10 for 10 publisher stories: Sportonline.de’s winning approach

In each of the 10 weeks leading up to AdSense’s 10th anniversary on June 18th, we’ll be sharing a new publisher success story. Read on to meet this week’s featured publisher, and feel free to submit your own success story to our team. 

While managing a number of technology-related websites, Matthias Sandner and two colleagues decided to create a new site to address one of their shared passions: soccer. They brought this vision to life in 2011 with the launch of German site Sportonline.de, which they now run with a small team of employees. Matthias had been an AdSense publisher since 2007, so implementing AdSense on Sportonline.de was one of the first things he did on the site.



AdSense currently generates between 50 and 60 percent of Sportonline.de’s total advertising revenue, and has helped financially support the new site. Matthias has found that the 728 x 90 Leaderboard with both text and image ads enabled performs the best on his site. Since Sportonline.de is still new and growing, the team mainly invests the AdSense earnings into new content and employees. “Not only does AdSense offer a convincing performance,” says Matthias, “but it’s also clear and easy to use.” As a result, the team can focus on developing the website rather than devoting time to selling ads.

Matthias has been happy about the performance of AdSense, and is currently working to continue growing the user base and revenue from the site. He makes uses of other Google products like Analytics, which provides insights to help the team continue improving the site. In addition, Sportonline.de has already developed a large following on Google+, where the team shares content and interacts with over 35,000 fans.

For more on Sportonline.de’s start-up success, read the full story. Join us here again next Tuesday for another inspirational publisher story, and feel free to share your comments on our AdSense +page.

10 for 10 publisher stories: El Androide Libre moves its business forward

In each of the 10 weeks leading up to AdSense’s 10th anniversary on June 18th, we’ll be sharing a new publisher success story. Read on to meet this week’s featured publisher, and feel free to submit your own success story to our team. 

Madrid-based elandroidelibre.com (“the free Android”) is a Spanish-language blog that features news, reviews, games and other apps for Android smartphone users. Launched in 2009, it now employs six people and receives 6.5 million visits each month.

Administrator and editor Paolo Álvarez got started with AdSense right from the start, which has accounted for around 40 percent of the site’s income. “Much of elandroidelibre’s growth is due to AdSense,” Paolo says. “We regard it as an essential tool that’s helping us to set up more blogs, take on more staff, and earn more revenue.” So far, he’s been highly satisfied with the ads appearing on his site, and notes that the 300 x 250 Medium Rectangle and the 728 x 90 Leaderboard formats work particularly well.

Paolo also uses other Google products to manage the site. He relies on Analytics to gain a better understanding of the site’s visitors, and also DoubleClick for Publishers, Google’s free ad serving solution, to manage his online advertising more effectively and segment traffic from different countries.

Hear more from Paolo in the full case study. We’ll see you next week for our next ‘10 for 10’ publisher success story as we continue counting down to AdSense’s 10th anniversary.

10 for 10 publisher stories: Northlight Images develops a successful photography business

In each of the 10 weeks leading up to AdSense’s 10th anniversary on June 18th, we’ll be sharing a new publisher success story. Read on to meet this week’s featured publisher, and feel free to submit your own success story to our team. 

Meet Keith Cooper, a commercial photographer based in Leicester, England. He runs Northlight Images, a site that was originally intended to promote his business, but which has grown to include hundreds of photography-related articles and reviews. The site has now become one of the world’s top 40 photography sites, receiving over five million unique visitors a year.



Keith signed up for AdSense in 2005 after exploring a number of options. The income from the program has enabled him to focus on the areas of photography he’s interested in. “AdSense is solid and dependable,” he says, “and it earns me 80 to 90 percent of my advertising revenue.”

To maximize the site’s effectiveness, Keith also uses a variety of other Google products. “Google+ is the one that really does it,” he says. “It brings in people who are interested in the topic and looking for specific information, so they spend more time on the site and ultimately increase my revenue.”

If you’d like to read more of Keith’s story after watching the video above, check out the full case study. There’s only one more post left in our ‘10 for 10’ series -- be sure to join us back here next week for our final story!

Posted by Arlene Lee - Inside AdSense Team

Was this blog post useful? Share your feedback with us.

Introducing the AdSense 10 Challenge

In celebration of AdSense’s upcoming 10th anniversary, we’re hosting a free 10-week masterclass to help you become an AdSense expert and grow your revenue. This upcoming Learn with Google for Publishers series, the AdSense 10 Challenge, starts on June 25th and we’d love for you to join us!

What is the AdSense 10 Challenge? 
Over the course of 10 weeks, we’ll equip you with the tools and insights you need to make the most out of your online business with AdSense. We’ll cover a range of topics and show you ways to increase your revenue, uncover new information in your reports, and set up experiments to determine the best layouts for your site. You’ll meet members of the AdSense community like optimization specialists and experienced AdSense publishers. In addition, we’ll host office hours each week on Google+ to answer your questions on the topic of the week.

At the end of each week, let us know how you’re doing by filling out a short check-in survey. Check-in all 10 weeks and you could be featured on our Google+ page as a Challenge Finisher and receive a limited edition AdSense 10 t-shirt.

When is the Challenge and what topics will it cover? 
The AdSense 10 Challenge will take place online from June 25th - August 30th. We’ll cover a wide range of topics designed to encourage AdSense success. For more information, check out the schedule below and add it to your Google Calendar.

• Week 1, 6/25 - 7/1 - Welcome to the AdSense 10 Challenge
• Week 2, 7/2 - 7/8 - Understanding Your Performance Reports
• Week 3, 7/9 - 7/15 - Optimization Opportunities 
• Week 4, 7/16 - 7/22 - Make Better Decisions with Google Analytics - part 1
• Week 5, 7/23 - 7/29 - Make Better Decisions with Google Analytics - part 2
• Week 6, 7/30 - 8/5 - User Experience: Understanding Your Users
• Week 7, 8/6 - 8/12 - User Experience: Engaging Your Users
• Week 8, 8/13 - 8/19 - User Experience: Testing What Works Best
• Week 9, 8/20 - 8/26 - Mobile: The Time is Now
• Week 10, 8/27 - 8/30 - Grow and Engage with Google+

Where do I sign up?

Click here to register

As we get closer to June 25th, we’ll share more information about the Challenge on our Learn with Google for Publishers community on Google+. So be sure to join the community and check back soon for updates.

See you at the Challenge!

Posted by Laurie Shiau - Inside AdSense team
Was this blog post useful? Share your feedback with us.