I want my cut or have the right to prohibit use."

As I say, appealing. Also not very workable or useful. A lot of truly personal and noncommercial uses are already either likely covered under Fair Use or are trivial. (Does it really matter which license the photo you downloaded to use as desktop wallpaper for your computer uses?) And prudent companies will ensure that all rights are in order by contacting the content owner directly, no matter what the license says.

I find it notable that no major open-source software license contains restrictions about who may use the software. Different licenses have more or fewer requirements about the circumstances under which you must contribute code enhancements back to the community or on actions you can't take (for example, related to patents) if you wish to retain your license. But they don't differentiate between whether you're a Fortune 500 corporation, a school, or just an individual playing around for fun.

If open-source licenses did routinely have clauses governing who could and couldn't use software, I think that it's fair to say that open-source would have had a much smaller impact on the world than it has.

As I've argued previously, by contrast, Creative Commons licensing offers up a complicated set of options that seem calculated to encourage people to contribute works to the commons while not pushing their envelope to allow any uses that they might consider "unfair" in some way. The result is a system that is far too complicated and that doesn't offer any real benefit beyond a simple license that requires 1.) attribution and 2.) downstream derivatives to maintain the same license.

Complexity, ambiguity, and lack of awareness are the issues with Creative Commons. Tweaking the signage associated with the overly complicated smorgasbord of options doesn't address any of those things.

Gordon Haff is a Principal IT Advisor with Illuminata, Inc. and has over 20 years of IT industry experience. He blogs about what's happening with enterprise servers and datacenters, "Yotta-scale" computing, and related software and device trends as part of the CNET Blog Network.Disclosure.

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