Forum Moderators: martinibuster
For example, a click on an ad for digital cameras on a web page about photography tips may be worth less than a click on the same ad appearing next to a review of digital cameras.
[edited by: markus007 at 8:08 pm (utc) on April 1, 2004]
...with one main page that is really a trap page. The only way for a visitor to escape is to back out, or click on an adsense link...
an even better example would be GMail. I really don't see how users could be in a "buying" mood if they are reading mail from friends and family. Users might be clicking on gmail-ads just out of curiousity (e.g. to check out how much the new Lexus a friend bought is going for) or simply because out of boredom ("lets surf the 'net after reading all the email")
At the end of the day, advertisers will want to bid on whatever matches the ROI. Paying the same for forums and ecommerce sites will end up with a bid price somewhere in between the acutal value of a bid for each type.
Sure, and paying the same for search and content will deliver a bid price somewhere between the actual value of a bid for each type. All Google has to do is eliminate the "opt out" option for content ads, and the market will determine what the optimum bid for any keyword or keyphrase should be.
I see some pushing the idea that google will move to a pay per conversion model. Do you really think in the longterm that advertisers will want google to know its sales figures? That is why that whole model is in my opinion flawed in thinking. Google may think that this is the way to go, however privacy concerns will ensure this does not suceed in my opinion.
There's no indication that Google is moving to a pay-per-conversion model; it's just moved to a pay-per-anticipated-conversion model. Therefore knowing the sales figures or conversion rates of all advertisers isn't necessary: Google merely needs to have a large enough statistical sample to devise a formula.
a) my adsense revenue has too gone down, and
b) as an Adwords advertiser I am not very impressed with the conversion tracking they offer. I got far more conversions from adwords than their system indicated and the cost per conversion figure they indicated for me was WAY out. IMO they better improve that before they go making wholesale changes based on that data....
If it is based on accurate data I can see how this would be an excellent system to base payouts on.
They had to develop this information somehow, somewhere or someplace...else the alternative it is smoke and mirrors behind a revenue shift.
I am still waiting to hear how the adwords users have seen a dramatic shift downwards starting April 1, indicating that this is a passthrough event not a money grab by google. (think about 400 posts ago I asked this?)
In summary have to agree with he others that advanced warning wasn't present on a major impact to googles partners. This is probably the most disturbing issue. Always knew they could jerk around the pay scales and was willing to take the risk, however doing it with no notice is truly unprofessional and lacks in trust building at the least.
I was going to give it a month's data to see what happened, but if this continues the change will be made before the week is out.
And it will probably involve direct deals with the companies whose ads have been carried on my site. I'm making them way more money than is reflected in the current AdSense payout, and we'll just cut Google out of the picture if this keeps on going like it is.
MQ
The main problem with the changes seems to be the random ads that showed up. Today i have had web design ads even though my site is nothing to do with web design at all.
After doing some thinking it appears us as publishers were too hasty in accepting such an open-ended agreement from Google. They held all the chips, did not disclose payment formula and made the relationship very one-sided. A good contract protects both parties, not just one.
Once publishers start leaving en masse, and/or news of thousands of unhappy publishers leaks into mainstream media (not just web sources) things may change.
