steve40 - 6:36 pm on Mar 11, 2007 (gmt 0)

It could well be G has decided to take a larger percentage of the pie and even if they have there is nothing you or I can do to prove it, there are so many variables that are not just down to adsense even if the traffic is the same

SE referrals may be the same number as they were a year ago on the same page but there may be more long tale queries etc. etc.

If G has implemented a number of changes at the same time which is their normal way , as EFV said a quality score for publishers could have been implemented at the same time as an additional .001% increase in G earnings we are never going to know.

As companies grow and shareholders become a larger driving force ( increased earnings needed ) most large companies have implemented ways of increasing earnings and only when the next new breed of companies or technology comes along do you find out, The best example is to go back to the glory days of IBM where they could do no wrong and charge whatever they wanted to until the next generation of company could attack the customer base.

If G is taking a larger percentage and nobody here could even guess let alone prove it the market and competition will be who decides if publishers move elsewhere

I personally do not see any objection to this being discussed in an open forum providing posters do define that what they are doing is pure speculation and can not be proven

steve