Forum Moderators: martinibuster
I personally know of a handful of publishers who have taken a 2 digit income before adsense and turned it into a 5 digit monthly income. These same sites are now feverishly hiring content writers, programers etc. Another 6 months of adsense and these sites will become strong forces online. How has adsense affected your long term goals and how has adsense changed your industry?
Overture may not have been responding to advertiser demand; it could just as easily have been trying to differentiate its new "content ad" program from Google's earlier, more established, and technically superior product.
If I remember correctly, that Ov guys mentioned the "infamous" luggage ads in a morbid story incident, and say something to the effect that "human review is their advantage". Hey, it is business and Ov finds themselves playing catch up in an industry where they had years of head start.
Hey, it is business and Ov finds themselves playing catch up in an industry where they had years of head start.
Very true. It boggles my mind how far behind they and some of the others have gotten. Complacency I guess. Maybe a little arrogance as well?
JAG
That's been a problem for CPC banner networks, but Google has a trick or two up its sleeve. :-) AdWords that don't meet a certain clickthrough rate are dropped, and since AdSense ads are also AdWords ads (i.e., ads that run on Google search pages), it's easy enough for Google to weed out ads that were designed purely for branding. Also, ad position isn't determined solely by bid; clickthrough rates are also taken into account.
Excellent points. Thanks.
It's fun and interesting to see what is being done with contextual ads. For example, on articles about Britney Spears (in this link below she says the excitement of Las Vegas is partly to blame for her recent 55-hour marriage) we get ads on:
-Fake Bake tanning system
-Marriage Search
-Check Marriage Records
[nytimes.com...]
These ads are from Google. I've found that Fake Bake Tanning is on any article about Ms. Spears. This firm has decided that young women are reading about their Ms. Spears to learn how to be more like her. (Which, in the context of this article, is kind of scary for those of you with teen daughters.) From what I see, they seem to think it's working for them since they have been running in context like this for some time.
Which is interesting in many ways. You get to ride on the popularity of a celeb without their permission. If the ads we not at the bottom of the page--and they are not on a search engine like Google--pretty soon Fake Bake Tanning and Britney start being linked in consumers' mind.
Great for Google and Overture, but I wonder how Britney feels about it? Or Microsoft?
Quigo does the matching for Overture. Do a Google search on Quigo and you get ads for other firms who offer similar software. Ha. They WOULD be the first to figure it out.
This firm has decided that young women are reading about their Ms. Spears to learn how to be more like her.
I think that is a Google mistake since the advertiser has no control over where the ads show up.
JAG
on articles about Britney Spears (in this link below she says the excitement of Las Vegas is partly to blame for her recent 55-hour marriage) we get ads on:
-Fake Bake tanning system
-Marriage Search
-Check Marriage Records
That example just lends credence to two of my favorite arguments:
1) Contextual content ads work best on niche or special-interest sites, not on big general-interest "corporate partner" portals or news & entertainment sites.
2) Targeting keywords is only half the battle: In many cases, advertisers would also profit from being able to target by audience.
In the middle of the CDC wringing its hands over the flu, there was only one ad on Google and Overture on "flu" for several days. On the news articles there were public service Google ads. Now there are (let me go check) seven.
Europe, I don't see the problems you see here. This is a pretty good contextual marketing opportunity, at least for the marketers involved. I have also seen White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas have an ad appear in context on other articles on Britney's fun week-end.
My point is that contextual marketing can be used in a more sophisticated way.
Notice that Yahoo (the owner of Overture) is only running contextual ads on its own news pages on business/finance right now, and Yahoo is the king of linking. Anyone have any thought why?
One possible answer occurs to me: EuropeForVisitors is right. But, I don't think so in this case. It could be a lack of ads appropriate for entertainment (where they see most of their traffic). And, who wants to be with Iraq news, eh?
But, after the Presidential primaries, won't the two candidates want to run contextual ads with political news? And then maybe some of the special interests might want to get their voice in there?
This is interesting to me since, ya know, unlike Google, Yahoo knows how to sell ads. Interesting idea--get your contextual ad on Yahoo's news (they are by far the biggest dog on the news block, which CNN behind them). Oh, yeah, BTW, CNN carries Overture ads. Hmmmm.
But, I think I just made Europe's point for him: niche.
But, after the Presidential primaries, won't the two candidates want to run contextual ads with political news? And then maybe some of the special interests might want to get their voice in there?
I've already seen Google "sponsored link" ads for Howard Dean in WASHINGTON POST articles, so some of those millions in campaign donations are being spent on contextual advertising. :-)
I think this is the reasoning behind Overture new offering of a separate auction for editorial context ads. That was a big step. First, you get run of network with the keywords to target. But, what if you tighten it down so ads appear only in 'travel' or 'political' sections? Or health? Or finance? Very old fashioned, but appealing with the matching software.
Overture will build this network and it will start with Yahoo, then CNN and others such as USA Today and Associated Press' Customwire will join in.
