Adsense $ drops but Pubcenter Up!

My Adsense revenue dropped but surprisingly Microsoft Ads way up!

[shoreline]

I was in a panic last month, my adsense revenue dropped way down and I was sure something was wrong with my site!

I am not new to adsense or pubcenter (remember when Yahoo first started paying out, wow! too bad they are gone...) and little fluctuations or trends don't get me worked up, but this was a big drop!

It turned out that the site was fine, ranking still good, traffic unchanged and it was simply that adsense revenue was down; people were just not clicking on the ads.

I've tried Microsoft's pubcenter in the past and at first, they paid big, but targeting was off and eventually the pay decreased. That was then...

This last drop in adsense revenue pushed me to try Microsoft ads again and I am happy to report, it is paying what adsense paid before the drop (more on some days)!

I thought this may be temporary, but it's been a few weeks now and I'm impressed. The targeting is way better than it used to be and I can't tell you how good it feels to know there is another option that works.

I recognize that Google has had a big impact on my life, their traffic and adsense program opened up a lot of doors, but I also recognize that they benefited just as much or more from the relationship.

So, if you have experienced what I have, are frustrated, then give Microsoft a shot for a few days!

BTW - I'm using their 600x250 ad.

[netmeg]

I keep trying them, but I just can't get any decent ads. Was hoping when the Microhoo thing gets completed that they'll improve. Maybe will give it another shot.

[true_INFP]

then give Microsoft a shot for a few days!

We might want to give them a try, but we won't. The reason is simply that we are in the EU, which they obviously don't care about (and if history repeats itself, then it's going to be the same story as with YPN, they will keep ignoring the EU publishers, then they'll fail and close the program permanently, burying the last hope for decent and real competition to AdSense)...

The only way to start up something as big as AdSense is to open the gates (public open beta). Otherwise, their ad inventory will always be ridiculously small and it will never take off.

[drall]

Same thing netmeg. Why dont you try selling your own adspace shoreline? We started that a few years ago after EFV pointed me in the right direction and havent looked back. It's great not having a advertising p#mp:)

[shoreline]

Point me in the right direction (please).

I've stuck with Adsense, Microsoft (and Yahoo back then) because it requires very little time. I LOVE, and spend most of my time, designing and developing my own sites but the idea of taking from that time and putting it into managing ads doesn't sound exciting. Perhaps my perception of the work involved is over inflated...

I have heard that if you cut out the middle man, you can greatly increase your revenue, but just how do you go about that? I would love to be in charge of my own ads!

Thanks Drall!

[wyweb]

If your site gets enough traffic or ranks significantly for certain keywords, the advertisers will come to you. I've been turning down several legitimate inquiries a month for years because, like you, I felt that the managerial commitment would outweigh the benefits.

I no longer believe that.

I was in the YPN thing from the start shoreline. I was blown away by the initial payouts. Stoked. Dancing in the hallways. My pot of gold has finally arrived. How long did it last though? 6 months? 7? I'm convinced to this day that YPN manipulated CPC as a means of attracting new publishers to their beta program, a program that never even officially got out of beta and that was limited to US publishers only. I stayed with YPN until their payout was even lower than Adsense and then switched back to Adsense full time.

Place a prominent link on your website worded like "advertise on this site" that goes to a page showing which spaces are available. Don't set a price. Let them offer first and then negotiate from there. Be prepared to show traffic stats, visitor demographics, etc... because some will ask for that. Angle for long term contracts rather than month to month and in all cases reserve the right to terminate at any time for any reason (unused time refunded, etc...), or just simply non-renewal. They can quit at any time - you can quit at any time. Don't get locked into anything you might regret later.

Investigate whoever is wanting to advertise with you. What are they doing, why are they doing it, what are other people saying about them? If it looks shady, it probably is so give them a pass.

I'm leaving out a bunch but I'm sure but you get the idea.

[shoreline]

Like you wyweb, I loved YPN and have no doubt they tweaked the payout, but I didn't complain :) I had a cool rep and a ton of fun with the program; it's too bad that didn't work out.

I have advertisers contacting me, but I feel most are trying to buy links under the guise of an ad and I worry that google will read this the wrong way. You really are who you link to!

It is time to dive deeper into this. I've never tried an 'advertise on this site' message, simple and probably very effective!

Thanks for the suggestion!

[wyweb]

Shoreline, my main concern has always been whether I'm selling links or accepting direct advertising? Which is it? Prevailing doctrine has it that you'll get penalized for the former, yet the latter is encouraged on all fronts.

