Kinda beginners question. payment discrepancy

[markbaa]

This seems a fairly basic question, and I don't think of myself as a beginner, but I think I'm missing something fundamental.

I have a mildly popular site which ranks fairly well for a niche which is reasonably competitive for adwords.

Now, I did some digging for some of the top terms I'd be expecting google to think my site is about (the theme of the site is very strong, so it's not a big guess) and went to see what it would cost to advertise via adwords. To get number 1 adwords spot in the US for those words ranges, but virtually all the terms are over $5, and up to $20. Yet, I look at my earnings, and I'm getting an average of about 70c a click. (traffic is about 60 - 70% US).

So, what's up with that? I mean, sure, not everyone is paying the $5 for top spot, but surely, some people are, and some are paying $15 - 20, so I should be seeing more than 70c average? What am I missing?

[Zygoot]

The $5 is a maximum bid and possibly people who bid that high solely advertise on the search network. Additionally, they also have the option to bid lower to advertise on the content network.

So you aren't missing anything. 70 cents per click is very normal, in fact I believe it's a lot more than average.