Forum Moderators: martinibuster
is this related with the economy?
It takes much effort to hold the level.
According to Nielson Media:
"Internet advertising impressions grew by 14.7% in the first quarter of 2008 over the same period in 2007. Sponsored search link advertising drove overall growth, and rich media led growth in the display category."
The growth seems to have slowed but an increase of 14.7% is a long way from a decline.
I think its hard to make a case with anecdotal evidence.
It's actually a bit arrogant when you think of it. The code doesn't produce the results desired thus it must be the fault of the economy, advertisers or any of a number of Google's shortcomings. It certainly can't be the fault of the genius AdSense publisher.
Before anyone gets upset, I'm talking about myself as much as anyone else.
When I stopped wondering what was wrong with Google and started considering what I needed to change - that was the beginning of a long upward trend in my stats - a trend that continues today.
FWIW.
FarmBoy
When I stopped wondering what was wrong with Google and started considering what I needed to change - that was the beginning of a long upward trend in my stats - a trend that continues today.
As I cannot in any way control Google I have never worried too much about it. Normally the worry peaks when I get an email from them....
Therefore I agree with farmboy.
It is better to worry about your site(s) and how the economy effects them.
I have to concentrate on my viewers and give them what they are looking for while constantly keeping an eye on the competition.
The economy effects us all, so it will surely effect GAS too, but I find if you concentrate on the most important thing - the customer, then you are on the right track.
Added: I do wonder sometimes how I can get those cool Rolex ads with the tennis balls like you see in the BBC. I just can't see a way to put Wimbledon into my site and even if I did knowing Rolex the ads would not turn up anyway. Such romancing is not productive.
[edited by: Visit_Thailand at 11:14 am (utc) on July 5, 2008]
is this related with the economy?
It could possibly be to do with the DIY AdWords economy and contextual ad blindness creeping in.
Many widget trades have had it so easy the past few years being able to sell all they could with hardly any effort and their home-made ad copy.
To survive in recessionary times they need to up their games considerably and invest in more costly, professional ad copy, otherwise all their nice new offices and depots will soon be up for sale!
For instance I am having some leaderboard ads drafted right now to promote our OWN widgets through my own trade widget directory site replacing one of the AdSense units.
The cost to me is very little yet the exposure of hundreds of thousands of page impressions will be interesting to see.
[edited by: martinibuster at 5:59 am (utc) on July 9, 2008]
[edit reason] Removed off topic comments. [/edit]
The adsense payment that I am getting this month is certainly higher than the adsense payment I got last month.
And I also have to agree that I think it has more to do with me the publisher than the economy
is this related with the economy?
Maybe. Maybe not. It probably depends on your topic, where your advertisers and readers are, and maybe other factors as well.
the top 100 advertisers increased their spending on Internet display advertising by 33%
I understand that advertisers often increase their spending during hard times but I think it is the business savvy ones. I'm finding that it's small online businesses that are dropping out of advertising. But it is affecting me. I have increased visitors and clicks but lower pay per click. I don't have any reason to think it's a smart pricing problem.
I agree with others. I have worked out the best possible ad arrangement for clicks without overdoing it for my visitors. Beyond that I'll just move on with content building.
Interestingly my Amazon book sales are doing better than ever. Maybe people buy books in hard times.
If I were to take solely AdSense Page Impressions into account one could be deceived into believing that visitor numbers/etc were down compared to 2007 however my logs show me that overall visitor numbers/my page impressions, and this did surprise me a little, are actually up.
I do expect this time of year to be quieter since much of what I supply is contracted for months and months ahead, sometimes several years, plus many companies are preparing for annual holiday shutdowns etc.
It is very noticeable that long-term projects for us have not been affected at all as yet however it is also plainly obvious that Joe Public is feeling the squeeze simply because our wholesale trade customers are telling us that they are not receiving the volume of enquiries they have been used to.
Those trade customers are, in general, dropping other suppliers rather than ourselves.
Are people staying closer to home and their computers?
Internet traffic reports show an increase in traffic however how much of that is business directed and how much is "catching-up" on TV programmes? The ISPs in the UK are screaming at the BBC and its iPlayer.
Are more people turning to the net to bargain hunt?
Without a doubt however I have noticed an interesting scenario. People using the Net, finding the lowest price then going to their local trader to see if they can compete or not.
Maybe that's just a British thing, no idea!
Are Google's recent efforts to bring more advertisers to the content network working?
My EPC is the strongest it has ever been if that is anything to go by and I've seen some interesting new ads on my sites.
YMMV!
