How to Track Your AdSense Results

Google AdSense is probably the most exciting opportunity for web site owners to hit the Internet since, well, since forever, in my opinion.

I'll be writing this review as if you already have a web site and have already been accepted into the Google AdSense program. If you haven't been approved for AdSense yet, go visit the Google AdSense site now and see if you're eligible. Most non-personal, content-rich, sites are, it can't hurt to apply.

Once you're in the AdSense program, you start earning money. All you have to do is put some simple HTML code into place and let Google put ads onto your site. Google is really pretty good at determining what ads to show that your visitors might be interested in, and the money they give you for the privilege of providing the space on your page is really quite fair.

But ...

Unfortunately, the only reporting that Google gives you is a list of how many impressions were made for your account (in other words how many times did a visitor come to one of your pages that had the AdSense code on it), how many clicks resulted, and how much Google is paying you in total for those clicks. You have no way of knowing which ads, which pages, or even which domains were clicked on. Maybe 90% of the clicks came from one page, or one ad format. If you have hundreds of pages, and you knew that, you could work on the rest of your pages that aren't doing so well.

Sure, there's channels now. They let you set up a special code for reporting purposes, but not nearly enough channel codes, and not at all easily. At least, that's my opinion.

Then I found AdSense Tracker. It's a PHP script that's quickly become my favorite and most useful tool of anything I own.

AdSense Tracker installed easily for me (your server needs to have support for PHP and MySQL, mine already did), and requires you to stick a single line of code into your pages that have the AdSense code.

From that point on, you're no longer shooting in the dark. AdSense Tracker is a full blown tracking tool that enables you to see total page views, clicks, keywords that caused the view or click, ad type on the page that caused the view or click, and much more.

AdSense Tracker will give you immediate, up to the second, information (Google reporting is usually several hours behind, channel reporting is days behind). AdSense Tracker even tells you what URL got clicked on! It's amazing.

So, after you've had AdSense Tracker up and running awhile, you'll be able to do detailed analysis. You'll be able to tell what pages are getting more clicks, which AdSense formats are doing best, which color schemes are outperforming the others, and much more. It will give you the information necessary to enable you to modify the poor performing formats and increase your CTR's (and money earned).

If you're already using Google AdSense, you should definitely consider investing in AdSense Tracker. The information it gives you will help you make informed decisions that will pay for itself quickly and often.

Wouldn't it be a shame if you did have a page that was getting 90% of your clicks, and you decided to change that page?

I give AdSense Tracker my highest possible recommendation. I bought it, I use it, and I can no longer live without it. I suspect you might feel the same also after you use it for a few days.

Copyright © Dennis Becker, 2004.

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