More control with “mute this ad” [x] icon

We’re investing in many ways to give users control over the ads they see. On YouTube, our TrueView ad product enables users to skip video ads. On Google search, you can click “Why this Ad?” and stop sites you’re not interested in from showing you ads. Our Ads Preferences Manager, available with one click on the AdChoices icon on ads on the Google Display Network, enables you as a consumer to edit your interest categories, or opt out of all interest-based ads including remarketing ads on our Display Network.

Over the next few weeks, we’re introducing a small [x] which will appear in the corner of some display ads on the Google Display Network. When a user clicks the [x], he or she will no longer see ads from that campaign. We’re starting by showing the [x] in ads that are based on remarketing and interest categories.

Users who click the [x] on an ad will be shown a confirmation page explaining that the advertisement has been muted, along with a link to the Ad Preferences Manager. The feedback this provides will also help improve our ads over time.

The muting is not a 100% guarantee you won’t see that ad again as a consumer -- for example, the same ad could be shown by a different ad company, or the marketer could run a separate campaign targeting specific web content.  But we believe it’s an early step in the right direction of giving users control over ads, while helping marketers and websites deliver ads that perform better.

We believe this early-look feature can bring benefits to the entire ecosystem: users have a way to control their experience and signal that they aren’t interested in certain ads; advertisers are no longer paying to show ads to people who aren’t interested; and publishers will receive better performing (and potentially more valuable) ads, and spend less time filtering out ads they think won’t be of interest to their audience.

Online advertising underpins the web and supports millions of businesses. It’s already unique in the level of control it can offer users. We’re at the early stages of these innovations, with much more to come in months and years ahead.

Posted by -- Michael Aiello, Product Manager

Google Affiliate Network exclusive promotions are back

Earn more from your website this summer! Over 50 promotions from U.S. advertisers will be available exclusively to Google Affiliate Network publishers from June 22nd to June 25th. When you post an exclusive promotion on your site, you’ll earn a performance fee when your users click through and make a purchase.

Follow these steps to get started:

1. Apply for Google Affiliate Network with your AdSense publisher ID (or sign in if you're already a Google Affiliate Network publisher).
2. Once approved, review the promotions available and click the "Apply Now" link for each one that you wish to promote. These promotions will also be available in your Google Affiliate Network account from June 22nd to June 25th. You can find them in the Home tab or by searching for “June Exclusive” in the Links tab.

When can I post these promotions on my site?
All promotions will be available by 12 am Central Time on June 22nd, and all will expire at 11:59 am Central Time on June 25th. Note that you may not post any of these exclusive promotions until June 22nd.

For additional questions, check out the Help Center or contact us.

Posted by Erica Sievert, Google Affiliate Network team

Introducing the Google+ Share button

(Cross posted to the Google+ Developers Blog)

When your visitors come across something interesting on your site, sometimes you want to encourage a simple endorsement (like +1). Other times, however, you want to help visitors share with their friends, right away. Today’s new Google+ Share button lets you do just that.

In line with the design of the new +1 button, here’s how it looks:

Before visitors share:

When clicked, visitors can add a comment and choose who to share with:

After they’ve shared, the button turns red. They can click to share again.

The new Google+ Share button is available to all publishers, globally. Try adding it to your site now - just visit Google Developers to get the code.

Follow the conversation on Google+.

Posted by Rick Borovoy, Product Manager, Google+

How Mashable is growing with Google+

Mashable is an independent news site devoted to digital culture and technology and was one of the first publishers to join Google+. Since joining, Mashable has been building their audience on the platform, growing Google+ into one of their top 10 sources of referral traffic. We chatted with Mashable’s Community Manager, Meghan Peters, about their first few months on Google+ and what’s made them so successful.


Mashable has used their Google+ page to expand their audience and deliver content in new ways. As Meghan says, “A lot of news organizations I think fall under the trap of just seeing social networks as broadcast platforms for their content... With Google+, I think that we have a lot of opportunity to take advantage of the cool features that the platform has, and really do more engaging projects rather than just posting our stories.”

For example, Mashable has been using Hangouts, a live multi-person video chat tool, to meet their audience face to face, creating deeper interactions. “I haven’t seen anything else like Hangouts in terms of crossing that barrier of really making a connection,” Meghan says. “I feel like it’s the deepest connection you could get.”

Hangouts has also connected Mashable employees with each other. With their headquarters in New York City and editors scattered across the U.S. and Europe, Mashable now uses Hangouts as a virtual meeting tool. The screenshare feature even helps Meghan train remote staffers who can follow along with her presentations.

