CTR same, but eCPM dropping. do you see this too?

[danielanaidu]

So far this month (compared to same time frame last month), i have seen a drop in eCPM. The CTR is unchanged, which means that I'm earning less per click. Is anybody else seeing a similar trend? Do you think that this could be a result of advertisers lowering bids in response to economic fears? Or could Google be sharing less with advertisers because of its own fear? Or do you think there could be another reason?

[Laptop_Guy]

Same here. Starting this month eCPM is lower but CTR is the same.

[labnol]

The overall eCPM figures may go down if the average number of ad impressions are up.

[ArtistMike]

Reset/Change your Channel names and the AdSense system will reset your EPC.

Mike

[Leonard0]

Could be due to the arrows that are now allowing users to scroll down to lower-paying ads.
See [webmasterworld.com...]

[purplecape]

CTR for me is the same, eCPM is up--so I assume that Google is sharing more of their revenue with me. Or perhaps redistributing it from those of you who have seen lower eCPM to me.

[kidder]

Our ECPM has dropped this last week - should I say almost halved? CTR is about the same and traffic is up so in effect I'm sending more clicks but getting paid much less. It is something I am more than a little concerned about and it's once again making me consider other ways to monetize the traffic. Maybe advertisers are pulling back due to the tough economic climate right now.

[annej]

With the economy being like it is just now I suspect fewer advertisers are bidding and others are not willing to bid as much. How that goes will vary depending on the topic. Some topics also get seasonal variations.

[calman]

Agree completely with annej. Some sectors of the economy are really getting hammered right about now.

Clearly the impact on AdSense publishers will differ depending upon the subject matter of a site and its relationship to changes in the economy. Many will likely not feel it at all, but I suspect some are really going to be hurt until the economy turns around.

Those impacted may be able to reduce the effect by massaging the use of AdSense on their sites or by adding or adjusting revenue streams.

In my case, I notice a significant decline in EPC on my main site - in a niche which has definitely been negatively impacted by the economy. Several large and long-term advertisers seem to have totally disappeared in this niche.

I have made several adjustments already and am actively considering others.

[sutrostyle]

Some advertisers have quarterly budgets. A new quarter just started on Apr 1, and the budgets this quarter are severely reduced due to the recession. This is what we were told by our TribalFusion rep today.

[annej]

I think it's important to consider the market and bidding process. So often on this forum people blame smart pricing and I think that aspect is over emphasized.

[HuskyPup]

Whilst eCPM is a reasonable indicator I now prefer to analyse using my average earnings and EPCs to test whether anything extraordinary is happening.

For instance taking overall earnings since Feb 1st and using my daily average as 100% I see that my lowest day has been -35% and my highest +32%.

What is significant is that of the past 76 days is that:

Only 11 days were -20% or more
Only 13 days were +20% or more

Meaning 68.41% of days were all within the +/-20% daily average.

Simplistically what does this man to me when checking metrics?

Every month to expect +/-5 days -20% daily average.

Every month to expect +/-5 days +20% daily average.

Although my overall earnings are not as high as a couple of years ago these averages have proven quite consistent except at times of "Glitches"!

Try checking your metrics this way however YMMV! :-)

[mayest]

Meaning 68.41% of days were all within the +/-20% daily average.

HuskyPup, You've discovered that your total daily earnings are normally distributed with a standard deviation of about 20%. :-)

[HuskyPup]

HuskyPup, You've discovered that your total daily earnings are normally distributed with a standard deviation of about 20%. :-)

Hehehe...yup, and knowing this it is why I can suddenly see when something's wrong/changed/fubar/whatever!

Actually, it would be interesting to know if this is a "standard" deviation, low or high...what do you reckon?

[purplecape]

There may actually be areas in which advertisers spend more, chasing a now smaller pool of customers, and trying to increase or hold onto their share.

I think that's what I'm seeing on my site. Either that, or as I suggested earlier, Google has dialed up the knob for my site...

[indias next no1]

yes, ecpm is nearly 30% down today. ultimatley earnings also down