If you’re reading this, chances are you haven’t been invited to Google’s most exclusive club. Don’t cry–you’re not alone. We all know that a standard AdSense account, when measured, tested, and adjusted can bring in some killer revenue. So what’s the deal with the mythical Premium AdSense Publisher? What is it? How do I get my golden ticket for some serious AdSense shwag?
The tricky part about becoming a Premium AdSense Publisher is that Google hasn’t officially released any guidelines, benefits, or policies about it. It’s the Area 51 of the Google ecosystem. But don’t worry—this invite-only program exists (trust me). It’s just not available to the majority of AdSense account holders.
The Premium account’s exclusivity is implicitly tied to its general purpose, which is three-fold:
- Reward high-quality, high CTR content providers that drive steady traffic from various sources.
- Increase ad revenue for Google by loosening rules for publishers and getting more clicks for advertisers (win-win).
- Create a community of AdSense early-adopters who can help Google test out beta products before fully rolling-them out to the general population.
Google recognizes that high quality websites have advertisers knocking on their doors directly. If these publishers only receive $1-$2 per 1000 page views with Google, they may be inclined to replace their AdSense slots with fixed advertisements.
This would be bad news for Google!
By providing some extra benefits to the top publishers, Google hopes to keep those dollars in-house.
Once you have the clout to go out on your own, Google will come sweeping in with incentives for you to stay – which is great news for any publisher.
Premium publisher benefits
Once Google accepts you into the premium publisher program, you have entered the Promised Land. Coupled with strategic ad placement, you can double, triple, or even quadruple your ad revenue.
Here are some of the benefits that make the premium publisher program so enviable:
1. Predictable income and price negotiations
While a traditional publisher is stuck with whatever advertisements show up on their website, a premium publisher has the ability to set thresholds – only accepting the highest per-click advertisements on their site. As you can tell, this alone will increase the advertising revenue on your website. This also means that premium account holders are better able to predict revenue streams than users with a general account.
2. Concierge service
Need I say more? You get a monthly consultation from Google to address problems, issues, or questions you have about ads they serve on your site. With Google’s analytics army on your side, not only will you maximize ad revenue, but you have the opportunity to quickly adjust to any changes in Google’s system.
3. More ads!
Exciting, right? While regular AdSense accounts get a maximum of 3 ads per page, Premium account holders get 4-5 ads per page. You don’t need me to tell you what kind of impact this could have on your revenue. Of course, you still want to keep your website appealing to users (which is how you got into the premium program in the first place). But having the ability to add more advertisements can certainly come in handy.
4. Fewer restrictions
As a premium publisher, you can throw out many restrictions of the general AdSense terms and conditions that keep you up at night. That’s right! Google gives its chosen few a whole new set of rules to live by, and makes it near impossible to get your AdSense account flagged for violations.
If you have had your AdSense account suspended for violating any terms (even though you swear you’ve done nothing wrong), read no further—you’re on Google’s naughty list.
The premium account is, in a sense, a reward for the publishers who have proved themselves able to generate impressions and clicks while obeying the general terms of service.
5. Google beta testing</>
Get a sneak peek into the future of AdSense and help influence decision making. This, in my opinion, can be huge. Any SEO worth their salt wants to know what’s in Google’s sandbox. This information can provide you with a serious leg up on the competition and get you ready for the gen. pop. rollout.
Actions allowed for AdSense Premium Publishers include:
6. Block the ad blockers
Premium accounts have the ability to serve an appeal to site visitors to turn off ad blockers—meaning they get the ad impressions where regular AdSense publishers get nada. This may be one of those features that will rollout soon to all Google AdSense publishers.
Sufficiently depressed yet? Good! Let this motivate you to become a Premium AdSense Publisher. The steps are simple, but require time, dedication, and perseverance. Remember the key to Premium: Be an impressive source of ad revenue for you and Google.
Here’s how:
1. Play fair
Adhere to Google’s terms of service like your life depends on it. Monitor your traffic closely. Don’t give Google any reason to question the quality of your traffic or ad clicks. A big part of “playing fair” extends not only to being careful about respecting the terms of service, but responsibly sourcing quality traffic.
2. Generate traffic
Estimates vary, but you should have impressive monthly traffic. A good starting point is consistently getting 1 million monthly page views and 100,000 searches per month. This has been bare minimum entry point in the past but there are signs that Google will accept smaller websites with only a few hundred thousand monthly page views. Sure, it may seem daunting, but you’d be surprised how quickly a site can gain traction.
Especially when you…
3. Produce original, useful content
The internet is full of copycats and content thieves looking to make a quick buck and move on. Even if your primary goal is generating revenue, you need to consistently produce useful, engaging content. Not only will consistent, quality content help your page views, it will help you reach the Premium Adsense Publisher status.
4. Diversify your traffic sources
Do your best to prevent heavy traffic from spammy sites. If Google notices an influx in users from traffic exchanges, developing countries, or sites frequented by bots, the chances of reaching premium status will significantly drop.
People are constantly trying to con Google – and because of this, Google consistently plays on the conservative side. If it looks like you could be breaking the rules, you won’t become a premium publisher.
Make sure that you have authentic traffic visiting your website and you will be well on your way to premium status.
5. Authority
Finally, your website’s authority plays a role in becoming a premium publisher. Although you want to continually grow your site’s authority – if you are reaching the other criteria to make it into the premium publisher program, odds are your website authority is doing just fine.
All good things come to those who wait
The only way to make it into the Google Premium AdSense Publisher program is by invitation.
To gain the attention of Google will require a commitment to developing high quality content and building an engaged audience. With this commitment to excellence, a bit of time, and a pinch of luck, you can make it into the premium publisher program.
What are your thoughts on Google’s elite program? Is it something worth striving for, or is it a waste of time? Share your thoughts in the comments section
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