Why will Yahoo bother? Money. The buy-in to this network will require payment of a premium. And the biding should also be more aggressive because the attention on it will be easier to focus. (You can market this "health news and info" concept to a firm in the health industry, for example, easier than you can sell them the entire Adsense idea where the marketer has to figure it all out.)
This will allow for branding and (gasp!) even graphics as well. And publishers will get paid more--if they have the right content.
I predict that the rule of unintended consequences will be in full force.
So, the next revolution is going to be niche Adsense. Google must have been thinking of this when they purchased Sprinks. And it's where Kanoodle's new managers are trying to go.
AdSense has always been about the niches. If Google had merely wanted page targeting, it wouldn't have bothered opening its doors to mom-and-pop sites. The question isn't whether AdSense is geared toward the niches (it is); it's whether AdSense will stick with its current one-size-fits-all/run-of-network media selection or let advertisers control where their ads appear.
<snip>
I simply don't think AdSense or anyone else can target as they are needing to do without offering some context. And you don't have to use a wild example such as Michael Jackson.
Iowa means something different in the political section than in does in the travel section. (OK, it doesn't mean anything in the travel section.)
I think what I am saying is that this goes to more of the readers frame of mind when they're in the entertainment section or the news section than it does to the actual content of what is being read. I still think tanning goes well with Britney, but, gee, in the entertainment section I'd try to offer one of her albums or videos--especially since you can enjoy it right NOW online. And, since that was with the entertainment news, that would be a good way to target that. Right now the targeting is not what it needs to be for the marketers, publishers or (let's not forget) the readers.
BTW: Why aren't all of those sites selling music online using this contextual stuff? I would think the conversion rate would be excellent--especially if it was keyed on entertainment news.
And, how are Michael Jackson's record sales going now, anyway? (Maybe we do not want to know.)
Anyway, Europe, these contextual guys and gals should listen to you. Niche will really tighten up the context where they can sell it.
[edited by: Jenstar at 7:11 pm (utc) on Jan. 16, 2004]
[edit reason] TOS, check stickymail [/edit]
However, from a strictly advertiser perspective, I question the value of contextual CPC traffic vs search CPC traffic.
Not that contextual traffic does not have an ROI...I just think the ROI of search traffic is higher.
It seems pretty obvious to me that people who are actively seeking information, products, or services about a specific topic are more likely to buy than people who happen to see a related ad while browsing content.
It seems pretty obvious to me that people who are actively seeking information, products, or services about a specific topic are more likely to buy than people who happen to see a related ad while browsing content.
It is not at all obvious to me. Our content site is visited by thousands each day seeking information, products and services about our specific niche topic. Since our content site is highly targeted (more so than if you do a keyword search on Google), our users are highly motivated around our topic.
There have also been a number of posts in the Adword forum about tests showing that Adsense was getting a better ROI than Search for those specific posters.
It is not at all obvious to me. Our content site is visited by thousands each day seeking information, products and services about our specific niche topic. Since our content site is highly targeted (more so than if you do a keyword search on Google), our users are highly motivated around our topic.
I'm with you. If Joe User searches on "widgetco cameras" or even "widgetco wd-40 camera," there's no reason to assume that he's ready to buy. The odds are just as good (perhaps better) that he just wants information on the camera so he can decide whether it's worth purchasing.
If, on the other hand, Joe User has just read a review of the Widgetco WD-40 at a site for photo enthusiasts and he clicks on a content ad, he's likely to be a hot prospect. Why? Because he's already had access to information. If he clicks on an ad at this stage of his research, he's probably ready to buy.
Many publishers with content sites are making good incomes from affiliate sales. That tends to support the belief that readers of special-interest sites are good prospects for vendors (just as, for example, readers of POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY are good prospects for the mail-order vendors whose multipage ads fill the back of that magazine every month).
Also, how many Google users even notice the AdWords along the side of a SERP? The advertiser who says "no" to content ads is writing off all the users who click search results instead of AdWords.
As both an Adword and Adsense user, I find no problems. Even if people don't click on my ads, there is still some indirect branding opportunities by being on other people's sites.
Everytime I've put an Adword campaign, I've noticed that traffic has increased, not due to the direct clicks from the ads, but from people checking out the site on their own after being exposed.
Of course, I don't have to pay real click for that - making Adsense very valuable to me.
Everytime I've put an Adword campaign, I've noticed that traffic has increased, not due to the direct clicks from the ads, but from people checking out the site on their own after being exposed.Of course, I don't have to pay real click for that - making Adsense very valuable to me.
Hmmm...maybe AdSense should plant a 45-day cookie when a reader clicks, the way many affiliate programs do. :-)
Hmmm...maybe AdSense should plant a 45-day cookie when a reader clicks, the way many affiliate programs do. :-)
LOL
Action Referral Period = 45 days
Action Referral Occurrences = unlimited
I second that :)