Mashable has learned by doing, and that all started by creating a Google+ page. “We tried a lot of things early on, and were able to catch on quickly to what was working and what wasn’t, and have been able to shift our strategy pretty well from there,” Meghan says. Some of what she’s learned is below:

• Be active Meghan credits Mashable’s success in part to its strong and persistent presence on Google+. “We’re pretty hands-on. We have someone in there posting and moderating every day... which I think has been really important for us to maintain a presence there.”
• Add Google+ plugins When Mashable added the Google+ badge to their homepage, they increased their Google+ page audience by 38 percent. Mashable also uses the +1 button on articles and across the site to empower sharing to Google+.
• Co-create Another key to keeping Mashable’s fans engaged is its innovative approach to audience interaction and brand co-creation. A contest run via Mashable’s site to design their Google+ page sparked a wave of enthusiasm. As Meghan recalls, “We got really good feedback once we posted [the winning design]. A lot of people thought it was really cool – not only that the design was good-looking – but also that we did a contest like that and let people have the opportunity to participate.”

We think people can learn a lot from how Mashable has built a strong audience on Google+ through its use of in-depth posts, interactive Hangouts, and creative promotions, including the Google+ badge and +1 button. As Meghan notes, “Our community was very excited about this network, and we told them, let’s connect and let’s figure out...how we can both, you as a user and us as a brand, get the most out of it.”

Follow Mashable on Google+ and download the full case study here.

Posted by Rico Farmer, Product Marketing Manager

Learn about other Google products with our new Help Desk Hangouts on Air series

You’re looking to grow your business, and we offer a ton of tools to help you do just that. But sometimes, you might need a little help learning all the options and getting started. That’s why this week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’ve launched a new series of Help Desk Hangouts On Air to put you in touch with teams who can help you get the most out of our products and features.

To kick things off, we asked +Justin Cutroni of the Google Analytics team (and author of the blog Analytics Talk) to show us how business owners like you can use Analytics to track your website performance and see how users are getting to your site (email, social media, referrals). If you missed it, you can watch the full hour-long Hangout on the Google Business YouTube channel:



Here are a few of the questions Justin addressed in the Hangout:

Is there a threat in respect to data privacy?
We take privacy very seriously at Google. The only person who has access to your Google Analytics data is you. You can also grant other people access to your Analytics data, but that’s up to you.

Is there a plan to update the administration part of GA? We need more levels: creator, administrator, manager, reader.
Excellent feature request, and it relates to the question above. We get this question often and know that the current model is limiting. We are working hard to figure out the best user model for Analytics.

Is there a good WordPress plug-in for adding GA code to a blog?
Plug-ins! Justin’s favorite, we learned yesterday in the Hangout. There are some great ones out there, especially for WordPress. Check out Google Analytics for WordPress.

Can you tell us more about the benefits of using Analytics for tracking mobile apps?
Great question. You can absolutely track apps with Google Analytics. We have two SDKs, one for Android and one for iOS, that make it easy to  track how people use an app. If you’re going to use GA to track apps you should also understand Event Tracking and Custom Variables. These two features are very useful when tracking apps.

Justin shows us a feature that tells you how often you show up in Google’s organic search results and the number of clickthroughs that you get.

To learn more about how to get started with Google Analytics, visit our Help Center. And remember to tune in to the live stream of our next Hangout at 11 a.m. PDT Wednesday, as we discuss how to use Hangouts (something a bunch of you have asked us to talk about!). We’ll be collecting your Hangout questions today on the Google+ Your Business page.

Posted by Vanessa Schneider, Google Places community manager

Increase your earnings with Google Affiliate Network exclusive promotions

If you aren’t already a Google Affiliate Network publisher, now is a good time to join and earn additional revenue from your website. Over 40 promotions will be available exclusively to Google Affiliate Network publishers from Friday, March 23 through Monday, March 26. As a publisher, you’ll earn a performance fee from orders that originate from your links. You can view all exclusive promotions on this blog post.

How do I post these promotions on my site?
To access any of these exclusive promotions, you need to be an approved publisher in Google Affiliate Network.

1. Apply for Google Affiliate Network with your AdSense Publisher ID (or sign in if you're already a Google Affiliate Network publisher).
2. Once approved, review the promotions available and click the "Apply Now" link for each one that you wish to promote.
3. Tracking links will be available in your Google Affiliate Network account by viewing the Home tab on March 19th. You can also search for “March Exclusive” links in the Links tab on March 23rd.

