Webmasters value the ability to gauge specific metrics about their site without having to worry about complex and time-consuming methods. One of the best ways in which webmasters can gain valuable information about their websites in real time is the Google Publisher Toolbar. This add-on works directly with Google Chrome to provide various details in-browser while you are viewing a particular page or site. What features can the Google Publisher Toolbar offer you in regards to maintaining and optimizing your website? Continue reading to find out about all this Chrome extension has to offer.

Account Overview

This broad feature can be accessed directly from the browser; it will display any and all Google-related data about your site in real time. Included in this are updates regarding your estimated account earnings (with ranges for today, the past week, month and year). You will also be able to see any custom channels (up to five) and can sort them by the amount of revenue each has earned. There is also the option to view your total lifetime revenue. This area is also the place from which you can enable ad overlays on your site. You will need to authorize your websites to be used with the Google Publisher Toolbar prior to using these features.

In-Site Ad Overlays

As previously mentioned, you can enable in-site ad overlays to display various data about the campaign using the Google Publisher Toolbar. Much in the same way that pinging Yahoo and other search engines with updates works, the Google Publisher Toolbar will ping revenue information and campaign details directly to the in-site ad overlays, showing you comprehensive details about the revenue you are earning without having to go into your settings or account details to see it. You can also use this feature as a way to block inappropriate ads from appearing on your websites.

In-Page Alert Bar

While logged in with the Google Publisher Toolbar, you can add other sites you own to the program while also seeing any new alerts or pop-ups pertaining to information about any of your sites. You will want to make sure that in-site ad overlays are already enabled in order for this to work as intended. The alert bar will show the number of eligible ads for overlays that are on any of your websites; by clicking the ad overlay notification button on the toolbar, you can then begin adding overlays to those ads. Simply agree to the notification that appears and all of your ads on that particular site will now display overlays.

Conclusion

While pinging Yahoo, Google and other major search engines is a great way to expand your reach, all webmasters need internal data to properly manage their websites. The Google Publisher Toolbar offers the ability to view comprehensive data about your website and the ads which are displayed on it, giving you more control over the revenue generation and appearance of your websites. Best of all, it is easy to install, does not cost anything and integrates well with any and all existing Google services.