Forum Moderators: martinibuster
I've got a very tightly themed site, so the ads served should be fairly similiar.
I wanted to keep a running log of how well the site's ads are targeted, how different ads create different CTR rates, how the campaigns were tweaked, etc.
Now, according to the AdSense TOS - I can't give out specific info such as average cost per click and CTR rates.
However, it also states that any information I derive not from their confidential stats, but from my own, I can publish.
If I track how people leave the site with my own stats, can I say:
Of the 1000 people who visited the site this month, 150 left through AdSense ads, 300 just shut the window, 200 clicked on an affiliate link, 50 left through the contact page, etc?
Technically thats not giving away the CTR rate as one would have to know the page views and number of ads viewed.
Also, can I say things like the average CPC is up 5% this month over last? That's specific, but not actual numbers.
Thanks for any help with this, want to publish the info, but also want to stay within the TOS.
But in the case of this thread I think the lack of response is due more to the uncertainty that publishers feel about what they can safely reveal to others because of the Adsense TOS.
I know I'd hate to have said something was ok to reveal and then find the questioner got dumped by Google for following my advice.
Is having publishers live in fear of retaliation by Google really a good way to run the program?
Is having publishers live in fear of retaliation by Google really a good way to run the program?
Considering the potential for abuse, fraud and the of disclosure of reverse-engineered trade secrets (workings of the algo), I'd say it is the only possible way to run such a program!
I'm not attempting to give away 'trade secrets'. This all started as I want to understand AdSense better for my AdWords campaigns - and thought there was no better way to learn how to better target AdSense than to run a campaign myself, but in the meantime, I thought an analysis comparing 500 word content pages with large rectangles to 1000 word content pages with skyscrapers, etc., would be useful for both me and my audience.
It might be that I just need to bring this straight to Google and just see what they have to say.
I did not mean to imply that you were reverse-engineering. I just meant generally.
The question is, if one did manage to reverse engineer everything, figure out what words triggered what ads, found out how the payout percentage of the keywords in question, etc - could they actually use that information to the detriment of AdSense?
I've heard that you can't make a site just to take advantage of certain high keyword payouts, so reverse engineering for that fact is already against the TOS.
In the AdWords forum, there have been many times where discussions have come up about figuring out others CPC/CTR/etc using multiple data sets to reverse engineer their bids or CTR rates - now due to the formulas, these aren't going ot be exact numbers - but you can get very close.
Maybe its because I'm new to the AdSense program, but I don't see an easy way of manipulating the program, even if you knew the numbers, that would hurt the AdSense system - except in the case of the above of making a site just for a particular high priced keyword.
The question is, if one did manage to reverse engineer everything, figure out what words triggered what ads, found out how the payout percentage of the keywords in question, etc - could they actually use that information to the detriment of AdSense?
I think so.....There will always be people 'gaming' the system. therefore it is necessary that parts of the algo, formulas and payout percentages remain confidential.
