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The times, they are a-changing, and AdSense users should know that it also isn’t the same anymore.  Yesterday, there were some new policies introduced with which people who depend on AdSense for income probably need to become familiar.

Now, don’t panic - the world hasn’t been turned upside down (or even, in contrary to what some news reports might lead you to believe, overrun by swine flu-bearing sickies).  The fresh policies mostly amount to some tweaks and clarifications.

As explained on the Inside AdSense blog, “[A]ds may not be formatted in a way that makes them indistinguishable from other content on the page where they appear.”  Also, “Google ads, search boxes, and search results may not be placed in emails, as well as alongside emails.”

Another thing: “With this new policy, publishers aren’t permitted to place ads, search boxes, or search results on, within, or alongside other Google products in a way that violates the policies of that other product or service.  For instance, this would include placing ads on sites which allow users to download YouTube videos, which isn’t permitted by the YouTube Terms of Service.”

And finally, Google would continue to appreciate it if you don’t use the company’s logos and trademarks.

Easy enough, right?  So do some fine-tuning if need be, and then go back to business (and/or buying surgical masks and hand sanitizer) as usual.

Timing can be everything, and the saying is especially likely to apply when you’re asking a favor.  So if you decide to ask for links - hey, it happens, right? - it’s important to consider when exactly you should starting sending some nicely worded emails.

Barry Schwartz recently ran a poll on this issue, and 160 people responded.  The absolute worst day to send link request emails, according to these folks, is Saturday.  You’ve got to figure everyone will spend most of the day away from their computers, and be pretty quick with the “delete” button when they do check their email.

Next up in terms of bad ideas is Thursday.  How or why it appeared here is anybody’s guess.  But then come Friday and Sunday, and it’s likely that some of the same I-don’t-want-to-be-bothered attitude that people adopt on Saturdays will be present here.

Wednesday’s next, followed by Monday.  Monday’s presence this high on the list seems a bit odd, considering that people will have all sorts of stuff to catch up with and probably be in a bad mood from the weekend ending, besides.  You’re on your own with it.

Finally, though, is Tuesday.  A full 28 percent of Schwartz’s respondents identified this as the best day to send link request emails.  Why?  Well, it’s a good bet that everyone will be a little settled into the pattern of the week at this point and ready to accomplish some stuff.

As for the best time to send link request emails, we’ll cut to the chase and reveal that 40 percent of the survey’s participants favored the 8 AM to noon chunk of time.  Then 1 PM to 6 PM is popular with another 30 percent of the crowd.

Plan your schedule accordingly if you decide to seek out any links.

A repair company in the U.S. is turning its head to the skies and taking direction from Mother Nature as to where, and when, it should place its search ads.

Bad weather is good news for American Residential Services (ARS). The firm specializes in the repair of air-conditioning, heating units and plumbing systems across the U.S., often called out to towns that have experienced disasters on a major scale.

When ARS turned to TMP Directional Marketing for help with their search marketing strategy, the agency turned they eyes skywards - literally. By analyzing keywords, they made the connection between increases in keyword use and incidents of meteorological mayhem such as torrential flooding, ice storms, and heat waves.

“As we were ramping up the campaign and doing keyword expansions, we started to notice that often times if there was unseasonably cold weather in certain areas or flooding, there was an increase in traffic,” said Liz Serafin, senior director for SEM at TMP Directional Marketing, via ClickZ. “And in certain markets, depending on the duration of the triggers, they were running out of budget faster. So we took a step back and tried to get a little more strategic.”

Using Google alerts and a team of coordinators who kept tabs on meteorological sites such as Weather.com, the TMP Directional Marketing was able to divert ARS’ budget to areas that were far more likely to see an increase in need for their repair services.

Without the need for increased spending or exceeding cost per lead expectations, ARS increased leads nationally by 57%.

“For ARS, local search is growing significantly because you have the flexibility to define your audience, to define your geography and to move very quickly in the interactive environment — whether that is paid search, natural search or Internet Yellow Pages,” said Elizabeth Young, executive director of marketing and customer satisfaction at ARS.