If you use Google's AdSense program to earn money from your website, you could be missing out on additional income by not replacing unpaid PSA ads.
Many online ad programs, including AdSense, will sometimes show default ads, or public service announcement (PSA) ads, when they have no paying ads to show. This can happen for many reasons, especially when their spiders crawl your pages for content.
What many webmasters do not realize, however, is that you can easily replace those unpaid ads and earn bonus revenue from your website. All you need to do is make a simple change to your ad codes.
In the case of Google's AdSense program, this is done by adding an alternate URL to your code. It is a very simple process that will typically take you less than five minutes. Using the AdSense online wizard, you simply add an alternate ad URL to your code, then copy and paste the new code into your pages.
You can view a sample of an AdSense alternate URL integration at:
Once you have made the change to your ad codes, you will show an alternate ad of your choice in place of the PSA ad that would normally have appeared. Alternatively, you may also select to show a simple background color in place of your PSA ads, but be aware that won't earn you a dime and it can look strange to display a blank space on your pages, whatever the color.
So you've decided to add an alternate URL to replace those unpaid ads. That's smart. It's actually amazing that so many AdSense users do not take advantage of this process. Google makes it very easy to do, but for whatever reason, most webmasters simply ignore this option and forego additional profits from their hard-earned traffic.
You should also understand that there is really no down side to replacing PSA ads, and in my opinion, you'd be foolish not to. Indeed, other ad networks, such as FastClick, now also allow you to incorporate alternate ads when their systems fire blanks, although in true Google style, AdSense provides the easiest method with their online code wizard.
Judging from online forum posts on the subject, as well as considering the incredible number of sites that do not use Alternate ads, it appears that many webmasters believe Google or other ad networks will punish you for replacing their defaults ads. This is of course ridiculous. Why would they give you the tools and instructions on how to do this if they were going to penalize you? Now that you know how to earn extra revenue from your site, the challenge for many webmasters is how to make a "URL" actually appear as an ad. It's really not that difficult, and there are a couple of ways to go about it.
One new program that was recently created to address this issue is AlternateURL.com, where you can create an alternate URL ad in just a few easy steps in any of the standard AdSense supported sizes to your ad code.
Once created, you can embed the AlternateURL into your AdSense code. It's a simple solution that relieves webmasters from having to tinker with iFrames, CPA networks, or other systems to create an alternate ad for their Google ad codes.
Other options include adding "house ads" or ads that link to internal areas of your site. Remember, since you are adding a URL, you have to ensure that the page that opens will fill the correct size of the PSA ad you are replacing. Thus, if you are showing a 468x60 banner, you create a page that has a div or an image in that size. Be sure to left and top align the elements on the page, and ensure there are no margins or borders, etc.
Alternatively, you can create a page that displays an iFrame, which will fill the ad slot to be replaced. In either case, the question arises about what to actually place. Ideally, you'll want rotating ads, and stats on how many you are showing, and what return in effective CPM revenue you are generating.
Some sites show Clickbank or other CPA network offers as their alternate ads. You can play around with various solutions to find the one that best suits your site and creates maximum revenue as well.
There's really nothing to lose by using an alternate URL, and a lot to gain. For more information, login to your AdSense account and review the procedure to add an alternate ad URL to your ad code. Or visit the AdSense Support site at:
You could be wasting a lot of adviews - and a lot of money - by not replacing AdSense PSA ads with an alternate URL. The method you use is up to you. For further information, please visit our website:
About The Author
Bruce Whitehead is an experienced Internet marketer, based in Canada, who owns and operates a variety of ventures, including advertising, digital ecommerce, and mail order businesses.
By Bruce Whitehead, ©Copyright 2005.
