Online content and media consumption behaviors are continuously evolving. If you'd like to optimize your online business and help improve your AdSense performance, it's important to follow and adapt to the trends. We'd like to provide some resources to help you successfully navigate in an ever-changing digital environment.

Adapt your content to changing trends

It’s important to understand what’s top of mind for the people you’re aiming to reach in order to make your content interesting and useful to wide audiences. Below are some tools you can use to optimize your content:

Use Google Trends to analyze the popularity of top search queries in Google Search across regions and languages. If you need help with understanding, using and visualizing the data better, you can get Google Trends lessons.  

Stay on top of market trends in a dynamic environment and reflect it on your content to keep it up to date. While doing so, please be mindful of our content policies.

Use Question Hub to create richer content by leveraging unanswered questions online. Review these questions to get inspired and create deeper, more comprehensive content.

Track how your content performs 

Get to know your audience and how they engage with your site through Google Analytics. The earlier you spot changes in your user behavior, the quicker you can address them. You can review the below reports to get the insights: 

• Realtime Content Insights to identify the most popular articles amongst your audience
• Behavior Reports to understand the overall page and content performance of your site
• Acquisition Reports to review the shift in your site traffic and traffic sources. If you see unusual spikes from certain sources, you might want to monitor them. 
• AdSense Overview to see your revenue information once you link your AdSense account to Analytics. 

As an addition to your current content strategy, experiment with different content formats such as video or infographics and track the engagement on your site. If you see an improvement, you can double down on those content formats. Diversifying your content could help you expand your audience, and also improve the engagement of your current ones. 

Optimize your revenue stream

When your content is ready, appealing and easy to reach, you can optimize your AdSense account to maximize your revenue from the content you created. We know that creating content takes time, so we’d like to remind you of some solutions that you can use to get the most out of your content.

You may consider using Auto ads to help you increase your ads revenue. Auto ads are optimized to deliver better performing ads, so that you can spend more time creating the content your audience is searching for. As they work through any AdSense ad code, you can start using Auto ads byturning them on in your account. 

As time spent on mobile increases, it becomes even more important to have a mobile-friendly site with goodpage speed. This will help people to access your content without problems. Make sure your ad units are responsive in order to provide a positive ad experience regardless of which device people use to visit your site. 

Lastly, make sure that your site complies with the AdSense Program policies so that your business can grow sustainably. 

We’re here to support you through the AdSense forums, email and troubleshooters. Learn more about the support options available. 

Editor’s note: What impact can AI and machine learning have on journalism? That is a question the Google News Initiative is exploring through a partnership with Polis, the international journalism think tank at the London School of Economics and Political Science. The following post is written by Mattia Peretti, who manages the program, called JournalismAI.

In the global survey we conducted last year about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by news organizations, most respondents highlighted the urgent need to educate and train their newsroom on the potential offered by machine learning and other AI-powered technologies. Improving AI literacy was seen as vital to change culture and improve understanding of new tools and systems:

The message from newsrooms was loud and clear. So we decided to do something about it. That’s why we’re announcing a free training course produced by JournalismAI in collaboration with VRT News and the Google News Initiative. 

This Introduction to Machine Learning is built by journalists, for journalists, and it will help answer questions such as: What is machine learning? How do you train a machine learning model? What can journalists and news organizations do with it and why is it important to use it responsibly?

The course is available in 17 different languages on the Google News Initiative Training Center. By logging in, you can track your progress and get a certificate when you complete the course. The Training Center also has a variety of other courses to help you find, verify and tell news stories online.

It’s a tough time for journalists and news organizations worldwide, as they try to assess the impact that COVID-19 will have on the business and editorial side of the industry. With JournalismAI, we want to play our role in helping to minimize costs and enhance opportunities for the industry through these new technologies. This course complements our recently launched collaborative experiment, as well as our effort to highlight profiles and experiments that show the transformative potential of AI and machine learning in shaping the journalist, and the journalism, of the future.

At the end of the course, you’ll find a list of recommended resources, produced by journalism and technology experts across the world, that have been instrumental in designing our Introduction to Machine Learning and will help you dive even deeper in the world of AI and automation. 