Need help applying or want more information? Review the Publisher Beginner’s guide today.

When can I post these promotions on my site?
All promotions will be available starting midnight Central Time on March 23rd, and all will expire at midnight Central Time on March 26th. Please remember that you may not post any of these exclusive promotions until March 23rd.

For additional questions, check out the Help Center or contact us.

Posted by Jamie Ross, Google Affiliate Network Strategist

Is your site ready for your mobile users?

Last December, we posted about the massive shift to mobile we’ve seen in your users over the past two years.  Still, 4 out of 5 online publishers don’t have a mobile-optimized website, and they risk losing their fastest-growing audience.  Today, we’re launching a new suite of tools at howtogomo.com to help publishers build mobile-friendly websites.

To help demonstrate the potential of creating a mobile-friendly site, we’d like to share the story of AdSense publisher Baby Gaga.  Two weeks after launching their mobile-friendly website they saw a 64% increase in mobile visits. This leading destination for educational materials and social support for pregnant women also saw an 82% increase in mobile page views and a 50% increase in revenue from mobile (full case study).

Today Baby Gaga’s mobile users don’t need to squint and they view more pages per visit.

Visit howtogomo.com today to:

1. See how you rate.  Use the GoMoMeter to analyze your site’s mobile user experience.
2. Start planning.  Download the GoMo Publisher Guide for mobile best practices.
3. Find a partner.  Learn about vendors who can help with implementation.

As mobile continues to take off, we believe it's important for publishers to develop a strong mobile strategy now and make the most of this new opportunity. Baby Gaga’s decision to go mobile allowed them to improve the user experience for their mobile visitors and also make more money.  We want to help you do the same.  In the coming weeks, we’ll be releasing additional materials to assist you in this process, so stay tuned to Inside AdSense for further announcements!

Posted by Chris LaSala, Director, Strategic Partner Development, Mobile

More options for Google+ badges

(Originally posted on the Google+ Platform Blog, cross posted on the Webmaster Central Blog)

UPDATE (2/2/12): The new Google+ badge is now out of preview and available to all users on all sites.

When we launched Google+ pages in November, we also released Google+ badges to promote your Google+ presence right on your site. Starting today in developer preview (and soon available to all your users), we're adding more options for integrating the Google+ badge into your website. You can configure a badge with a width that fits your site design and choose a version that works better on darker sites. You'll also see that Google+ badges now include the unified +1 and circle count that we added to Pages last month.

If you’re still considering whether to add a Google+ badge on your website, consider this: We recently looked at top sites using the badge and found that, on average, the badge accounted for an additional 38% of Google+ followers. When you add the badge visitors to your website can discover your Google+ page and connect in a variety of ways: they can follow your Google+ page, +1 your site, share your site with their circles, see which of their friends have +1’d your site, and click through to visit your Google+ page. These activities can help you expand your audience by enabling your users to share and recommend your content.

The Google+ badge makes it easy for your fans to find and follow you on Google+. With these additional options, we hope it's even easier to create a badge that fits your website.

Follow the conversation on Google+.

Posted by Lucy Hadden, Software Engineer, Google+

Grow your audience with Google+

At Google, we help grow your audience by connecting you with new users. We introduced the +1 button so your site would stand out on search and your users could easily share your content on Google+. But, sometimes you want to join the conversation and post content directly to where people are sharing.

Today we’re introducing Google+ for Business, a collection of tools and products that help you grow your audience. At the core of this is Google+ Pages, your site’s identity on Google+.

Google+ Pages: Have real conversations with the right people
To get your site on Google+, you first need to create a Google+ Page. On your page, you can engage in conversations with your visitors, direct readers back to your site for the latest updates, send tailored messages to specific groups of people, and see how many +1’s you have across the web. Google+ Pages will help you build relationships with your users, encouraging them to spend more time engaging with your content.

Google+ Pages are at the heart of Google+ for Business

Hangouts

Sometimes you might want to chat with your users face-to-face.  For example, if you run a food blog, you may want to invite a chef to talk about her favorite recipe, or if you manage a fashion review site, beauty specialists might want to hold how-to sessions with makeup tips. Hangouts make this easy, by letting you have high-quality video chats with nine people with a single click. You can use Hangouts to hold live forums, break news or simply get to know people better, all in real time.

