This week Google is going to announce a number of new initiatives: AdSense For SEO, the “paid” extension to “nofollow”, and the Goggle adult web search program. Watch for official announcements on Inside AdSense and Matt Cutts’ blog, but here are some early details about the initiatives.
AdSense For SEO
AdSense For SEO is a new AdSense program that existing AdSense publishers can opt into. It’s a paid links program designed specifically for search engine optimization purposes. Unlike normal AdSense text ads, ads shown in the AdSense for SEO program will be normal links (marked with the new “paid” attribute — see below) embedded directly into the web page. The standard AdSense <iframe> is skipped entirely, making it possible for AdSense For SEO links to pass PageRank to the linked sites.
Instead of getting paid per click, AdSense publishers who participate in AdSense For SEO will get paid on a per-impression basis, similar to the way they’re paid for image ads in the AdSense For Content program. Payouts will vary but will be based in part on the page’s PageRank. AdWords advertisers will have the option of targeting specific sites or targeting sites by PageRank and/or topic. They will of course continue to bid against each other in order to be shown on the desired sites.
“Paid” and “Adult” NoFollow Variants
In conjunction with AdSense For SEO, Google will be announcing an extension of the “nofollow” system used by all the major search engines. To recap, a “nofollow” link is a link that isn’t as trustworthy as normal (“follow”) links. You create it like this:
<a rel="nofollow" href="http://konsiz.com">click here</a>
It’s a way of linking to an external site without “voting” for the site — search engines treat those links more cautiously. (Some people refer to “nofollow” as a link condom, but that analogy is imperfect. “Nofollow” is really more like the cowbells that lepers had to wear in the old days: a warning that something is amiss, not protection against it.)
Previously, Google required sites to use “nofollow” to mark paid links. Now, however, paid links will be marked with the new “paid” attribute:
<a rel="paid" href="http://pet-fence.ericgiguere.com">Invisible Fence</a>
You can combine “nofollow” and “paid” to denote paid links to dubious sites. Which brings us to the last initiative.
Goggle Adult Search Network
With advertising revenues down, Google is finally turning its eye to the adult content arena. Since the Google search network already contains a lot of adult material, they’ve decided to create a custom search engine dedicated to adult content. That search engine will be available through the Goggle.com domain. AdWords advertisers will be able to bid on search ad placement in Goggle results separately from those in the regular search results.
As well, Google is expanding “nofollow” to include a new “adult” attribute. This attribute will denote links to adult material, which will make it easier for Google to decide what sites to include in the Goggle searches. Adult webmasters are encouraged to mark their adult links in this way as soon as possible. The “adult” attribute can be combined with “paid” and “nofollow” as appropriate, or it can be used on its own.
I’ll post more details on all these initiatives later.
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Eric Giguere is the author of several printed books and knows a thing or two about content monetization. Subscribe to his AdSense blog today and never miss any of his insightful comments. And the not-so-insightful ones, for that matter.
Pity giggle.com is already taken – they could have set up a joke search network too!