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The odds of you losing money due to a scheme with Google’s name attached to it are decreasing.  Earlier this month, the search giant started cracking down on payout scams that cite its brand.

Here, as the AdWords Help Experts reported, is the text of the email Google’s contacting certain advertisers with: “It’s come to our attention that you have submitted ads that promote Google Money Tree or ads that promote a misrepresented affiliation with Google.  Due to multiple complaints from our users and publishers, we’ve made the decision not to accept these ads.”

The email then continues, “This is a notification that your account has been suspended due to the submission of these ads and your ads will no longer run on Google.  Please note that future accounts you open will also be suspended.”

So Google’s taking the matter quite seriously, which is nice.  Google’s actually scored high in a number of “brand trust” surveys, so scams in its name are especially dangerous.

With all due respect, we’d just offer the tip that you avoid doing anything the least bit suspicious-looking.

Imagine, if you will, the first time a billboard went up.  People must have stopped and stared at the enormous advertisement, regardless of what shoddy or excellent product it featured.  And now, Google’s giving you the opportunity to do the same sort of thing with AdSense ad units.

Font sizes labeled “small,” “medium,” and “large” are all available for advertisers to use as they see fit.  The default size is medium, which is actually a bit bigger than what most people are used to seeing, and may therefore yield better results.

Or you can opt for the small size and make users feel a little less pressured to click.  Or just throw caution to the wind and see how users react to the large size.  Google won’t hold you to whatever adjustments you make, so it’s always possible to switch things back or micromanage.

In fact, a post on the Inside AdSense blog points out to readers that they can make changes “on an account-wide basis or by individual ad unit — just follow the instructions listed in our Help Center. . . .  [W]e recommend testing these new font size options with your existing customizations to determine which combinations perform best on your pages.”

So see if you can make people stop and gawk at (and click on) any ads on your site.  At least until the novelty wears off, there’s likely some extra money to be made.

If you’re pressed for time, here’s the takeaway point of this article: Don’t put all of your figurative eggs in the mobile commerce basket just yet.  Information gathered by eMarketer indicates that growth in this field is painfully slow.

An eMarketer article states, “A 2008 Nielsen Mobile poll found that only 9.2 million US mobile subscribers purchased goods or services with their handset - a low figure when compared with a JPMorgan projection of 233 million total subscribers.  Even lower next to eMarketer’s estimate of 270 million US mobile phone subscribers in 2008.”

And although 2009 might be better - the iPhone, the Palm Pre, and the Android operating system are liable to help - stats suggesting that any sort of huge surge has taken place haven’t appeared.

Plus, even if people do start to make purchases using their phones, a Harris Interactive poll found that individuals generally aren’t willing to go for expensive items, opting instead for cheap stuff like pizza, movie tickets, and music.  Admittedly, hotel rooms count as a pricey, high-ranking item, but you have to figure the overlap of need and convenience is a huge factor there.

So if your blog or site isn’t optimized for viewing on a cell phone, well, don’t sweat it.  This might be a fine option to pursue if you have the time, but otherwise, your energy can probably be put to better use.

Google’s Keyword Tool seems like a potentially magical thing - after all, what better source of keyword ideas than the search giant through which 60+ percent of all queries are processed?  But it may be best if you don’t entirely bet your site’s success on the tool’s abilities.

Earlier today, Barry Schwartz asked his readers a simple question: “Do You Trust Google’s Keyword Tool?”  Exactly 169 people have responded so far, so the results are (although we won’t get into the exact mathematics of the statistical significance) quite noteworthy.

And as for how they responded, 22 percent of people said that, yes, they do trust Google’s Keyword Tool.  Which isn’t exactly overwhelming.  On the other hand, just 11 percent of folks said they didn’t trust the tool.

A full 64 percent of people landed somewhere in the middle with the response “Not Fully.”  Whether that sounds like a vote of confidence or not may depend on whether you tend to see glasses as half full or half empty.

So use the Keyword Tool as a go-to idea generator, perhaps . . . just don’t accept every term it spits out simply because the Google logo is visible on the same page.

Are you a person who likes to micromanage by the minute?  Or perhaps you’re the type who prefers to tend to something once and then retire to the couch.  Well, pay per click campaigns are a tricky matter, and one expert has weighed in with her thoughts on what sort of approach works best.

Jen Slegg believes advertisers don’t need to start rethinking their approach a mere one or two - or even 20 or 30 - clicks into a campaign.  Instead, she suggested in a guest post on the adCenter Blog for Advertisers, “[A]im for at least 100 ad clicks before you start tweaking things around.”

Unless there’s a sort of exceptional circumstance, anyway.  Slegg says to watch out for when a product (or info about a product) gets updated, and to keep up with the competition in this case so that your ads/site don’t look outdated.

Also, watch out for related news - think a product getting featured on the “Today” show or something of that nature - and then be ready to capitalize on the fresh words and phrases that might get people to visit your site.

Which isn’t so bad, right?  Really, given the sort of results a PPC campaign can generate, it’s kind of a gift that a campaign can be successful as the result of so little work.

Get to it, then, and here’s hoping you can still spend a fair amount of time on the couch.

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.