Hangouts let you meet your customers, face-to-face

Circles

Circles allow you to group followers of your Page into smaller audiences. You can then share specific messages with specific groups. For example, you could create a Circle containing your most loyal readers and offer them exclusive content.


The Google+ badge: Grow your audience on Google+

To help your users find your page and start sharing, there are two buttons you can add to your site by visiting our Google+ badge configuration tool:

The Google+ icon, a small icon that directly links to your Page.

The Google+ badge, which we’re introducing in the coming days. This badge lets people add your page to their circles without leaving your site, and allows them to get updates from your site via Google+.

 

Extend the power of +1, stand out in Google search
You can also link your site to your Google+ page so that all your +1s -- from your Page, your website, and search results -- will get tallied together and appear as a single total. Potential visitors will be more likely to see the recommendations your site has received, whether they’re looking at a search result, your website, or your Page, meaning your +1’s will reach not only the 40 million users of Google+, but all the people who come to Google every day. You can link your site to your Page either using the Google+ badge or with a  piece of code. To set this up, visit our Google+ badge configuration tool.

Bringing Google+ to the rest of Google

Our ultimate vision for Google+ is to transform the overall Google experience -- weaving identity and sharing into all of our products. Beginning today, we’re rolling out a new experimental feature to a small group of eligible publishers, Google+ Direct Connect -- an easy way for your audience to find your Google+ Page on Google search.  If you’ve linked your Page to your site and you qualify, when someone searches for your website’s name with the ‘+’ sign before it Direct Connect will send them directly to your Page. For example, try searching for ‘+YouTube’ on Google. Users will also be prompted to automatically add Pages they find through Direct Connect to their circles. 

Direct Connect suggestions start populating as you type on Google.com

Just the beginning
We want to help you get your site on Google+ as soon as possible, so we’re opening the field trial for Google+ Pages to everyone today. Creating a Google+ Page only takes a few minutes. To get started, you’ll need a personal Google+ profile. If you don’t have a Google account, it’s very quick and easy to join. And if you’re looking for inspiration, check out some of the sites that are already starting to set up their Pages:

To learn more about how Google+ works for your site, check out the Google+ Your Business site. We’re just getting started, and have many more features planned for the coming weeks and months. To keep up to date on the latest news and tips, add the Google+ Your Business page to your circles. If you have ideas on how we can improve Google+ for your site, we’d love to hear them.

Posted by Dennis Troper, Product Management Director, Google+ Pages

Bringing the benefits of TrueView to our video publishers

It’s no secret that I watch a lot of video ads. It’s one of the perks (or pains!) of working in the video advertising business. And yet, I was surprised to see that my younger cousins were gathered around a laptop showing each other their favorite ads over the weekend. Maybe it runs in the family. More likely, people just love watching great content and engaging ads. Every statistic we’ve seen shows that sharing and watching online videos has become a part of everyday life, and that the gap between video ad spend and audience attention is slowly narrowing. At Google, we’re always trying to improve the experience of watching video ads. With that in mind, we’re rolling out a new ad format called TrueView to our network of video publishers.

TrueView ads, pioneered on YouTube, differ from traditional video ads in two main ways. First, they give viewers choice - for example, the ad may be skippable or present a choice of ads to watch. Second, TrueView ads are sold through a Cost Per View (CPV) basis. You may be familiar with Cost Per Click (CPC) where the advertiser pays when someone clicks on their ad; similarly with CPV ads, advertisers are charged when a viewer chooses to watch the ad.

For example, say you're about to watch an interview with the makers of a new movie on The Hollywood Reporter. A TrueView in-stream video ad will start to play and a counter will appear giving you the option, after five seconds, to skip the ad and continue watching the video.

We believe TrueView is a win for users, publishers and advertisers. Users have more control over the ads they see. Advertisers get to combine the engagement of video with the precision of online advertising. And publishers see higher returns, since advertisers value a truly engaged audience.

A small group of our AdSense for video publishers are already using TrueView ads on a portion of their video inventory, and have seen RPMs equal or better than standard pre-roll ads, while dramatically improving the user experience. TrueView video ads also help to decrease audience drop-off rates by 40% on YouTube Partner sites when compared to regular in-stream ads, which means more viewers are continuing to watch videos.

One of our partners The Hollywood Reporter has been experimenting with TrueView ads and has already seen a significant increase in viewer retention. Product Manager Reed Halstrom tells us, “We’ve seen video views increase by 21% and viewed minutes increase by 17% since we started using TrueView ads.”

