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.

Follow Google's Advice for Better AdSense Performance

By Chris Crum 

AdSense Optimization Tips

Google has been providing tips for optimizing AdSense ads to enhance their performance. The company has provided a three-part video series on this subject, which it has just released the final installment for.

The key items to note in this final video is that when positioning your AdSense ads for performance:

- Ad units placed at the bottom of the page don’t perform as well.

- Place Your Ads Where Users Will See Them

- Ad Units Perform better when they are placed above the fold

"So remember, position your ads above the fold and where users are more likely to see them," says Google.

Going a bit further, Google has put together a "heat map" to further emphasize good AdSense placement:

Looking back at the other installments of the series, part one talks about the size of AdSense ads. Google suggests using the following sizes:

- 300x250 medium rectangle
- 728x90 leaderboard
- 160x600 skyscraper

For more on AdSense optimization through size, view the following video:

Part two of the series looked at the color aspect (coverage here). Along with the video (below), they offered these tips:

- Use colors that either blend with or complement your site's colors. Make the ads a part of your site.

- Use lighter colors for borders, or no border at all.

- Try rotating colors or occasionally switching the location of your ads on the page.

- Save sets of frequently-used colors as a palette.

This video series has provided an educational look at getting better performance from AdSense ads, right from the horse's mouth. Google stands to gain from your ads working, so advice they give is likely to be in the best interest of all parties involved. If you have any other tips for AdSense performance that Google did no