Unfortunately, it is not possible to measure the general eCPM pulse of AdSense from a general question on a forum. The AdSense community is rather large and there are many factors that shape earnings and perception. For example, a low traffic site that is growing and receiving many new visitors is likely to see an increase in earnings because unfamiliar visitors and advertisers are more likely to advertise and click on an ad. Well established high traffic sites (million plus visitors) that are not growing by leaps and bounds tend to see less eCPM growth. I fall into this later category and am very familiar with three other “high traffic” sites. All of us are earning numbers that would likely make most Adsense users drool, however we are working harder than ever for less money.
There are many other possibilities that can affect your particular earnings scenario, seasonal, traffic drops or increases, shift in serps, more or less ad competition, inexperienced or experienced advertisers, etc. Don’t forget that it is unlikely that anybody posting on this thread is publishing within the same web space (subject) as you, so you should be careful interpreting the comments about increased or decreased earnings, including mine.
In a nut shell, it is unlikely you are going to learn anything useful about YOUR earnings scenario and website from this thread.
It's actually a bit arrogant when you think of it. The code doesn't produce the results desired thus it must be the fault of the economy, advertisers or any of a number of Google's shortcomings. It certainly can't be the fault of the genius AdSense publisher.
Your reply is out of line. You know we're in a recession and the economy is in the toilet. He asked a legitimate question. Whether it has anything to do with his earnings drop is another story. I'm sure companies feeling the pinch have cut back on ad spending.
Before anyone gets upset, I'm talking about myself as much as anyone else.
He apparently doesn't feel the economy impacts AdSense earnings. It's an opinion. It may not be shared by everyone, but that doesn't invalidate it.
Your reply is out of line. You know we're in a recession and the economy is in the toilet.
Which economy is that? Some economies are in the toilet; some are doing very well.
In my opinion, farmboy deserves credit for pointing out something that too many forum members are unwilling to acknowledge: When John Doe's earnings take a hit, the problem (a) isn't universal, and (b) may reflect John Doe's skills as a publisher, not some nefarious plot by Google and its advertisers.
Which economy is that?
The entire world is in an unusual economic period. Oil is hitting unprecedented highs, the dollar is at all time lows against other currencies, major financial institutions are failing across the world- it's been about two decades since we've seen anything similar.
It's entirely reasonable to inquire if the economy may impact AdSense revenue. In fact, I think not to inquire is unreasonable.
The entire world is in an unusual economic period. Oil is hitting unprecedented highs, the dollar is at all time lows against other currencies, major financial institutions are failing across the world- it's been about two decades since we've seen anything similar.
I think it's been a century or so. What we're seeing is not just a mere recession, but a major shift of power. The buying power of asian countries like China and India is increasing as we speak, which is one of the main reasons for rallying oil prices. China is starting to gain more and more assets in the (notably) US and Europe markets. It's time for the west to start adjusting to the position of being number two. The credit crunch is just a catalyst; the start of a cascade of things to come.
Regarding adsense, it may take some time, but I think eCPM in China might soar in the following years ;) Learn your Chinese and you may have a bright future. As soon as the Chinese government relaxes on the internet, it's gonna go huge. And since the technology is already there, it's going to go huge in a very short amount of time. I don't know if baidu has a feasible ad programme, but a course in business Chinese (or a translator ofcourse!) might be one of the best investments you've done in your life.
[edited by: johnnie at 7:33 pm (utc) on July 9, 2008]
In any case, it's obvious that economic conditions can impact AdSense revenue, but that doesn't mean the economy is responsible for the original poster's dropping income. It may be partly responsible, or it may not be responsible at all. (For example, Google might be "smart pricing" the OP's clicks, advertisers might be blocking the OP's site, the OP might be facing increased competition for ads on certain keywords, etc. We just don't know, so any answer to the OP's question--"is this related with the economy?"--is idle speculation.)
I think it is a good thing ;)
Does anyone else feel the pains? I know this might be somewhat off the topic. As for adsense, I think with more and more people getting lay off. Do you feel that a lot of them will be creating website and using adsense?
I think it is better to let Google keep my money
I don't think this is the right approach, given the fact that Google can at any time without warning close your account and keep the money. Of course, you can always sue Google. It's just a question of how deep your pockets are.
I don't think this is the right approach, given the fact that Google can at any time without warning close your account and keep the money.
If you're living on the AdSense edge, that might be a concern. For legitimate publishers, the real question is whether the U.S. dollar is likely to climb enough in value to make up for the loss of money to inflation while unpaid earnings sit in a Google account.