And we are not done. After this course, and the previous training module with strategic suggestions on AI adoption, we are planning to design more training resources on AI and machine learning for journalists later this year. Sign up for the JournalismAI newsletter to stay updated.

Lately our family dining table has also become a work desk, a video conference room and … a kid’s playground. As I learn how to become a full time kids-entertainer, I welcome anything that can help me stay productive. And while I usually turn to Search when learning about new things, sometimes what I’m looking for is hard to describe in words.

This is where Google Lens can help. When my family’s daily activity involves a walk in the neighborhood, Lens lets me search what I see, like a flower in our neighbor’s front yard.

But it can also be a helpful tool for getting things done while working and learning from home. Today, we’re adding a few new features to make you more productive.

Copy text from paper to your laptop

You can already use Lens to quickly copy and paste text from paper notes and documents to your phone to save time. Now, when you select text with Lens, you can tap "copy to computer" to quickly paste it on another signed-in device with Chrome. This is great for quickly copying handwritten notes (if you write neatly!) and pasting it on your laptop without having to retype them all.

Copying text to your computer requires the latest version of Chrome, and for both devices to be signed into the same Google account.

Learn new words and how to pronounce them

Searches for learn a new language have doubled over the last few months. If you're using the extra time at home to pick up a new language, you can already use Lens to translate words in Spanish, Chinese and more than 100 other languages, by pointing your camera at the text.

Now, you can also use Lens to practice words or phrases that are difficult to say.  Select the text with Lens and tap the new Listen button to hear it read out loud—and finally figure out how to say “hipopótamo!”

Quickly look up new concepts

If you come across a word or phrase you don’t understand in a book or newspaper, like “gravitational waves,” Google Lens can help. Now, with in-line Google Search results, you can select complex phrases or words to quickly learn more.

These features are rolling out today, except for Listen which is available on Android and coming soon to iOS. Lens is available in the Google app on iOS and the Google Lens app on Android.

We look forward to hearing about the ways you use Lens to learn new things and get stuff done while at home.

Viewer attention is shifting dramatically as we spend more time at home–and we’ve heard directly from many advertisers that are working quickly to adjust their creative and media strategies, especially to orient toward streaming platforms.

Today, we are sharing new advertiser insights and accelerating the launch of a number of tools–including Brand Lift measurement on the TV screen and more flexible formats for content casted onto the TV screen–to help advertisers navigate this rapidly changing environment.¹

People are streaming on TV screens more than ever

As people spend more time at home, we’re seeing major shifts in streaming viewership. A recent Comscore report highlighted that over 70 million US households are now streaming content on their connected TV screens.

Nowhere is this shift more pronounced than on YouTube and YouTube TV. According to Comscore, YouTube has the highest reach and viewing hours among ad-supported streaming services, and represents a quarter of all streaming watch time across both subscription and ad-supported platforms in the US.² Stay at home directives have amplified this shift to the TV screens, as overall watch time there has jumped 80 percent year over year in March 2020.³

Diversity of viewer passions and interests is what inspires people to stream YouTube on their big screens–from tuning into their favorite health and fitness videos to leaning back with a creator sharing a bit of their world to watching more traditional media outlets reinvent their content for this new reality.

Below, we’ve shared just a few of the top content growth areas across both YouTube and YouTube TV on TV screens during this time. While people are enjoying movies and shows to unwind, they are also watching live content from their favorite creators and cultural moments.

People are also gravitating to the consistently new and fresh content YouTube creators put out every day. In fact, over 60 percent of signed-in viewers of YouTube on TV screens watched a video published in the last 7 days.⁴

And, we see different user behavior when people engage with YouTube on the TV screen–it's often enjoyed with others, unlike the more individual experience on the mobile device. In a recent custom Nielsen study commissioned by Google, we found that 26 percent of the time, multiple 18+ viewers are watching YouTube together on the TV screen, compared to 22 percent on linear TV.⁵  

Making it easier to measure results across YouTube streaming platforms

With increases in watch time and an influx of daily visitors, brands in a position to continue marketing can make their budgets go further on YouTube by expanding their strategies to incorporate streaming.

With media mixes becoming increasingly reliant on streaming, it’s more important than ever to measure its impact. As a result, we’re accelerating the launch of Brand Lift for YouTube on TV screens. For viewers, this means surveys are now optimized for the big screen and interactivity with a TV remote, so people can easily respond or skip the survey.

