Google AdSense is a platform for Web publishers who want to include advertisements on their Internet properties. If you run a website or blog, perhaps for a business, you can serve Google adverts on it as a way to monetize it. If you want your adverts to be displayed through the AdSense network, you need to sign up to Google AdWords. When you use AdSense as a publisher, you have a range of options in terms of how the resulting adverts appear within your sites.
Publishers
You can use Google AdSense on any websites you have, including blogs. To become part of the program, you need to sign up for an AdSense account. Once you have signed up you will be able to access code that you can place on your sites. Wherever you place the code is where the adverts will appear. If you use the Blogger blogging platform, the process of adding adverts to your posts (and blog in general) is automated. Many sites use AdSense to monetize projects, however you do need a lot of website traffic to make significant amounts of income this way. It also helps if your website content is on topics that advertisers are looking to target.
Targeted Adverts
Advertisers use Google's platform to target potential customers. Rather than paying for adverts on any site, Google lets businesses target users who are more likely to be interested in their products and services. For example, if you run a blog about credit cards, companies advertising credit cards may like their adverts to be on your site as your readers are interested in their product area. Google AdSense adverts are therefore targeted, so the ads that appear on your site will be relevant to its content. For advertisers, this is key to the appeal of Google's model, as it means that their advertising investment is being used in a way that is more likely to have positive results. In some cases advertisers only pay Google when their adverts are actually clicked.
Revenue
Earnings from AdSense are calculated using two factors: impressions and clicks. Impressions are a measure of how many times the pages you have adverts on have been viewed. Clicks are your website users actually clicking on the adverts. The amount you earn varies depending on the price of the adverts on your pages. The advertisers do not pay set prices for every advert, as the price varies according to the targeted key words and phrases, among other factors. What you receive as a publisher is 68% of the revenue if you are on the AdSense for content program, 51% if you use AdSense for search.
Options
When you add AdSense to your sites, you can choose from a variety of advert sizes and styles. The area used for adverts is divided into units, so your site may include blocks of adverts rather than larger individual adverts occupying several units. You can set the colors within the ads to match your site design. In terms of requirements, there are a number of restrictions on your content if you want AdSense ads on your pages. Your content cannot be of an adult nature or contain copyrighted material. Your sites must also meet Google's Webmaster Quality Guidelines.
Related Links
Adsense Help: Adsense Academy
Google: Webmaster Guidelines
Monday, 3 September 2012
Twitter and Marketing
Twitter has quickly become a key element in the marketing strategies of many businesses, small and large. If you want to put Twitter to good use for your business, the vital elements fall into a few basic categories. Twitter offers traditional advertising opportunities in the form of promotions, but there are many other ways to use the service for marketing that don't cost anything. By seeing Twitter as a communication, networking and branding tool, you can use it to your advantage.
Communication
Twitter is of course primarily a communication tool. For this reason you can use it to communicate with existing clients and customers as well as press. With existing clients you can provide support and capture vital feedback from your customers or users. Many companies use Twitter to promote special offers or deals. This gives followers an incentive to keep themselves acquainted with what you are tweeting about. It goes without saying that Twitter is potentially most valuable when attracting new custom, but it is also an effective channel from which to manage your existing client base.
Branding
Twitter is a microblogging platform. This puts it in an excellent position to express a consistent message representing your business brand. Key strategies here include linking to any updates about your products, including media items such as videos, newsletters, blog posts and media coverage, as well as linking to the relevant sections of your company website. If you want your tweets to be noticed by Twitter users who are not already following you, you can do so by tweeting on trending topics. You can see the list of trending topics when you log into your Twitter account. Often, the trends involve tweeting using hashtags. Twitter users often view all tweets on a particular topic or hashtag, regardless of whether those tweets are from accounts they follow.
