Channeling with AdSense

When you’re tracking what works and what doesn’t in AdSense, you soon
discover that no single tracking method works best. Instead, a combination
of tracking technologies helps you gather all the data you need. In addition
to a Web site traffic statistics program , AdSense offers another method of tracking that can help you determine
which ads perform best — channels.
Google explains channels this way:
Channels enable you to view detailed reporting about the performance of
specific pages and ad units. By assigning a channel to a combination of
pages or ad units, you could track the performance of a leaderboard versus
a banner, or compare your motorcycle pages to your automobile pages. You
can even create a channel to track each of your separate domains, so you
can see where your clicks are coming from. While channels can be used to
track performance and revenue, they won’t have any effect on your earnings
or ad targeting.
The way you use channels is determined by how you want to track your ads
and by the revenues generated from those ads. You can track them by ad,
page, and even Web site — whatever works best for you. When you have that
information, you can cross-compare it to your Web site traffic statistics to
figure out even more about what’s working and what’s not.
AdSense offers two different types of channels: URL channels and custom
channels. URL channels track your AdSense ads by URL. You can track either
single pages or you can use the top URL (www.sitename.com) to track every
page within a Web site.
Custom channels allow you to track specific ads, according to parameters that
you define. You can use a single custom channel to track multiple ads on multiple
Web sites, as well.
When using channels to track your AdSense ads, the code that’s generated
for your ad differs slightly from what would be generated if you weren’t tracking
the ads with a specific channel. However, the code should still be pasted
into your Web site or blog in the same manner that you added code that isn’t
tracked by channels.
Creating AdSense channels is an easy enough procedure. When you’re creating
URL channels, have the specific URL that you want to track. If you want
to track a whole site under a single URL, the top-level Web address is the one
that you need to use. If you’re tracking a specific page on your Web site, be
sure you have the exact URL for the page that you want to track. With that
information in hand, here’s how you can create your first URL channel:
1. Log in to your AdSense account and go to the AdSense Setup tab.
2. Click the Channels link on the AdSense Setup tab.
You’re taken to the Channels overview page, as
3. Click the URL Channels link.
The page view refreshes to show URL channels that have been previously
created (if there are any).
4. Click the + Add New URL Channels link.
The page refreshes to show a form for entering URLs,
Enter the URLs that you want to track in the text box provided.
Make sure you only enter one URL per line.
To track a single page: Enter the full URL (example.com/sample.
html)
To track a script that generates multiple pages: Enter the full
path of the script, without the ? (example.com/sample.
asp?keyword=one)
To track all pages below a specific directory: Enter a partial URL
(example.com/sample)
To track only pages across a specific subdomain: Enter the subdomain
(sports.example.com)
To track all pages on a domain: Enter the domain name (www.
example.com)
To track all impressions and clicks across the domain (including
any existing subdomains): Enter the domain name without the www
(example.com)
6. After you enter the desired URLs, click the Add Channels button.
Now you have URL channels available to you if you want to use them to
track your ads.