This will enable marketers to make informed decisions about ad performance, and better optimize streaming campaigns in real time whether they are using Google Ads or Display & Video 360 for both reservation and auction campaigns.

Whether a campaign is focused on ad recall, purchase intent or awareness, Brand Lift will help make budgets go further. It will be available in the coming weeks for the YouTube app, and in early Q3 for YouTube TV. 

Bringing more formats to the big screen

As viewers spend more time watching YouTube on the TV screen, we are continuing to evolve to help advertisers better reach their customers where they are.

Late last year, we launched the YouTube Masthead on TV screens to help advertisers drive awareness with a large audience in a single moment. Advertisers like Uber are seeing success using this format to reach their audiences when they’re in lean back mode and where they are increasingly spending their time.

Travis Freeman, Global Head of Media at Uber said, “The Masthead on TV screens has been a critical component to build awareness for our #MoveWhatMatters initiative—which offers 10 million free rides and food deliveries for frontline healthcare workers, seniors and people in need. The Masthead, deployed in both the US and Canada, enabled us to easily amplify our message and reach our audiences where they are watching now more than ever.”

This year, we’re also bringing more format flexibility to streaming by introducing the popular skippable ad format for content that is casted onto the TV screen. As casting watch time soared by over 75 percent year over year,⁶ this provides advertisers a new way to reach their audience as they embrace the evolving ways consumers are watching their favorite content.

In a time when an eager audience is hungry for new content, YouTube is able to deliver fresh video to households across the world daily—within the niche or mainstream categories they love. By accelerating new tools and features, we’re committed to helping you grow your business in the changing world of viewership and streaming on TV screens. 

Reach out to your Google sales team to learn more about YouTube and YouTube TV on TV screens, and the new features shared today to support your campaigns.

2. Comscore OTT Intelligence, Oct. 2019, U.S

3.  YouTube Internal Data; US, March 2020 over March 2019 YoY

4. YouTube Internal Data; Global, March 11-April 10 2020

5. Custom Nielsen study commissioned by Google. Custom YouTube cTV match to Cross-Platform Homes Panel. Coviewing percentage is calculated as the percentage of minutes when a P18+ is watching with another P18+ in the same household. YouTube commercial viewership identified by matching served time of the cTV ping with Cross-Platform Homes Panel viewership during that minute. Linear TV is based on Live Total Day viewing of commercial minutes across all broadcast and cable networks. One minute qualifier. 11/5/2019-11/28/2019; 2/14/2020-2/29/2020. Results among US TV Households

6. YouTube Internal Data; Global, March 11-April 10 2020 over March 11-April 10 2019 YoY

Most of my family lives in Colombia, South America, and video calling has been a life-changing way for my dad and grandparents to watch my daughters grow up. Recently, video calls have also become the only way for my daughters to see their grandmas who live nearby. Although the physical separation has been hard for all of us, Google Duo makes it easier to let family know how much we miss them, show off our latest artwork and just act silly together like we would in person. Last month, we announced new features on Duo to help you stay connected, and today I’ll share updates that make conversations with loved ones even more special.

More fun with the family with family mode

Our new family mode lets you doodle on video calls for everyone to see and also surprise them with fun effects and masks that transform you into astronauts, cats and more. Just start a video call, tap the menu icon and then tap Family to get started. You don’t have to worry about accidental mutes or hang-ups because we’ve hidden those buttons while you’re playing together. This new family mode is available when signed into Duo with your Google account. As always, calls on Duo are end-to-end encrypted and stay private between you and your loved ones.

Add pizzazz to video calls with new effects

In addition to bringing masks and effects to our new family mode, we’re bringing them to any one-on-one video calls on Android and iOS—starting this week with a Mother’s Day effect. We’re also rolling out more effects and masks that help you express yourself, from wearing heart glasses to transforming into a flower. 

Bring people together in more ways

In the coming weeks, you'll be able to make group calls with Duo on the web, starting as a preview on Chrome, alongside a new layout that lets you see more people at the same time. To make getting together easier, you’ll also be able to invite anyone with a Google account to join a group call with just a link.

We hope these features help you better connect with your nearest and dearest, and also bring a little bit of fun to your conversations.