Have you ever heard of the AdSense ads category? Do you have any specific information about them and how they can affect your overall performance?
In this article, we explain what AdSense categories are and, more importantly, how blocking ad categories affects AdSense income.
Irrelevant ads can be a double-edged sword: they hurt your click-through rate (CTR) and potentially damage your blog’s credibility.
We all know that Google tries to match ads to your content, yet there can be times when irrelevant categories appear. This could be due to a need for perfectly matched ads or an attempt to show interest-based options. And you will know that these mismatched ads can lead to decreased earnings.
But we are here to stop this from happening and help you strike a balance between a clean user experience and maximizing your AdSense revenue.
How? Blocking AdSense categories offers a solution, but is it the best approach? This article explores the impact of category blocking on your AdSense earnings and guides you toward finding the optimal strategy.
So, let’s dive into the topic ASAP!
What Are AdSense Categories?
First, let us explain what are the AdSense categories and how they are being used!
AdSense categories aren’t used to categorize your website itself. Instead, they categorize the ads that get shown on your site.
AdSense Category Breakdown:
- What is its Purpose? Google AdSense uses these categories to allow you to block certain types of ads from appearing on your website. For instance, if you run a family-friendly cooking blog, you might block ad categories like gambling or adult content.
- How is it Selected? You don’t choose categories for your site. Google’s system automatically analyzes your content and places ads relevant to your audience and niche.
- How does it give you control? While Google categorizes ads, it could be better. However, you can use these categories to block entire sections of ads you don’t want on your site, giving you some control over the ad content.
Now that you are familiar with the AdSense categories let’s learn how we can block them to give you more control over what is on our website.
How to Block AdSense Categories?
AdSense lets you block all categories of ads that are “sensitive” due to their content or industry, such as those featuring sensationalism or significant nudity. This helps you to control the ad experience for your visitors and potentially your brand image.
Here is the complete explanation of how the AdSense categories block works on your website:
- Automated Categorization: AdSense uses its technology to classify ads into different categories automatically. This platform tries to filter out the ads from blocked categories, but there is no guarantee that all the related ads will be excluded.
- Supported Languages: Website owners need to know that blocking sensitive categories is only available for a specific set of languages, regardless of your website’s primary language.
After gaining all this information, it is time to learn the process for blocking AdSense categories.
How To Block Ad Categories on AdSense Account?
If you want to get familiar with the process of blocking sensitive ads, follow these steps.
Here’s a step-by-step guide:
- Log in to your AdSense account, then find and click on “Brand Safety.”
- Choose the specific product (e.g., Content for AdSense for content ads).
- Then select Blocking controls.
For a specific site: Enter the website name and click Search. Choose the site from the results. If your site isn’t listed, use the site management feature to add it.
- Click on Manage sensitive categories.
- Here, you can toggle individual categories on or off to block or allow them on your chosen site. Changes are saved automatically.
Now, let’s see how we can block sensitive categories across all the sites.
To block sensitive categories across all your sites, you have to:
- Follow steps 1-3 above.
- Directly click on Manage sensitive categories.
- Use the controls to block or allow categories for all your sites.
By taking advantage of AdSense’s category-blocking feature, you can create a more tailored ad experience for your audience and potentially enhance your brand image.
How Blocking Ads Categories Affect AdSense Earnings?
If you want to block all ad categories, this will limit the various potential ads competing for space on your website. This can lead to fewer clicks and potentially lower earnings, especially for niche categories.
These irrelevant ads are unlikely to get clicks, ultimately hurting your click-through rate (CTR) and revenue. If you block such categories, you can actually improve the website’s CTR by showing more relevant ads to the visitors.
The key lies in strategic blocking. Consider these factors:
- Brand Alignment: Block categories that are not lined up with your brand image (such as adult content on a children’s website).
- User Experience: Block disturbing or irrelevant ad formats that might annoy visitors (for example, flashing ads).
- Category Performance: It is better to analyze which categories historically perform poorly on your site in terms of clicks and CTR. Blocking these can free up space for possible higher-performing ads.
All you have to remember is that AdSense doesn’t guarantee blocking every single ad within a category. It’s best to monitor your performance after blocking and adjust your strategy if needed.
Now that you have learned that blocking ad categories positively affects your AdSense earnings let’s end this article.
The Take Away
It is better to use blocking AdSense categories as a powerful tool to improve the user experience and brand image of your website. However, use it carefully to avoid losing significant ad revenue.
All you have to do is analyze your audience and ad performance to find the perfect balance between control and income. You also can track your earnings and compare them before and after blocking a category to see if it actually hurts your income.
All in all, you can block sensitive categories without hesitation. These categories can negatively impact your visitors’ experience, so it’s best to keep them out.
If you have any experience blocking AdSense categories and seeing their results, positive or negative, please share them with us in the comment section so we can use them. Let’s start a conversation down below.