Does The Ad Size Matter? Looks Like Wider The Better

I was browsing through Adsense Help pages and noticed a page devoted to ad sizes. There I learned some thing that I did not think of before, Ad orientation. According the AdSense, wider ad sizes tend to outperform their taller counterparts, simply because of their eye-friendly or reader-friendly format. When we read or glance at some thing, we absorb information in "thought units," several words at a time in the case which contains text. So wide ads let us comfortably read more text at a glance without having to bounce between lines like in a vertical ad or a narrower ad.

With their knowledge in ad space, AdSense team has this suggestion;

If positioned well, wide ad sizes can increase your earnings significantly. The sizes we've found to be the most effective are the 336x280 Large Rectangle, the 300x250 Medium Rectangle, and the 160x600 Wide Skyscraper. Keep in mind that while these ad sizes typically perform well, you should use the size that best complements your pages.

Following video explain the fact;
So why don't you try with your website. If you are not a AdSense member, you can signup at Google Publisher solutions.

AdSense Academy Teaches And Tests Your Adsense And WebSense Knowledge!

You must know what AdSense is if you are reading this but even if you are not, you will learn a lot through the links provided below.
If you are brand new to AdSense or have been using it to monetize your site for years, you will find some great pointers and learning tools.
At AdSense Academy, you can follow the checklist provided and will guide you through the steps to set up and run a successful AdSense account. As you progress through the steps in the each of the six sections, you'll graduate to a higher milestone. When you reach the last milestone, depicted by a rocket, you will certainly be an AdSense Astronaut, ready to take the quiz to test your knowledge.
Test your knowledge with the AdSense Academy - Inside AdSense

Federated Media Acquires Lijit Networks.

Lijit, the advertising revenue generator for online publishers has been acquired by media advertising power house Federated Media. According to Lijit they were not in need for a sale but selected FM in order to go big;
So in May, when we were first approached by Federated Media, it was a case of mixed emotion. Lijit wasn’t for sale, we were fully funded and coming off our 6th straight month of 50% month-over-month revenue growth. Profitability was within sight and occurring on and off on a daily basis. In short, we were having FUN, AND A LOT OF IT. But, at the same time, if there was bigger play to make – an industry changing and industry leading play to make – it was with FM. It all made complete sense from that first instant of thought.
Lijit will stay where they are, Boulder Colorado and work with FM Management team to make it big!
Here is the press release by FM;

Federated Media Publishing To Acquire Lijit Networks

Combined Entity Will Power More than 77,000 Independent Publishers Across the Web Via Comprehensive Advertising, Analytics and Reader Engagement Tools

SAN FRANCISCO, October 4, 2011 – Federated Media Publishing, which powers the best of the Independent Web, today announced the acquisition of Lijit Networks, Inc. Lijit is a leading provider of advertising services, audience analytics and reader engagement tools for online publishers of all sizes. The combined entity will reach nearly 300 million global unique visitors according to Quantcast.

Lijit, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado will continue to operate independently but in conjunction with the rest of Federated Media Publishing. Lijit CEO Todd Vernon and COO Walter Knapp will take on corresponding EVP of Technology and SVP of Platform Revenue responsibilities at Federated Media Publishing and will report directly to Federated Media Publishing’s CEO, Deanna Brown. Additionally, Lijit board member Seth Levine from Foundry Group will join the Federated Media Publishing board of directors, effective immediately.

With the addition of Lijit Networks’ existing publisher relationships, Federated Media Publishing will now reach more than 77,000 online publishers and nearly 15,000 expert communities, making it one of the largest companies to power publishing on the Independent Web. The acquisition vastly expands the combined company’s inventory of sites, offering premium advertisers improved scale and reach.

Publishers Will Profit and Flourish

Lijit helps publishers more thoughtfully interact with and better understand their audience by providing analytics and engagement tools that build deeper relationships, lengthen time on site and increase page views. These robust and actionable audience analytics and reader engagement tools leverage intent, behavior and demographics to help publishers of all sizes increase revenue and better engage their readers.

