europeforvisitors - 1:58 am on Aug 19, 2005 (gmt 0)

"G"'s adsense system has always been "bulk traffic" ...effective but nowhere near as effective as similar interest purchases ..for years we used to identify "marks" as coming from defined socio economic groupings with definable puchasing patterns and interests ..apparently someone just reinvented the wheel..

I think you're comparing apples and oranges:

apples = niche publications and Web sites that reach special-interest audiences (such as POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY or AMERICAN DRYCLEANER).

oranges = general-interest publications whose audiences are defined by demographics and psychographics (such as THE NEW YORKER or THE NEW YORK POST).

AdSense is very strong in the "apples" category. If you want to reach travelers who are looking for hotel rooms in Shelbyville or camera enthusiasts who want to buy carbon-fiber tripods, AdSense's contextual targeting was made for you.

AdSense is obviously weaker in the "oranges" category. If you're trying to reach upscale suburban strivers who aren't car enthusiasts but might be persuaded to impress their neighbors by purchasing a Jaguar, you'll have trouble reaching them with AdSense. You'd be better off with an ad in THE NEW YORKER or CONDE NAST TRAVELER.

Advertisers like targetted ..ROI ..adsense from an advertisers point of view is not good ROI...

Really? Quite a few advertisers would disagree with that. Again, it depends on what you're selling, what audience you're trying to reach, what you need to pay, and whether contextual targeting limits your audience to people who are interested in--and able to buy--your product or service.

There's no such thing as a "one size fits all" advertising solution--which is why AMERICAN DRYCLEANER and POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY exist alongside THE NEW YORKER and THE NEW YORK POST.