If you have existing video content on your site and are interested in gaining access to TrueView video ads through AdSense for video, please leave your details by completing our online form. We’re committed to improving the overall online video viewing experience and will continue to work with our publishers and advertisers to make that happen - which should come as no surprise.

Posted by Payam Shodjai, Lead Product Manager, Video Monetization

+1: Now making Display ads more relevant

Earlier today we announced several exciting new additions to Google+, including open signups.  We’d like to announce one more addition for our AdSense publishers, +1 on the Google Display Network.

Starting in October, the +1 button will begin to appear on display ads on your site. With a single click, people will now be able to endorse specific ads and make them more likely to appear to their social connections.  We believe that these recommendations could lead your readers to notice ads on your site more, leading to more clicks and higher returns for you over time.

For example, take Susan, who sees an ad for a good deal on flights.  She +1’s the ad, thinking her friends might value this deal. Now, when Susan’s friends and contacts are signed in to their Google accounts, they’ll be able to see Susan’s picture across the bottom of the ad, with a note saying she +1’d it.

The +1 button and recommendations will appear at the bottom of display ads.

Susan’s friends and contacts will also be more likely to see the ad. While the dynamics of our ad auction aren’t changing, the ad will now be included in the auction for the pages Susan’s friends visit, as we know recommendations from friends can be a strong signal of an ad’s relevance.

+1’s will be one additional signal that help determine an ad’s relevance. All eligible ads will continue to compete in the ad auction, and we’ll continue to show the ones that will generate the most revenue for you. +1 button clicks are not counted as clicks on ads. Although you won’t receive any revenue for +1 button clicks, +1’s will help AdSense to deliver more useful ads to your users, which we think will result in higher returns over time.

On mobile, the +1 button will replace the existing ‘g’ logo and recommendations will appear for several seconds, then fade out.

The +1 button will begin to appear on AdSense for content and AdSense for mobile content display ad formats--image, animated gif, and Flash ads. If you’d prefer not to allow the use of +1 features and social annotations on display ads on your pages, you can opt out starting today by signing in to your account at google.com/adsense.

Display ads become much more powerful when people can see which of their connections have chosen to endorse them, leading to a better advertising experience and higher returns for you.

If you’d like to learn more about the +1 button on display ads, please visit the AdSense Help Center.

Posted by Christian Oestlien, Product Manager

Earn more by promoting Google Affiliate Exclusive Opportunities

With the arrival of fall, the holiday shopping season begins. Give your readers an early start by posting Google Affiliate Network Exclusive Opportunities on your site, and also earn additional revenue. Over 40 great shopping opportunities will be available exclusively to Google Affiliate Network publishers. In addition, special opportunities will be live for one weekend only, from Friday, September 23  through September 26.

This limited time offer enables you to add a variety of great consumer opportunities to your site and earn a performance fee from orders that originated from your links.

Here are just a few examples of exclusive opportunities that you can post: 

$15 Off $50

Free Shipping on all orders

Get $15 off Your Next $125 Purchase!

How do I promote these opportunities on my site?
To promote any of these exclusive opportunities, you'll first need to be an approved publisher in Google Affiliate Network. Google Affiliate Network is available to all AdSense publishers, and while most advertisers in the program are based in the US and Canada, many have international shipping capabilities. For more details, view all Google Affiliate Network opportunities available.

1. Apply for Google Affiliate Network with your AdSense Publisher ID (or sign in if you're already a Google Affiliate Network publisher). 
2. Once approved, review the opportunities available (link to GAN Blog Post to be added once live) and click the "Apply Now" link for everyone that you wish to promote.
3. Tracking links will be available in your Google Affiliate Network account by viewing the Home tab. You can also search for "September Exclusive Opportunities" links in the Links section on September 23.

Need help applying or want more information? Review the Getting Started guide today.

When can I post these opportunities on my site?
All opportunities will be available on September 23, and all will expire at midnight September 26. Please note that it won't be possible to post any of these exclusives until September 23.

Posted by Jamie Ross, Google Affiliate Network

Doing more with the +1 button, more than 4 billion times a day

(Cross posted to the Official Google Blog and the Inside AdWords Blog)



In June we launched the +1 button for websites, making it easier to recommend content across the web. In July, the +1 button crossed 2 billion daily views, and we also made it a lot faster. Today the +1 button appears on more than a million sites, with over 4 billion daily views, and we're extremely excited about this momentum.



It's just the beginning, however, and today we're launching two more features that make +1 buttons more useful for users and publishers alike.