Additionally, the combined advertising services provided by FM and Lijit will give publishers of all sizes a revenue stream that complements existing sales efforts and helps grow and monetize their website businesses, no matter what the size.

Advertisers Can More Easily Analyze and Engage

The combination of Federated Media Publishing’s premium online advertising and conversational marketing programs and Lijit’s proprietary data collection tools will empower advertisers to better understand user intent, contextual relevance and demographic information. And by leveraging the combined entity’s extensive publisher relationships, advertisers will have unprecedented scale on the Independent Web.

Introducing Programmatic Buying to the Independent Web

Programmatic buying is one of the fastest growing trends in digital media and the introduction of Lijit’s robust RTB exchange will equip media buyers with one of the largest platforms available. Over the next few months, Federated Media Publishing and Lijit will develop a series of private exchanges that will highlight leading independent publishers. These exchanges will allow brands to engage active, passionate consumers found in highly conversational online communities and publications, while delivering premium CPM rates via FM’s conversational marketing programs.

Quotes

“The Lijit Networks team is just as passionate and committed to powering publishers as we are at Federated Media Publishing and that was a crucial element to this decision,” said Deanna Brown, chief executive officer, Federated Media Publishing. “Our combined relationships, proprietary tools and conversational marketing services will be invaluable to publishers and advertisers alike.”

“Federated Media invented how to leverage authentic voices and engaged conversations that exist in the Independent Web,” said Todd Vernon, founder and CEO of Lijit Networks. “The combination of the two companies is a game changer in the industry that unlocks new opportunities for both companies through our combined publisher network.”

About Federated Media Publishing

Federated Media Publishing powers the best of the Independent Web. We believe that the majority of meaningful engagements across digital media occur via high-quality independent sites and services. These sites leverage top digital talent to attract influential audiences who together create meaningful dialogue. Brands benefit from improved loyalty and increased sales when they become part of this authentic experience. Learn more at www.federatedmedia.net

About Lijit Networks Inc.

Lijit Networks, Inc. was incorporated in June 2006 and is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. By providing innovative advertising services, audience analytics, and reader engagement tools to over 70,000 online publishers, commercial websites and content networks, Lijit helps publishers grow their website, build their business and make more money. Lijit connects publishers with premium online advertising campaigns that are highly targeted and contextually relevant to the publisher’s audience. Learn more at www.lijit.com

Federated Media Publishing on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/Federated

Federated Media Publishing on Twitter - http://twitter.com/Federated_Media

Lijit Networks on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Lijit

Lijit Networks on Twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/lijit

Contact

Clint Bagley

415-699-8280

cbagley@federatedmedia.net

Google Affiliate Network: Google Affiliate Network Fall Exclusive Opportunities Now Available

Fall is around the corner, very close, and with it brings the holiday shopping season.

Google Affiliate Network is too ready with over 40 specific opportunities for you, Google Affiliates Network publisher, to focus on. If you are a publisher and have not yet signed up with GAN, Google Affiliates Network, you can signup via the link below.

Just to remind you the above special opportunities will be available during one weekend, September 23=September 26, only so better act fast.

In order to reach these opportunities;

To promote any of these exclusive opportunities, you need to be an approved publisher in the Google Affiliate Network.
Apply for Google Affiliate Network with your AdSense Publisher ID (or sign in if you're already a Google Affiliate Network publisher).
Once approved, review the opportunities available and click the "Apply Now" link for everyone that you wish to promote.

There is also a getting started guide to get you started with first steps or more if necessary.

Follow the links below for more information;

Google Affiliate Network Signup

Google Affiliate Network: Google Affiliate Network Fall Exclusive Opportunities Now Available

PageMaps In Your Custom Search, Now Add Them Directly!

One of the reasons people like the pagemaps in their custom Search was the ability to create Richer Snippets. A new move by Google makes it much easier for users as they do not have to modify pages to expose Pagemaps, or wait for Google to crawl the site once you created them. As of today Google is allowing direct submission of Pagemaps via either Sitemaps or On-Demand Indexing requests.