Network
Twitter is part of the world of social networking, so it naturally provides extensive networking opportunities. Many companies take the approach of seeking out Twitter users who appear to be potential customers and following them, in the hope that they will follow back. However, it is more valuable to have a small number of followers who are genuinely interested in your product than a large number who are paying little attention to it. To attract the attention of tweeters who are more valuable to your business, you can carry out searches on Twitter. Searching for a topic that is either specific to your business or related to it, then replying to those tweets, is a way to connect to users who are interested in your product area.
Promotion
In terms of traditional marketing, Twitter offers a range of promotion options. You can purchase promoted tweets, accounts and trends. This is akin to a mainstream advertising approach, with the promoted content appearing within user timelines even if the user does not follow your account. Twitter targets these tweets at relevant users, based on their own accounts. Promoted tweets also appear within search pages, profile pages and Twitter clients. Twitter clients are applications used on mobile and desktop platforms, used as an alternative to accessing Twitter through the Web browser.
Related Links
Twitter: What are Promoted Tweets?
GigaOM: 62 Ways to Use Twitter for Business
Entrepreneur.com: Five Ways to Use Twitter for Marketing That You Might Not Know About
Copyblogger: The Ultimate Guide to Twitter Marketing
Mashable: 5 Proven Twitter Marketing Strategies
Communication
Twitter is of course primarily a communication tool. For this reason you can use it to communicate with existing clients and customers as well as press. With existing clients you can provide support and capture vital feedback from your customers or users. Many companies use Twitter to promote special offers or deals. This gives followers an incentive to keep themselves acquainted with what you are tweeting about. It goes without saying that Twitter is potentially most valuable when attracting new custom, but it is also an effective channel from which to manage your existing client base.
Branding
Twitter is a microblogging platform. This puts it in an excellent position to express a consistent message representing your business brand. Key strategies here include linking to any updates about your products, including media items such as videos, newsletters, blog posts and media coverage, as well as linking to the relevant sections of your company website. If you want your tweets to be noticed by Twitter users who are not already following you, you can do so by tweeting on trending topics. You can see the list of trending topics when you log into your Twitter account. Often, the trends involve tweeting using hashtags. Twitter users often view all tweets on a particular topic or hashtag, regardless of whether those tweets are from accounts they follow.
Network
Twitter is part of the world of social networking, so it naturally provides extensive networking opportunities. Many companies take the approach of seeking out Twitter users who appear to be potential customers and following them, in the hope that they will follow back. However, it is more valuable to have a small number of followers who are genuinely interested in your product than a large number who are paying little attention to it. To attract the attention of tweeters who are more valuable to your business, you can carry out searches on Twitter. Searching for a topic that is either specific to your business or related to it, then replying to those tweets, is a way to connect to users who are interested in your product area.
Promotion
In terms of traditional marketing, Twitter offers a range of promotion options. You can purchase promoted tweets, accounts and trends. This is akin to a mainstream advertising approach, with the promoted content appearing within user timelines even if the user does not follow your account. Twitter targets these tweets at relevant users, based on their own accounts. Promoted tweets also appear within search pages, profile pages and Twitter clients. Twitter clients are applications used on mobile and desktop platforms, used as an alternative to accessing Twitter through the Web browser.
Related Links
Twitter: What are Promoted Tweets?
GigaOM: 62 Ways to Use Twitter for Business
Entrepreneur.com: Five Ways to Use Twitter for Marketing That You Might Not Know About
Copyblogger: The Ultimate Guide to Twitter Marketing
Mashable: 5 Proven Twitter Marketing Strategies
Friday, 31 August 2012
About Web Content
If you are involved in any Internet activity, particularly for work or business, you may have come across the term "Web content". It may seem an odd expression and understandably baffles people. However, it is a key concept to understand if you are trying to make a success of an Internet business or other online project. In this article we will outline what Web content is, how it is produced and what people use it for.
Content Types
The Web presents many different types of content to the people browsing it. Content types include text, data and various media types such as images, video, audio and animation, not to mention interactive components. Most modern Web pages contain multiple types of content within them, since Web users have come to expect a stimulating, engaging and interactive experience when they visit a site.