Sharing with your circles on Google+

Clicking the +1 button is a great way to highlight content for others when they search on Google. But sometimes you want to start a conversation right away—at least with certain groups of friends. So beginning today, we're making it easy for Google+ users to share webpages with their circles, directly from the +1 button. Just +1 a page as usual and look for the new "Share on Google+" option. From there you can comment, choose a circle and share.

The new +1 button on Rotten Tomatoes

+Snippets

When you share content from the +1 button, you’ll notice that we automatically include a link, an image and a description in the sharebox. We call these "+snippets," and they're a great way to jumpstart conversations with the people you care about.



Of course: publishers can benefit from +snippets as well. With just a few changes to their webpages, publishers can actually customize their +snippets and encourage more sharing of their content on Google+. More details are available on the Google Webmaster blog.







We're rolling out sharing and +snippets globally over the next week, but if you’d like to try the new +1 button now, you can join our Google+ Platform Preview. Once you're part of the Preview, just visit a site with the +1 button (like Rotten Tomatoes) and +1 the page. Thanks for all of your feedback so far, and stay tuned for more features in the weeks and months ahead!



Posted by Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President of Engineering

The +1 Button: Now Faster

(Cross-posted on the Webmaster Central blog)

One of the 10 things we hold to be true here at Google is that fast is better than slow. We keep speed in mind in all things that we do, and the +1 button is no exception. Since the button’s launch, we have been hard at work improving its load time. Today, we’re proud to announce two updates that will make both the +1 button and the page loading it, faster.

First, we’ve begun to roll out out a set of changes that will make the button render up to 3x faster on your site. No action is required on your part, so just sit back, relax, and watch as the button loads more quickly than before.

In addition to the improvements made to the button, we’re also introducing a new asynchronous snippet, allowing you to make the +1 experience even faster. The async snippet allows your web page to continue loading while your browser downloads the +1 JavaScript. By loading these elements in parallel, we’re ensuring the HTTP request to get the +1 button JavaScript doesn’t lead to an increase in your page load time. For those of you who have already implemented the button, you’ll need to update the code to the new async snippet, and then you should see an overall improvement in your page load time.

To generate the new async snippet, use our +1 Configuration Tool. Below, you’ll find an example of the code, which should be included below the last /g:plusone tag on your page.


If you haven’t already implemented the +1 button on your site, we’re excited for your first experience to be a fast one. This is a great opportunity to allow your users to recommend your site to their friends, potentially bringing in more qualified traffic from Google search. To those that already have the button, we hope that you enjoy the improvements in speed. Our team will continue to work hard to enhance the +1 button experience as we know that “fast is better than slow” is as true today as it’s ever been.

If you have any questions, please join us in the Webmaster forum. To receive updates about the +1 button, please subscribe to the Google Publisher Buttons Announce Group. For advanced tips and tricks, check our Google Code site.

David Byttow, Software Engineer

Upcoming improvements to Custom Search Engines

If you use a Custom Search Engine to power search on your site, you may already be familiar with the advanced Custom Search Element launched in 2009. Since then we’ve improved the results pages of these search engines with new features like mobile compatibility, more layout options, and new ad formats. We’re excited to announce that we’re now also taking steps to update the look and feel of traditional Custom Search Engines that embed results in an iframe on publisher sites, or that host results pages on Google.

Over the coming months you’ll see changes in the presentation of your search results pages for a richer, cleaner, and easier to use experience for your users. If you monitor the earnings from your search engine through AdSense for search, you may also see changes in your ad performance. We’re working towards improving ad relevance for users with new layouts and ad formats, while continuing to prevent accidental clicks. No action is required on your part for these updates.

If you’d like to add search functionality to your site and get started with Custom Search, sign in to your account and create a new Custom Search Engine under the “My Ads” tab of the new AdSense interface.

Posted by Michael Brandell, Product Specialist

+1 reporting in Google Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics

UPDATE: +1 Reports in Webmaster Tools have been retired. You can now find information about the performance of +1 buttons on your pages using Social Reports in Google Analytics.

(Cross-posted on the Webmaster Central and Analytics blogs)

It’s been a busy week for us here at the Googleplex. First we released +1 buttons to Google search sites globally, then we announced the beginning of the Google+ project.

The +1 button and the Google+ project are both about making it easier to connect with the people you trust online. For the +1 button, that means bringing advice from trusted friends and contacts right into Google search, letting the users who love your web content recommend it at the moment of decision.