From Google Custom Search Blog;

This saves time when you want to make a quick change to your metadata. If you have data you would like to be displayed on your site, such as reviews snippets, you can submit it directly to Google instead of putting it in publicly visible markup on your pages. For added security, you can even choose to add a private key to your Pagemap and we will only serve it in Custom Search results when that key is provided.

We hope you enjoy the added convenience these new submission options offer. Let us know what you think in our discussion forum.

Enjoy the Pagemaps and richer snippets

ZAGAT @ Google Might Taste Good Enough To Write A Haiku!

I heard the news on this mornings TV but when I saw a tweet by Google's Marissa Mayer that prompted me to write this.
We all have seen ZAGAT ratings at restaurants and foodies might have even hand out some cash to get the book.
Me and my partner are pretty adventurous when it come to food and we visit places from hole in the walls to five star gourmet restaurants. We are also avid travelers. Knowing the our city, county, state, country and the world is a thirst that never cease.
When it come to hole in the wall and everything in between those five star restaurants, we usually look at Yelp to get an idea and prepare our selves. We use comments to educate ourselves rather than to chose a place.
But now, will we see a change? I guess so, ZAGAT@Google might help us to learn about restaurants in our localities and beyond. We may look there to find where to eat, drink, stay, shop and play.
Official Google Blog: Google just got ZAGAT Rated!

Google Tells You How To Go About Getting A Job, Write The Best Resume!.

It is hard to bring bread to the table for many people these days and writing proper resume's are the last things in people's mind even though it should reside in frontal lobes some where.
One Google's recruiting expert, Jeff Moore tells us how to go about it. Even though the post mentioned below targets college graduates (The post is on Google Students Blog!) aspiring to become Googlers, we all can take some advise to take away from these Recruiter Tips and Tricks;

Show off your strengths – Makes sense, right? You want your resume to show off what makes you special and give recruiters a reason to interview you. The big things on your resume should make employers say, “wow!” It doesn’t really matter if it’s your education, internships or special awards, just make sure to show off your skills/experience and try to impress because (cliché alert!) you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

The devil is in the details – A detailed resume is a good resume. The more info you share, the more a recruiter or hiring manager can look at your accomplishments and determine if you are a good fit for their team. For example, which one of these candidates would you want to talk to?

Candidate A – Wrote several applications to improve efficiency within the finance group.

Candidate B – Used Java and PHP to write financial accounting application that saved the company over 25 hours a week of productivity resulting in over $100K in savings.

Remember, your resume is your message to the hiring team—tell them as much as you can so they can make the most informed decision.

Keep it short – Huh? Didn’t he just say, “tell them as much as you can”? I did, but that doesn’t mean you should write a 15 page resume. What you want is a clear, concise resume that accurately describes your accomplishments. Assuming you are a new college grad, you probably want to stick to one page. However, if you have significant accomplishments (publications, open source contributions, startups, awards, etc.) it is acceptable to go on to a second page. Lots of career services folks will tell you “one page only.” I don’t subscribe to that, as long as the content of your resume is relevant.

Spelling and grammar – I don’t even need to mention this...you get it right? We have spell check for a reason. You'd be shocked at how many resumes I see with spelling errors. Grammar and spelling mistake look sloppy. Don't be careless, and don't depend on spell check. Proof read your resume and have others proof it as well.

Know your target – Make sure your resume is targeted to the right audience. I’d recommend you add an “Objective” at the top of your resume (below your name!) that clearly states what your want to accomplish. Think of the objective as your “elevator pitch”, a concise statement to convince the hiring manager or recruiter that you are worth an initial conversation. Your objective and the meat of your resume should portray someone who is a fit for the job and company. For example, if you want a job at a specific company write an objective like this:

Objective – To obtain a fast-paced and exciting role within the Google Staffing team.

As opposed to this….

Objective – To get a job at Google.

Recruiter Tips & Tricks: preparing your resume