75 Adsense integration now easier than ever with Blogger's Monetize tab April 15, 2009 /

Have you noticed the new "Monetize" tab at the top of your Blogger dashboard?

 

This new section of our Blogger dashboards makes it easier than ever to integrate Google Adsense in our blogs and see just how much our blogs are earning.


Google's Adsense program is a simple solution which many Bloggers use to monetize their sites. For some time now, Blogger have made it easy for us to include Adsense ads in the sidebar (as a page element) and around blog posts (as an option in the Layout>Page Elements section, when you click the "Edit" link for your blog posts). 

If you have already configured Adsense in your blog by adding an Adsense page element to the layout, or enabling ads between posts, by clicking on the Monetize tab you will be able to see statistics for your earnings, like this:

On this page, there are also links to view your Adsense Payment History, earnings reports and to switch the account associated with this particular blog. You can also choose to "remove ads" from all aspects of your Blogger layout at the click of a button.

For those who have not yet chosen to monetize their sites with Adsense, or who have configured Adsense manually in their templates, you will see a page like this instead:

This means that your Adsense account has not been associated with this blog. No earnings reports will be displayed, even if - like me - you have manually configured Adsense by adding the required JavaScript to your Blogger template code.

For those of you yet to add Adsense to your layout, simply choose one of the ad-layout options most suitable for your needs anc click the "Next" button. You may be required to set up an Adsense account (or associate an existing account with your Blogger profile), after which your ads will be immediately placed in your layout. Then when you visit the Monetize tab, you will be able to see details of your Adsense earnings for the ads you have placed in your layout.

What you need to know about Adsense monetization and the new Monetize tab

Although Blogger have made it very easy for members to add Adsense to their blogs, not every applicant will be successful in getting their own Adsense account.

Adsense reviews all applicants to the program before agreeing to (or denying) a new account. In order to apply for an Adsense account, you must be over 18 years old and have a website which complies with Adsense policies. If you post any questionable content on your site, you really should check these policies to ensure your site complies before submitting your application.

Also, the reports displayed on the Monetize tab will only show page views and earnings from the time that you connected your Adsense account with this blog. If you have previously linked your Adsense account with your Blogger profile, it seems the "All Time" earnings will display earnings from today onwards (one of my blogs uses an Adsense Page Element, but is only displaying earnings from today).

A new channel in your Adsense account for each Blogger blog you monetize

If you log into your Adsense account, you will notice a new channel has been set up for each of your blogs, which contains the URL of your blog in the title.

The information from this channel is what's used to present the earnings data for the Monetize section of each blog you write.

Not yet an ideal solution for everyone...

I am very happy to see that the Blogger team have put such effort towards integrating all of the Google services we Bloggers currently use. However, I am a little disappointed at some aspects of this new feature.

For my own blogs, I have added Adsense manually, by editing the Blogger template and inserting ad codes where I would like them to be displayed. For this reason, I am unable to see any reports on the Monetize tab. In fact, it appears as though I have not set Adsense up at all.

Also, the earnings displayed on the Monetize page will only include the earnings for this particular blog, not your total earnings from any different sites operated.

However, these are small issues, and perhaps these issues will not affect most other Blogger users.

What do you think?

Will this new "Monetize" dashboard feature make it easier for you to connect your Adsense account with your blogs? How well do you think this feature performs so far?

Please feel free to leave your comments and suggestions below.