Nano2Sol by Marc Boucher

I get daily reports on our Google AdSense channels as well Google Analytics for the SpaceRef network of sites. The last few days have seen some strange disconnect between the two. Google Analytics is reporting a surge in traffic, in particular to a couple of old stories.

Today it’s reporting that a particular story which is 4 1/2 years old has generated 21,000 pageviews. The referring traffic indicates it’s organic from Google and for a particular keyword phrase, “first laser”, which is coming in 14th and on page two of Google results for the phrase. Yet when I look at Google AdSense the channel data suggest that traffic does not exist.

So which is right and which is wrong? I’m leaning to a problem in reporting from Google Analytics. It’s only recently that for some of my larger sites I’ve switched over to Google Analytics and I’m wondering if I did the right thing?

I wonder how many other people are experiecing the same problem.

Today on the Official Google Blog, Google announced the soft launch of Ad Manager an online service that will host and manage your online ad sales. And it’s free.

The service is in Beta mode right now and open by invitation only. The service provides publishers the ability sell, schedule, deliver and measure their directly-sold and network-based ad inventor. You can integrate Google AdSense and other ad networks as well.

From a small business perspective this offers a hassle free quick way to start selling your own inventory at the rates you want and maximizing your ad profits. If you have unsold inventory you can allow Google to compete for that inventory with other ad networks you specify and whoever provides the highest bid gets the inventory. And with the acquisition of DoubleClick you’ ll see Google eventually trying to fill that space with either AdSense or DoubleClick, that is of course if they don’t get outbid by another network. This is good situation for any publisher to be in. You sell as much inventory on your as you can, that way you get the highest cost per thousand ads (CPM) or allow Google to sell it for you knowing they or the other networks will take their cut and dilute your CPM.

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Google like all the big players needs huge data centers positioned around the world to handle the vast amounts of data they collect. In the March issue of Harper’s Magazine, author Ginger Strand gives her take on Google’s energy consumption needs and provides a sneak peek at Google’s, used to be secret, super cloud computing data center in The Dalles, Orgegon. Included is the blueprint to Google The Dalles data center.

“Velcroed together, stacked in racks, and lined up in back-to-back rows, the servers require a half-watt in cooling for every watt they use in processing, and Google leads the field in squeezing more servers into less space. Based on projected industry standard of 500 watts per square foot in 2011, the Dalles plant can be expected to demand about 103 megawatts of electricity - enough to npower 82,000 homes, or a city the size of Tacoma, Washington.”

With these type of energy needs it’s no wonder Google is investing big time in renewable energy and plans on being a leader in the field. The author it appears is not convinced of Google’s good intentions when it comes to clean energy. You be the judge.

So here I am on vacation in beautiful Maui enjoying a lazy Saturday afternoon sitting on my lanai facing the ocean reading my New York Times when I come across this article about Google’s analyst meeting yesterday.

What intrigued me was the where Google saw the most potential for advertising growth. They said mobile phones. Now this is not news in of itself. But it does remind me of another recent article I read about mobile phones and advertising. Basicly what’s in beta testing now is free mobile service in exchange for receiving those pesky SMS mobile text ads. I can see why Google could think that this would be a lucrative market. Image all those teenagers out there with parents screaming at them to control their monthly mobile phone bills. No problem, free service with Google ads.

The question is do you want all those ads disturbing you? And do you want your kids exposed to even more advertising? Think about it.