If you are building a website, it is necessary to give careful consideration to the content you wish to include on each page. Striking a balance between having enough content and not too much can be tricky. Text content is arguably the most important in terms of success or failure. Successful text content for a website is relevant to the purpose of the site, provides useful material to the people visiting the site and is written to a high standard of quality.
For media content types, there are a number of additional considerations. For certain media items such as audio, video and animation, end-users may require particular software programs. This can naturally cause problems accessing those media items, particularly for users of certain device types and operating systems. It is also important to remember that many website users are now browsing on mobile devices such as smartphones, netbooks and tablet PCs. In these cases, there may be a low bandwidth and limited Internet connectivity generally. For this reason it is advisable to use media items such as images with the smallest file sizes you can achieve while still maintaining an acceptable level of quality.
Content Delivery
Websites use a variety of techniques for delivering their content to users. Most sites are now dynamic, which means that the content is stored in database systems and built into Web pages when users' browsers request them. This process involves server side scripting. Server side scripts run when users request pages, fetching data from the database and building it into the resulting pages before returning these to the browser, or client.
Dynamic techniques have also produced Content Management Systems for authoring and delivering content. A CMS system allows people who do not have Web development or programming skills to create and publish website content. CMS programs such as Joomla and Wordpress are behind many of the most successful sites on the Web, for retail businesses, online newspapers and magazines, social media sites and many more.
How is Content Used?
Of course the most obvious use of content is to convey information to website users, but there is a lot more to it than that. Some organisations also create text content to drive traffic to their sites, publishing the content on other sites such as blogs and including links back to their own Web properties from there.
Many people focus on attracting search engine traffic using Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) techniques to tailor the text content of a site. These techniques have a limited and reducing value, as the search engines are always improving their algorithms to present their users with the most relevant results first. The only genuine way to perform well in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) is to focus on creating good quality, relevant content on your site.
At its essence, Web content is anything you see on a website. However, the surrounding issues are complex and making best use of content can have a huge impact on the outcome of any Internet project.
See also:
Content Types
The Web presents many different types of content to the people browsing it. Content types include text, data and various media types such as images, video, audio and animation, not to mention interactive components. Most modern Web pages contain multiple types of content within them, since Web users have come to expect a stimulating, engaging and interactive experience when they visit a site.
If you are building a website, it is necessary to give careful consideration to the content you wish to include on each page. Striking a balance between having enough content and not too much can be tricky. Text content is arguably the most important in terms of success or failure. Successful text content for a website is relevant to the purpose of the site, provides useful material to the people visiting the site and is written to a high standard of quality.
For media content types, there are a number of additional considerations. For certain media items such as audio, video and animation, end-users may require particular software programs. This can naturally cause problems accessing those media items, particularly for users of certain device types and operating systems. It is also important to remember that many website users are now browsing on mobile devices such as smartphones, netbooks and tablet PCs. In these cases, there may be a low bandwidth and limited Internet connectivity generally. For this reason it is advisable to use media items such as images with the smallest file sizes you can achieve while still maintaining an acceptable level of quality.
Content Delivery
Websites use a variety of techniques for delivering their content to users. Most sites are now dynamic, which means that the content is stored in database systems and built into Web pages when users' browsers request them. This process involves server side scripting. Server side scripts run when users request pages, fetching data from the database and building it into the resulting pages before returning these to the browser, or client.
Dynamic techniques have also produced Content Management Systems for authoring and delivering content. A CMS system allows people who do not have Web development or programming skills to create and publish website content. CMS programs such as Joomla and Wordpress are behind many of the most successful sites on the Web, for retail businesses, online newspapers and magazines, social media sites and many more.
How is Content Used?
Of course the most obvious use of content is to convey information to website users, but there is a lot more to it than that. Some organisations also create text content to drive traffic to their sites, publishing the content on other sites such as blogs and including links back to their own Web properties from there.