But when you’re managing a website, it's usually not real until you can measure it. So we’re happy to say we’ve got one more announcement to make -- today we’re releasing reports that show you the value +1 buttons bring to your site.

First, +1 metrics in Google Webmaster Tools can show you how the +1 button affects the traffic coming to your pages:

• The Search Impact report gives you an idea of how +1‘s affect your organic search traffic. You can find out if your clickthrough rate changes when personalized recommendations help your content stand out. Do this by comparing clicks and impressions on search results with and without +1 annotations. We’ll only show statistics on clickthrough rate changes when you have enough impressions for a meaningful comparison.
• The Activity report shows you how many times your pages have been +1’d, from buttons both on your site and on other pages (such as Google search).
• Finally, the Audience report shows you aggregate geographic and demographic information about the Google users who’ve +1’d your pages. To protect privacy, we’ll only show audience information when a significant number of users have +1’d pages from your site.

Use the +1 Metrics menu on the side of the page to view your reports. If you haven’t yet verified your site on Google Webmaster Tools, you can follow these instructions to get access.

Finally, you can also see how users share your content using other buttons besides +1 by using Social Plugin Analytics in Google Analytics. Once you configure the JavaScript for Analytics, the Social Engagement reports help you compare the various types of sharing actions that occur on your pages.

• The Social Engagement report lets you see how site behavior changes for visits that include clicks on +1 buttons or other social actions. This allows you to determine, for example, whether people who +1 your pages during a visit are likely to spend more time on your site than people who don’t.
• The Social Actions report lets you track the number of social actions (+1 clicks, Tweets, etc) taken on your site, all in one place.
• The Social Pages report allows you to compare the pages on your site to see which are driving the highest the number of social actions.

Over the next few days (and if you’re using the default version of the latest Google Analytics tracking code), if you’ve added +1 buttons to your site we’ll automatically enable Social Plugin Analytics for +1 in your account. You can enable analytics for other social plugins in just a few simple steps.

Social reporting is just getting started. As people continue to find new ways to interact across the web, we look forward to new reports that help business owners understand the value that social actions are providing to their business. So +1 to data!

UPDATE: 7/11/11 2:05pm PST, corrected references to the social plugin analytics feature.

Written by Dan Rodney, Software Engineer

Webinar: Implementing the +1 Button

(Cross-posted on the Webmaster Central blog)


A few weeks ago, we launched the +1 button for your site, allowing visitors to recommend your content on Google search directly from your site. As people see recommendations from their friends and contacts beneath your site in search results, you may see more, better qualified traffic from Google.

But how do you make sure this experience is user friendly? Where should you position the +1 button? How do you make sure the correct URL is getting +1’d?

On Tuesday, June 21 at 3pm ET, please join Timothy Jordan, Google Developer Advocate, to learn about how to best implement the +1 button on your site. He’ll be talking through the technical implementation details as well as best practices to ensure the button has maximum impact. During the webinar, we’ll review the topics below:

• Getting started
• Best practices
• Advanced options
• Measurement
• And, we’ll save time for Q&A

If you'd like to attend, please register here. To download the code for your site, visit our +1 button tool on Google Webmaster Central.

Posted by Kari Wilson - Product Marketing Manager

Optimize your site with Affiliate Exclusive Opportunities

It’s that time again. Google Affiliate Network Exclusive Opportunities are back. As a reminder, this limited time opportunity enables you add a variety of great consumer offers to your site. If you aren’t a Google Affiliate Network affiliate, now is the time to join and start earning more from your website today.

Earlier this year, we announced that the Affiliate Exclusive Opportunity program had been extended into 2011. In March, over thirty advertisers participated with great success thanks to publishers like you. This month, over fifty Google Affiliate Network advertisers are providing exclusive offers from Friday, 6/24, through Monday, 6/27.

For every transaction that originated from your site, you’ll earn a performance fee. Here are just a few examples of offers that will be available:

$10 off $75	$20 off $125	10% off $100

How do I promote these on my site?
To promote any of these exclusive opportunities, you need to be an approved publisher in the Google Affiliate Network.

1. Apply for Google Affiliate Network with your AdSense Publisher ID (or sign in if you're already a Google Affiliate Network publisher).
2. Once approved, review offers and click the "Apply Now" link for every one that you wish to promote.
3. Tracking links will be available in your Google Affiliate Network account by viewing the “Announcements” section of your Home tab. You can also search for “June Exclusive Opportunities” links in the Links section on June 24.
4. Need help registering or want more information? Review the Getting Started guide today.

