The future of AdSense is one that is much debated. The following is a look at some of the most prominent and promising ideas circulating about how Google AdSense will, and can, evolve from what it presently is. These ideas concern changes to specific uses of AdSense, the growth of AdSense and changes that would affect advertisers and site publishers who utilize AdSense.

First, in reference to the specifics of AdSense programming, algorithms are steadily becoming more powerful and developing greater capabilities. This has been seen in the Google search engine itself and the same results are expected to eventually affect AdSense. Those advertisers, who manipulate their content, allowing irrelevant high paying keywords to appear, will be faced with a major problem. They will have to contend with placing appropriate keywords in their content.

More protection for AdWords advertisers is projected for the future. This protection will address click fraud. Google currently acknowledges that click fraud is a key issue with the AdSense program and that it must be attended to. At the moment, those sites that experience high levels of traffic are able to disguise IP addresses and fraudulently increase the amounts of clicks on their site. ‘Smart pricing’ is one tool that could keep click fraud from occurring. This tool allows a set value of clicks to be placed on any one ad. If that value is surpassed, no further revenue will be made.

The growth of AdSense is global, offline and online. Google is investigating ways to integrate AdSense into other forms of media. AdSense usage would be extended to newspapers, television, movie screens, etc. This may be technologically possible in the future, though right now it seems less factual and more fiction-based. Google currently has access to an array of over 150,000 international advertisers. These advertisers could be given the ability to penetrate offline markets in different countries. Likewise, offline distributors may be allowed to create an AdWords format to advertise in content, in search and offline. But the major wave-maker in advertising technology is RSS. This technology has the possibility to send targeted ads directly to users, without navigation away from their current site. ‘Interactive television’ and similar products have been attempting to perfect this technology for a while. However, the Internet serves as a more appropriate medium, because of the absolute interactive potential the Internet possesses.

Advertisers utilizing AdSense could see more available options. One of these would be the ability to control where your contact is being displayed. This option would translate into the ability to block your product from being displayed on sites that host AdSense ads if you feel that the content does not relate to your product. On the flip side, Google has already introduced site-targeted CPM. This allows AdSense advertisers to place ads on a site regardless of whether the content is related to the product or not.

Publishers who use AdSense are almost demanding more available options. Google could offer publishers the ability to specify their own keywords. If this were to occur, publishers would be in more control of the ads being displayed on their site. While Google has been reluctant to offer this option, it is technologically possible. Also, publishers have begun to request clear specifications of AdSense’s pricing policy. Google has yet to offer an explanation of why this information is not made public, but industry insiders do not believe that Google will release any specific pricing information in the near future.

Another feature that AdSense could eventually offer publishers is allowing them to view links generating clicks. Along with the links, publishers could also view the specific keywords that were used in the links when they were clicked on. But this feature could threaten the AdSense system. The issue that arises is an opportunity for AdSense-only websites to be created, with the obvious goal of generating revenue. These sites would be devoid, or ignore, any content which is supposed to be the backbone behind AdSense ads.

At the end of the day, most of the discussed applications, tools and techniques are nothing more than mere speculation. Google is bound to surprise the industry with new features, some that are anticipated and others that would have never been thought possible.