Forum Moderators: martinibuster
I can't chalk this up to coincidence -- I wonder how long it will take to correct? I mean -- will Google's algo figure this out by the end of the day, or should I go back to the format where I was actually being paid?
It isn't a huge concern... but the difference in one day is about $15.00.
I have come to the following theory:
1. Due to choosing text ads only, I have been showing 4 ads consistently in my 600x120 skyscraper.
2. ONE or TWO of these regular high-bidding advertisers has selected my site for site-targetted CPM ads.
3. Since 4 ads were displaying, and not the particular advertisers all by themselves, the skyscraper was displaying the normal 4 ads. (Assuming no one gets single text ad skycrapers? -- haven't seen any)
4. Now that I have changed the format to (2) 125x125 ads, one above the other, the advertiser(s) that have selected my site now appear alone in their own ad so CPM ads took effect immediately.
My question is then... how long will it take Google to realize neither of us are getting paid as much as we were the other way?
I am willing to give this until tomorrow afternoon... then I'm switching back to the skyscraper.
When sorting which ads to show Adsense must work out how much you get eCPM wise for your normal ads as opposed to what you will get for CPM ads.
If the CPM ads will not earn you more then they should not show.
However what if (by some bizarre hole in the code):
you have created basically a new ad unit - Adsense now in choosing your ads has 'forgotten' the eCPM for your normal ads and has no basis (or maybe a flawed one for comparison). Then perhaps the ads are competing on a more equal footing than they should and as the CPM ads are guaranteed to earn then they are the ones that are shown.
Pure conjecture on my part but I seem to remember Alika having problems when CPM ads started and G apologising for a flaw in the targetting.
It isn't a huge concern... but the difference in one day is about $15.00.
I extrapolate that to USD 5,475.00 per annum...a BIG concern!
(Assuming no one gets single text ad skycrapers? -- haven't seen any)
Me neither, they're hitting my leaderboard all the time though.
I am willing to give this until tomorrow afternoon... then I'm switching back to the skyscraper.
Totally agree, I usually try for about 48 hours before making that decision.
Let us know what happens.
There are 1200+ of these pages with that ad format only, so I'm assuming each page will have to load at least a few times before it is re-analyzed. Early panic effect on my part. ;-)
Hopefully I will see the actual effect of my change in format (overcoming the ad blindness) real soon. I'm using the random multi-color idea.
so I'm assuming each page will have to load at least a few times before it is re-analyzed.
I'm not too sure how this new stuff is being analysed however any new page I upload seem to be 90% correct first time round and 100% within a couple of refreshes.
I am in a distinct niche therefore it is probably easier for the algo to understand my pages.
It sounds like you may already know this, but after changing your ad formats you may have to wait up to 48 hours or more before each of your pages is re-indexed by our crawlers and relevant ads begin to appear.
Also, keep in mind that certain pages may take longer for our crawlers to index than others, even if they are both located under the same top-level domain.
-ASA
I actually discovered the real problem yesterday!
When I changed the ad format I had also removed a seemingly insignificant link that was positioned just below the ads. It is a 2 word link to another site of mine that gets very low traffic, but high EPC. Evidently that 2 word domain of mine was/is also the trigger for much higher paying ads!
What is amazing to me is that the exact same companies and identical ads show... they are just paying more for a specific keyword combination.
Needless to say, after puzzling for a few days I realized I had done more than just change the ad format... and subsequently my EPC had dropped so low that the CPM ads had kicked in!
I put the link back and almost immediately I was back in business. :-)
MORAL OF THE STORY:
NEVER make more than one change at a time... and document which changes you make, how they affect the site, etc.
I have learned my lesson!