When can I post these on my site?
All opportunities will be available on June 24, and all will expire at midnight June 27. You may not post any of these exclusives until June 24. To learn more about Google Affiliate Network and other affiliate exclusive opportunities please visit this blog post.

Posted by Jamie Ross - Google Affiliate Network team

Add +1 to help your site stand out

(Cross-posted on the Webmaster Central and Social Web blogs)

When we introduced the +1 button in March, Google search took a small step in an important direction. Search results can be more helpful, and more personal, when recommendations from the people you trust are there to guide your way.

The +1 button can help publishers, too. As potential visitors see recommendations from their friends and contacts beneath your Google search results, you could see more, and better qualified, traffic coming from Google.

Since we announced +1, we’ve gotten lots of requests from Google search users and webmasters alike for +1 buttons in more places than just search results. That’s why today we’re making the +1 button available to sites across the web. Sometimes you want to recommend a web page after you’ve visited it. After all, how do you know you want to suggest that great article on Spanish tapas if you haven’t read it yet?

We’ve partnered with a few sites where you’ll see +1 buttons over the coming days:

You'll also start to see +1 buttons on other Google properties such as Android Market, Blogger, Product Search and YouTube.

Adding +1 buttons to your pages is a great way to help your content stand out in Google search. By giving your visitors more chances to +1 your pages, your search results and search ads could show up with +1 annotations more often, helping users see when your pages are most likely to be useful.


To get started, visit the +1 button tool on Google Webmaster Central. You’ll be able to configure a small snippet of JavaScript and add it to the pages where you want +1 buttons to appear. You can pick from a few different button sizes and styles, so choose the +1 button that best matches your site’s layout.

In the common case, a press of the button +1’s the URL of the page it’s on. We recommend some easy ways to ensure this maps as often as possible to the pages appearing in Google search results.

If your site primarily caters to users outside of the US and Canada, you can install the +1 button code now; the +1 button is already supported in 44 languages. However, keep in mind that +1 annotations currently only appear for English search results on Google.com. We’re working on releasing +1 to searchers worldwide in the future.

If you have users who love your content (and we bet you do), encourage them to spread the word! Add the +1 button to help your site stand out with a personal recommendation right at the moment of decision, on Google search.

To stay current on updates to the +1 button large and small, please subscribe to the Google Publisher Buttons Announce Group. For advanced tips and tricks, check our Google Code site. Finally, if you have any questions about using the +1 button on your websites, feel free to drop by the Webmaster Help Forum.

Posted by Evan Gilbert - Software Engineer, +1 Button

+1 to great web content

Most successful AdSense publishers have something in common: users who are passionate about their content. Today we’re making it easy for the users who love your content to recommend it to their friends and contacts with the +1 button.

We think sharing on the web can be even better -- that people might share more recommendations, more often, if they knew their advice would be used to help their friends and contacts right when they’re searching for relevant topics on Google. The +1 button is an easy way for users to recommend your content right from the search results pages. The +1 button doesn’t affect the AdSense ad units on your site, but it can improve the way your pages appear in Google search.

+1 is a simple idea. Let’s use Brian as an example. When Brian signs in to his Google Account and sees your site in the organic search results on Google (or search ads if you’re using AdWords), he can +1 it and recommend your page to the world.

The next time Brian’s friend Mary is signed in and searching on Google and your page appears, she might see a personalized annotation letting her know that Brian +1’d it. So Brian’s +1 helps Mary decide that your site is worth checking out.

We expect that personalized annotations will help sites stand out by helping users see when your Google search results are personally relevant to them. As a result, +1’s could increase both your quality and quantity of Google search traffic.

But the +1 button isn’t just for search results. We’re working on a +1 button that you can put on your pages too, making it easy for people to recommend your content on Google search without leaving your site. If you want to be notified when the +1 button is available for your site, you can sign up for email updates at our +1 webmaster site.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll add +1 buttons to search results and ads on Google.com. We’ll also start to look at +1’s as one of the many signals we use to determine a page’s relevance and ranking. For +1's, as with any new ranking signal, we'll be starting carefully and learning how those signals affect search quality over time. At first the +1 button will appear for English searches only on Google.com, but we’re working to add more languages in the future.

We’re excited about using +1’s to make search more personal, relevant and compelling. We hope you’re excited too! If you have questions about the +1 button and how it affects search on Google.com, you can check the Google Webmaster Central Help Center.

Posted by David Byttow - Software Engineer, +1 Button