Google Algorithm Update Punishes Publishers Again
It's a couple of weeks now since the launch of Google's new anti-over-aggressive-ads algorithm. For unsuspecting publishers the changes could mean that they find their sites delisted or their AdSense accounts closed. As so often in the past, Google has changed the rules of the game but hasn't really explained what the new rules are. For those sites that were hit by the Panda update to Google's algorithm a year or so ago, this latest update may mean a second round of punishment
The always interesting Aaron Wall has a great review up examining some of the aspects of site design that webmasters may need to be attending to: In the past Google suggested to a nuked AdWords advertiser that more of his above-the-fold real estate should be content than ads. However Google has such a rich data set with AdSense that I don't think they would just look at layout. If I were them I would factor in all sorts of metrics like
- AdSense CTR
- average page views per visitor
- repeat visits & brand searches
- bounce rate
- clickstream data from Chrome & the Google toolbar (so even if you are using other ad networks, they can still sample the data)
He goes on to point out that sites may be penalized even if there are no claims of click fraud, or copyright abuses; no advertiser complaints; that Google provides no customer support numbers; and that Google may retroactively claw back past earnings.
