Ask Dave Taylor
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • YouTube Videos
  • Top Categories
  • Subscribe via Email
  • Ask A Question
  • Meet Dave
  • Home
  • AdSense, AdWords, and PPC Help
  • Does Google AdSense work better on text-based pages?

Does Google AdSense work better on text-based pages?

August 1, 2008 / Dave Taylor / AdSense, AdWords, and PPC Help / 4 Comments

I’m in the middle of an argument with a designer friend. I say that Google’s AdSense and similar contextual ad systems work better if there’s lots of text on the page, while my friend says that Google can parse anything, including Flash graphics. Which of us is right? (btw, please only post your answer if I’m right!)

You’re in luck! You are right in this instance, and the reason is logical if you think about how advertising contextual analysis systems work. In a nutshell, you “give” a page to the ad network for matching up with a keyword or set of keywords and it then scans all the content doing a keyword density analysis.
That doesn’t work if there aren’t words there, does it?
In fact, if we pop over to the Inside AdSense blog that’s actually run by the Google team, you’ll find that they just recently wrote:

“While we’re constantly working to improve our targeting technology, our crawlers need text to properly match ads to your pages. Although images, flash, and streaming video can help spice up a site, relying heavily on these sorts of elements will make it difficult for us to get a good read on what your site is about.”

That’s basically the word from the horse’s mouth, isn’t it? 🙂
I want to go back to keyword density for just a second too as it’s a very important topic and one that should change how you write on your own blog / create the text for your Web pages.
Go back and skim the words I’ve used in this blog entry so far. You’ll see that some words don’t show up at all (like “baroque”, at least until I added it there) while other words show up a bunch of times (like “AdSense”). If you were to count all the words on this page and then do some simple math, you could calculate word frequency (which is really the same as word density). If AdSense shows up 13 times in this article and there are 310 words total, that means “AdSense” has an 13/310 or 0.04 density, while the other word I mentioned but am only going to use once is 1/310 or 0.0032 density.
It’s straightforward to conclude that AdSense is a dense keyword and therefore a better target for matching ads than, um, that other word. 🙂
If you only have seven words and three complex flash animations, well, you can see where that becomes a very difficult page to parse and analyze for Google or any other contextual ad engine.
So, yes, you won this argument. 🙂

Let’s Stay In Touch!

Never miss a single article, review or tutorial here on AskDaveTaylor, sign up for my fun weekly newsletter!
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please enter all required fields
Correct invalid entries
No spam, ever. Promise. Powered by FeedBlitz
Please choose a color:
Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

4 comments on “Does Google AdSense work better on text-based pages?”

  1. Samad says:
    April 9, 2012 at 7:18 am

    Adsense is never safe..you do nothing wrong and get banned for no reason..there are several others if your website has good traffic

    Reply
  2. Shah Nawaz says:
    November 13, 2011 at 9:05 pm

    I dont think adsense is a safe program anymore because the recent mass banning of accounts in several countries is a big question mark.
    However, for this topic i think it all depends on the money which advertisers are ready to spend.

    Reply
  3. Dave Taylor says:
    August 18, 2009 at 1:49 pm

    Sammy, huh? What are you trying to accomplish?

    Reply
  4. sammy says:
    August 18, 2009 at 10:20 am

    can we parse the adsense code, so that it can be showed in the post body of blogger blog?????lets-kickoff

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Recent Posts

  • How Do You Rearrange App Icons on an Android Phone?
  • How Can I Enable Emergency Alerts in Spanish on Android?
  • Switch from 24-Hour Time to AM/PM in Ubuntu Linux?
  • Protect Your Connection and Privacy with Surfshark VPN
  • Can I Send Texts in iMessage with Effects from my Mac System?

On Our YouTube Channel

Monoprice DT-3BT Bluetooth Desktop Speakers -- REVIEW

FATORK Wi-Fi Smart Portable Movie Projector -- DEMO & REVIEW

Categories

  • AdSense, AdWords, and PPC Help (106)
  • Amazon, eBay, and Online Shopping Help, (161)
  • Android Help (203)
  • Apple iPad Help (145)
  • Apple Watch Help (53)
  • Articles, Tutorials, and Reviews (344)
  • Auto Tech Help (12)
  • Business Advice (199)
  • Chrome OS Help (25)
  • Computer & Internet Basics (764)
  • d) None of the Above (165)
  • Facebook Help (383)
  • Google, Chrome & Gmail Help (180)
  • HTML & Web Page Design (245)
  • Instagram Help (48)
  • iPhone & iOS Help (607)
  • iPod & MP3 Player Help (173)
  • Kindle & Nook Help (93)
  • LinkedIn Help (85)
  • Linux Help (167)
  • Linux Shell Script Programming (87)
  • Mac & MacOS Help (895)
  • Most Popular (16)
  • Outlook & Office 365 Help (26)
  • PayPal Help (69)
  • Pinterest Help (53)
  • Reddit Help (18)
  • SEO & Marketing (81)
  • Spam, Scams & Security (93)
  • Trade Show News & Updates (23)
  • Twitter Help (217)
  • Video Game Tips (66)
  • Web Site Traffic Tips (62)
  • Windows PC Help (922)
  • Wordpress Help (204)
  • Writing and Publishing (72)
  • YouTube Help (46)
  • YouTube Video Reviews (159)
  • Zoom, Skype & Video Chat Help (57)

Archives

Social Connections:

Ask Dave Taylor


Follow Me on Pinterest
Follow me on Twitter
Follow me on LinkedIn
Follow me on Instagram


AskDaveTaylor on Facebook



microsoft insider mvp


This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this site or on any linked site. Further, please note that by submitting a question or comment you're agreeing to our terms of service, which are: you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site. Our lawyer says "Thanks for your cooperation."
© 2022 by Dave Taylor. "Ask Dave Taylor®" is a registered trademark of Intuitive Systems, LLC.
Privacy Policy - Terms and Conditions - Accessibility Policy