Many people focus on attracting search engine traffic using Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) techniques to tailor the text content of a site. These techniques have a limited and reducing value, as the search engines are always improving their algorithms to present their users with the most relevant results first. The only genuine way to perform well in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) is to focus on creating good quality, relevant content on your site.
At its essence, Web content is anything you see on a website. However, the surrounding issues are complex and making best use of content can have a huge impact on the outcome of any Internet project.
See also:
About Randomness
Randomness is a concept with relevance to many different fields and areas of life, from mathematics to computing science and the arts. There are actually lots of different definitions of randomness, for its uses in these different contexts. In this article we'll go over what it means for something to be random, as well as looking at the application of randomness in computer programming and the arts.
I started thinking about randomness when I was developing my Android Nonsense apps, see also this post: Using Randomness to Stimulate Creativity
What Is It Anyway?
In one sense, something being random means it being unpredictable. In another sense, it means having no discernible order. If some sequence of events appears not to conform to any sort of order, this implies that it has not been arrived at through a dedicated method. When something happens as a result of some process in which there is a purpose, this does not normally create random results. In some cases randomness is used in an intuitive sense, while in others it has a very specific objective definition. In mathematical contexts, random sequences are often referred to in conjunction with notions of probability and predictability.
Computer Programming
Randomness is a common topic in computer programming. Often, computer programmers use language utilities known as random number generators. These allow programs to generate a series of numbers with specific parameters, for example within a certain range or with a certain number type such as integer or floating point. Programmers use these for various tasks, some relating to underlying application logic, some relating to user interaction. For example, random functions can be used to present content items to application users in a way that creates a different user experience each time.
Although random number generators are common in computer programming, the numbers produced are not actually truly random. This is because it is impossible, by definition, for a computer program to generate a random series of numbers. In order for a series to be random, there can be no process or method used to generate it, but a computer can only generate numbers using a detailed, specific process. In brief, this means that if a series is generated by a computer, it is not random.
While not truly random, the random number generators used in computer programming are designed to create the appearance of randomness to the end user. For example, if you use a music player such as an MP3 player, you will be familiar with shuffle functions. With a shuffle function, the application uses a random number generator to choose songs from those available. There is in fact another obvious way in which these functions are not really random in addition to the fact that they are computer generated. This is that fact that most shuffle functions are designed not to repeat songs, but rather to play each available song once before playing any one a second time. Again, the randomness here is in appearance rather than strictly in reality.
The Arts
Another common area to experience randomness is in the arts, particularly in comedy contexts. Many people find randomness produces results that are funny, for example through gibberish, or nonsense speak in which people combine random combinations of words. Some computer programs combine this with the random number generation functions to generate random sentences for comic effect. Some songwriters also use randomness to come up with lyrics and song titles.
Randomness is also involved in art in a creative sense. Many people find randomness is a great way to stimulate them creatively. This can involve using computer programs again, for example to generate random words or pictures. The unpredictability of randomness produces surprising results that appear to stimulate the creative functions within the human brain.
Life
We experience randomness in many areas of life, from the weather to throwing a dice or shuffling a deck of cards. In many cases you see random sequences and are not aware of it, and in many more you see sequences that appear to be random but are in fact not. Whatever way you look at it, randomness is a part of life.
See also
Random Number Generators
Using Randomness to Stimulate Creativity
I started thinking about randomness when I was developing my Android Nonsense apps, see also this post: Using Randomness to Stimulate Creativity
What Is It Anyway?
In one sense, something being random means it being unpredictable. In another sense, it means having no discernible order. If some sequence of events appears not to conform to any sort of order, this implies that it has not been arrived at through a dedicated method. When something happens as a result of some process in which there is a purpose, this does not normally create random results. In some cases randomness is used in an intuitive sense, while in others it has a very specific objective definition. In mathematical contexts, random sequences are often referred to in conjunction with notions of probability and predictability.
Computer Programming
Randomness is a common topic in computer programming. Often, computer programmers use language utilities known as random number generators. These allow programs to generate a series of numbers with specific parameters, for example within a certain range or with a certain number type such as integer or floating point. Programmers use these for various tasks, some relating to underlying application logic, some relating to user interaction. For example, random functions can be used to present content items to application users in a way that creates a different user experience each time.
