AdSense for Search

Is it worth messing with?

[myrrh]

Some thoughts, please, on whether AdSense for search is worth the trouble to include on my pages. I've had little success with it but I've tried it only on a few low-traffic pages.

[whoyou]

I don't see anything wrong with using the search box:
It works for me, it's easy to install, cheap (free), users are getting results and oh ya I'm making a few dollars for helping.

Over time the results are more tuned with what the user is looking for, which may... give rise to your earnings.

I would not base your search experience with just low level traffic, give it some time and see what happens.

If you do not have any search functionality at all on the site then you have nothing to lose.

B

[BigDave]

I started using AdSense for search because of the variety of problems I was having with on-site search engines, it takes at least 3 times the disk space of the actual website, and CPU usage to rebuild the index.

I even tried using Google's search API, but that server isn't as reliable as google's main servers.

So, my options were to use sitesearch where google would keep 100% of the ad revenue, or AdSense where I would keep part.

On a good day, it would buy me lunch. The extra money is nice, but it isnt the reason that I use it.

[norbiu]

Adsense for Search is great. I make about $2 / day with it. I love it because the first results that show up are the ads, so the chances for them to get clicked are higher.

[netmeg]

There are quite a few days when I make more with Search across all my sites than I do in clicks. This latest update, where you can use your own page for the results is the bomb as far as I'm concerned.

[trannack]

I have a number of sites and I always put the search box on each page. Brings in a few hundred $ a month - so not to be sniffed at. Definately worth a go.

[Content_ed]

We run it on a random sprinkling of pages, may pay for coffee. It's the feedback about what people search for while on our site that's interesting. The #1 search they do is

www.oursite.com

I'm not sure if this speaks to a low level of search expertise on the part of our visitors, or if they are having trouble with our navigation and want to find the homepage:-)

[europeforvisitors]

My readers have never been very interested in internal site search (even when I've offered a search window at the top of every page), so NO kind of search has generated much revenue for me. Still, I do offer a search function using AdSense for Search, and it delivers extremely high CTR and eCPM for the modest amount of traffic that it generates.

Other benefits include:

1) It's free.

2) It's a no-hassle, no-overhead, set-and-forget solution.

3) It has a search interface that's familiar to anyone who uses Google, which means a large majority of searchers (and a huge majority of the people who use search to reach my site).

4) It generates revenue--not a lot, but enough to justify using it on my site.