There seems to be a lot of gray area here and that gray area, as much as anything, has kept me from going any further with it over the years. I have 30 some odd websites and about 10 of them get significant traffic. 4 of them get real significant traffic. I've been smart priced in a big way though. I know I've been smart priced because I called Google and asked them. They confirmed what I already suspected and even told me how I could get out of it. I declined to take their suggestions. It would have killed at least half my traffic and I would have been basically in the same boat anyway so the choice wasn't that difficult to make. This was 3 years ago, or 4, I forget.

Even being smart priced back to the stone age I could still make a go of it, and I did. The last 5 or 6 months have been an absolute roller coaster though. End of month overall earnings totals varying as much as 40%. Mayday hit me as well. I've weathered every google update for the past 8 years in flying colors, fingers crossed each time. Mayday killed a good 20% of my traffic though. This, combined with the volatility of Adsense lately... Well, as I've said before I'm not trying to get rich but I've got to at least be able to pay the bills.

If I can't monetize what traffic I have with Adsense, and even post-Mayday it's still quite a bit, then I'm going to have to do it somewhere else. I'm extremely paranoid about being branded as a link seller though. How do you determine the difference? Am I selling links or am I accepting direct advertising and how is this determination made?

If someone could point me to any thread where this has previously been discussed, the contrast between link selling/direct advertising, I would be most appreciative.

[netmeg]

Add rel=nofollow to your ads/links, and you're all set.

[netmeg]

Well I gave adCenter Publisher another shot. Actually got clicks this time. The CPCs are great. The ads are better than they were. The CTR is (so far) far less than AdSense.

[wyweb]

I just applied yesterday. The wording on the sign-up form tells me if I'm denied for one site, I'm welcome to reapply using another.

That's reassuring. I think.

It's friggin' beta and I hate beta programs.

[netmeg]

It's been beta for at least two years now.

And yea - it's not like AdSense in that every site has to be individually approved.

[Petrogold]

@shoreline:
You brought a nice idea. Thanks for opening my eyes. I will give a try. Can I try out site USA?
@wyweb:
Thanks for so much of insights.I tried it before , but not a great success. For a sport site I get a lot of traffic while failed with Adsense to earn good money. What is you tips for me?
Thanks.

[shoreline]

Wyweb, Petrogold,

I have one that they turned down as well (nothing wrong with it, popular in fact) but the others were approved. I don't know about out side the USA as I'm inside.

[robho]

Can I try out site USA?

I believe it is a purely local domestic thing for the US.

But it's worse than that, you can't sign up (even to buy ads) without a Windows computer.

I don't have any of those here (and it's quite likely a media agency trying to buy an ad doesn't have either).

You also can't pay with a chip+PIN visa/mc (i.e. a large proportion of those outside the US).

So at this stage it's just a minor little advertising service for a subset of the US market. If Yahoo is any history, it'll stay that way until it dies for not expanding to the rest of the world.

[wyweb]

If Yahoo is any history, it'll stay that way until it dies for not expanding to the rest of the world.

I'm not entirely convinced YPN's death was due to not expanding outside the US. In fact there's every reason not to expand outside the US for a US company doing a beta test.

The 4 year length of this so-called beta test was a bit extreme, granted, but the reasoning was clear. At least it was to me.

[wyweb]

So at this stage it's just a minor little advertising service for a subset of the US market

And I'd be quite happy if it stays that way.

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

I am 100% positive they will scrap the "site must be approved" approach in time and get their advertisers more traffic. When someone lands on a crappy site they see an ad as most welcome. The site being crappy doesn't mean the visitor is.

I went and took a look. I think they are treating their ad platform too much like an affiliate platform.

Number of automotive banner ads available? 3, and that's just pathetic coming from such a big company.

[Petrogold]

@shoreline & robho
Appreciate & thanks.

[shoreline]

Just wanted to update this.

I decided to put my Google ads back up on the site as I was afraid I was missing a bigger payout. I'm happy and sad to say that ad revenue from Google was much lower than Microsoft.

Happy because I'm making more money and feel good about having an alternate to Adsense should I need it.

Bad because now I have to go through my other sites and test them to see if I get the same results.

Competition, got to love it :)

[super70s]

But it's worse than that, you can't sign up (even to buy ads) without a Windows computer.

You might be able to trick them by installing a user agent switcher plugin in your browser.

Although that arrogant attitude hacks me off so much I wouldn't bother with them even if they do pay out better than Google.

[cien]

Shore, thanks for that. A couple of questions for you if you don't mind:

1. So are you putting MS ads back on or will you keep Adsense?

2. Do you have an informational or product site?

3. What's the average CPC you are getting?

I might give Pubcenter a try for a week to see how that goes.

Agree, love competition!