Although random number generators are common in computer programming, the numbers produced are not actually truly random. This is because it is impossible, by definition, for a computer program to generate a random series of numbers. In order for a series to be random, there can be no process or method used to generate it, but a computer can only generate numbers using a detailed, specific process. In brief, this means that if a series is generated by a computer, it is not random.
While not truly random, the random number generators used in computer programming are designed to create the appearance of randomness to the end user. For example, if you use a music player such as an MP3 player, you will be familiar with shuffle functions. With a shuffle function, the application uses a random number generator to choose songs from those available. There is in fact another obvious way in which these functions are not really random in addition to the fact that they are computer generated. This is that fact that most shuffle functions are designed not to repeat songs, but rather to play each available song once before playing any one a second time. Again, the randomness here is in appearance rather than strictly in reality.
The Arts
Another common area to experience randomness is in the arts, particularly in comedy contexts. Many people find randomness produces results that are funny, for example through gibberish, or nonsense speak in which people combine random combinations of words. Some computer programs combine this with the random number generation functions to generate random sentences for comic effect. Some songwriters also use randomness to come up with lyrics and song titles.
Randomness is also involved in art in a creative sense. Many people find randomness is a great way to stimulate them creatively. This can involve using computer programs again, for example to generate random words or pictures. The unpredictability of randomness produces surprising results that appear to stimulate the creative functions within the human brain.
Life
We experience randomness in many areas of life, from the weather to throwing a dice or shuffling a deck of cards. In many cases you see random sequences and are not aware of it, and in many more you see sequences that appear to be random but are in fact not. Whatever way you look at it, randomness is a part of life.
See also
Random Number Generators
Using Randomness to Stimulate Creativity
Android Widget Development
Android developers can create widget applications that users display and interact with on their device homescreens. Android widget development is a little different to standard Android application development. In this article we will run through some of the ways in which developing widget app differs from developing ordinary apps for the Android platform. If you are hoping to attempt Android widget development, it is recommended that you try creating a standard app first, before moving onto widget apps.
Differences Between Widget Apps and Standard Apps
Many aspects of application structure remain the same between Android widget apps and other apps. One of the main ways in which widgets differ is in how they are launched. Rather than the user launching the app by selecting it in their device menu or from a shortcut icon, with a widget application the user must add it to their device homescreen display. This is normally accomplished by long-pressing the homescreen and selecting the widget from a list. Widget applications are downloaded and installed using the same procedure as for other applications. Once a widget is on the user's screen, it will typically continue to run until the user removes it.
Some widget apps update with information from the Internet or from the system itself. For example, common widgets display information about the phone itself, such as the battery level, network connectivity and phone settings. Additionally, many widget apps retrieve data over the Internet, which is then displayed within the widget user interface. Many widgets are not interactive, simply displaying information within a graphical presentation. However, some can be configured by pressing the widget icon, then choosing settings. Such apps require a more advanced level of development than the ones that are not interactive.
Application Elements
In many ways the elements of a widget app are the same as those in other apps, with a few fundamental differences. With a widget, you don't need to implement a main Activity to launch when the app starts up. Instead, you extend "AppWidgetProvider" and provide methods specifying what should happen when your widget updates. The widget will be automatically updated at a period you specify within your application metadata. This comprises an XML file in your Resources directory. You also need to specify the widget class and metadata in your application Manifest XML. Within the XML metadata for a widget, you can also dictate the dimensions and other properties of your app.
Options
These are the main options in a widget app, but there are many other possibilities. For example, if you need your app to update at a greater frequency than what is allowed when declaring it in the XML resources, which is at most every 30 minutes, you can provide a class extending the "AlarmManager" class. You can optionally also register one or more of your app classes to receive system broadcasts. These are announcements that are available system-wide, often pertaining to information about phone state. Widget layouts are also subject to some restrictions. For example, you can only use certain layout types for an Android widget, including Frame, Linear and Relative layouts. Optionally, you can create an Activity which the Android system will run when your app starts up. This is commonly used to set configuration options for widgets.
