Playing with AdSense

A year and a half ago, when I first became comfortable with html, I created a Google AdSense account, and subsequently placed one advertisement box at the top of this page. Needless to say, that wasn't the most visually pleasant of locations, and I got to work at fixing it asap. As Soon As Possible just happened to be today; however, remembering a password is a little difficult over that length of time, and remembering how to configure AdSense is no easier.

I've been using the same password for all this time, so I was able to reset my password without difficulty and soon had access to my account. After a few failed attempts, I was able to place a new Google ad on the main page of this blog. That particular ad should be in the side bar, to the left of this post, but hasn't yet appeared. Google contests that it should start up within twenty-four hours, so I'm not too worried.

With the placement of a new ad, I felt comfortable enough to try repositioning the existing ad. First, I copied all of the ad's code, and pasted it at the bottom of the same section, with the hope it would now appear below the main post. Upon clicking the "Preview" button I realized that not everything went exactly as planned: the ad appeared not only at the top and bottom of the main post, but also underneath every other post (which, then, was only one). That was actually a preferable arrangement to me, so I preceded to remove the original ad and just leave those under each post.

With my declared goals accomplished, I investigated a feature of AdSense that I had overlooked before. The type of ad I was previously placing was classified as "AdSense for content." Just below that were listed "AdSense for search" and "Referrals." I used "AdSense for search" some about a year and a half ago, in my (first) html class. I blew the teacher away in that assignment. Can you imaging going from zero to surpassing your teacher in three weeks? That was an interesting experience, helped by the fact that the teacher wasn't very knowledgeable in the subject.

If I can navigate back to the proper subject, the third option, "Referrals," was one I hadn't remembered. Curious, I clicked the link and quickly discovered that a "Referral" was nothing other than those "Download FireFox with Google Toolbar" buttons I've seen all over the web.
One of those links now appears next to the "I Power Blogger" link in the left sidebar.

Now, to quote Google:

In order to ensure a good experience for users and advertisers, publishers may not request that users click the ads on their sites or rely on deceptive implementation methods to obtain clicks.

As such, I have not encouraged you to click on any of the advertisements on this page. I have merely publicly stated their existence and placement. Also, if anyone has comment, concernes, or suggestions about anything on this blog site, please tell me. Thanks.