Approaching Development
Although widget apps are developed and released using the same process as normal apps, the testing process is sometimes a little more complex. There is a significant limit to the value of testing certain widgets using an Android emulator, or virtual Android device. The most reliable approach is therefore to run these apps on real devices over a period of time in order to gain a true sense of how well they function. This is particularly the case for widgets that receive system broadcasts and other announcements, as these announcements are not entirely authentic on an emulator. For example, the battery level on the emulator by default stays at 50%, which is not very helpful if you are attempting to create a battery level widget.
Devices
As with any Android app, developers need to consider the increasing range of devices running the Android platform when constructing widgets. This is especially so for design matters. Sticking to designs that are relative and will adapt gracefully across different screen sizes is doubly important for widget applications, since they basically comprise visual displays of information. Again, thorough testing is essential to result in a widget app that will function reliably and therefore be a success.
See also:
Differences Between Widget Apps and Standard Apps
Many aspects of application structure remain the same between Android widget apps and other apps. One of the main ways in which widgets differ is in how they are launched. Rather than the user launching the app by selecting it in their device menu or from a shortcut icon, with a widget application the user must add it to their device homescreen display. This is normally accomplished by long-pressing the homescreen and selecting the widget from a list. Widget applications are downloaded and installed using the same procedure as for other applications. Once a widget is on the user's screen, it will typically continue to run until the user removes it.
Some widget apps update with information from the Internet or from the system itself. For example, common widgets display information about the phone itself, such as the battery level, network connectivity and phone settings. Additionally, many widget apps retrieve data over the Internet, which is then displayed within the widget user interface. Many widgets are not interactive, simply displaying information within a graphical presentation. However, some can be configured by pressing the widget icon, then choosing settings. Such apps require a more advanced level of development than the ones that are not interactive.
Application Elements
In many ways the elements of a widget app are the same as those in other apps, with a few fundamental differences. With a widget, you don't need to implement a main Activity to launch when the app starts up. Instead, you extend "AppWidgetProvider" and provide methods specifying what should happen when your widget updates. The widget will be automatically updated at a period you specify within your application metadata. This comprises an XML file in your Resources directory. You also need to specify the widget class and metadata in your application Manifest XML. Within the XML metadata for a widget, you can also dictate the dimensions and other properties of your app.
Options
These are the main options in a widget app, but there are many other possibilities. For example, if you need your app to update at a greater frequency than what is allowed when declaring it in the XML resources, which is at most every 30 minutes, you can provide a class extending the "AlarmManager" class. You can optionally also register one or more of your app classes to receive system broadcasts. These are announcements that are available system-wide, often pertaining to information about phone state. Widget layouts are also subject to some restrictions. For example, you can only use certain layout types for an Android widget, including Frame, Linear and Relative layouts. Optionally, you can create an Activity which the Android system will run when your app starts up. This is commonly used to set configuration options for widgets.
Approaching Development
Although widget apps are developed and released using the same process as normal apps, the testing process is sometimes a little more complex. There is a significant limit to the value of testing certain widgets using an Android emulator, or virtual Android device. The most reliable approach is therefore to run these apps on real devices over a period of time in order to gain a true sense of how well they function. This is particularly the case for widgets that receive system broadcasts and other announcements, as these announcements are not entirely authentic on an emulator. For example, the battery level on the emulator by default stays at 50%, which is not very helpful if you are attempting to create a battery level widget.
Devices
As with any Android app, developers need to consider the increasing range of devices running the Android platform when constructing widgets. This is especially so for design matters. Sticking to designs that are relative and will adapt gracefully across different screen sizes is doubly important for widget applications, since they basically comprise visual displays of information. Again, thorough testing is essential to result in a widget app that will function reliably and therefore be a success.
See also:
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